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- HSEQ
The importance of corporate culture is highlighted in times of change
Have you ever seen a picture of a Lean House? A picture where there are sturdy columns on top of a strong stone foundation and a roof on top of the columns. The stone base symbolises the foundation of the business, the corporate culture on which everything else is built. The pillars represent how timely response, management and continuous improvement and quality assurance keep the roof in place. The ceiling is a target state, a vision, towards which we are moving and which we want to keep raising a little higher and higher, delivering ever better value to our customers.
For me, that image has always been ambiguous and I find many layers to it. It can be used to describe the structure of a single process in a single company, and it can also be used to paint a picture of large global development projects. The most important element emerges time and time again as the foundation. The bedrock of the business is always built on some kind of co-created culture, held together by common good practices, guidelines, management, staff and stakeholders. Changes may sometimes shake the roof and the pillars may sway, but a well-cast foundation ensures that the building stays together.
A company's core mission, people, environment and a shared desire to deliver value to customers make up its culture. It is built up over time, through hard work, motivation and shared trust. The stronger a company's own culture becomes, the more secure the continuity of the business and the more customers and staff can trust in its existence.
Our own company is a shining example of the importance of corporate culture in an ever-changing world. I am genuinely proud of the motivation of all Protect staff to develop our company and to constantly motivate each other to perform better and better. Despite the shocks and uncertainties of change, we have managed to hold the whole together in an exemplary manner, always managing to develop something new and even better.
While the world is changing and the workplace is getting busier, it is important to find time for continuous development and strengthening the foundations. In some companies, growth has led to a situation where everyday life has become a matter of survival and there is no time for development and strengthening the infrastructure. By fine-tuning processes and 'putting out fires', the focus is only on emergency repairs to pillar damage, and the strengthening and maintenance of the foundations is forgotten. Stop to clarify the status quo and the objective. Check that the basic pillars of the company's management system are in place, the foundation is in good condition and the roof is upside down. This will ensure that your people have a vision, a common direction and the potential to achieve it.
Mia Laakso