Culture is a multi-faceted component of any business organisation. It can be intangible, and tangible at the same time. It can also be complex, and simple at the same time. It could be old, or it could be new. All of which may seem that culture has an inbuilt contradictory nature! But here is the thing – culture is fluid and that is its greatest strength. Even as culture is part of a company’s DNA, it is also dynamic and has the resilience to change with changing times.

Perhaps one of the examples to look at culture change is its relevance to an engineering company like ours. There was a time when women were not part of the workforce. But now, women have stormed this citadel as well, and our cultural values have changed to make inclusivity, diversity, and respect for women an integral part of our everyday work.

It is also true that our company culture has changed to encompass a more meaningful and wider application of the word ‘purpose’ for all our employees.

Why talk about culture change?
Texmo Industries has kept up with changing times in terms of technology, manufacturing, processes, and so on. This adaptability applies to culture as well. Managing culture change is important because:

• Flexibility allows a company to align closely with employee expectations

• Adapting to changing times is vital for longevity of business

• Growth equals change and change includes cultural values too

• Balance between traditional values and modern times

• Understanding the needs of new generations of employees

• Smooth management of change leads to fewer disruptions and

• Even these few disruptions can be managed better with a systematic approach

Managing cultural change
Few of the most common challenges to cultural change are:

• Resistance to change

• Lack of communications / effective communication channels

• Inadequate planning

• Insufficient orientation / training programmes

• Gaps in implementation of changes

There are a few things that help every company manage change when it comes to culture. And it starts with the identification of the reason for change. Is the change really needed? Who does it impact? How? What are the changes within the organisation which will result due to culture change? These are a few questions to be answered by the ‘change makers’.

Planning is key – the plan should be for a long, and sustained duration of time. This plan must incorporate comprehensive training sessions, and a core team of employees who will be the chief change advocates. This is especially important when the change has to do with a long-standing tradition that is undergoing the modification.

The program for change should be managed within the context of the reason for change. For instance, change because of a new merger / acquisition is different from change due to some kind of crisis. For instance, the Covid pandemic fostered a culture where more people had to learn how to work from home. Traditional companies would have had a problem with it, for sure. But a company like Texmo Industries, which has an eye on the future, and puts people before profits, instituted a hybrid work culture.

And finally, it is good to think of culture change as an organisation-wide phenomenon. It is not a diktat but a movement that everybody can get involved in. When Done Right.