Surveys Explained

What is Culture?

All organisations, whether in business or other areas of life, have a culture. The term has been variously defined, but the simplest definition is 'The way we do things around here'. Most of us know when we are comfortable with the culture or feel of an organisation, but we often find it difficult to describe and even harder to measure.

Culture is set by the people in the organisation, their attitudes, values, backgrounds and beliefs, as well as the systems and methods which govern the way they work. It can be measured and it can be changed.

Why do culture surveys?

There are several benefits to be gained from undertaking surveys of organisational culture. Our survey will enable you to:

• Assess the potential problems or risks involved in an impending organisational change programme
• Pinpoint key change issues for the organisation
• Judge reactions to the implementation of change
• Have a barometer of employee relationships
• Produce a powerful non-financial measure of organisational health.

What are the four A’s?

These are the 4 stages in which the survey is used and represent a cycle of continuous improvement in the culture through careful management of change. These stages are:

• Assess the Culture
• Analyse the Causes
• Act on the Solutions
• Audit the results (i.e. repeat)

Find out more about the 4 A's.

What does the survey look like?

Because people’s attention spans to surveys is typically short, we limit the questionnaire to between 20 and 30 questions (the normal standard form is 21 questions).

The survey is not concerned with personal attitudes, but rather with how people perceive the prevailing attitudes and behaviour in the organisation as a whole. This can be difficult but involves people trying to detach themselves from their personal values and taking an objective outside view of the organisation, rather like being a fly on the wall. The question being asked is “What is most typical of the attitudes or behaviour you observe in each of the areas covered on the form?” People are then asked to mark a position on a spectrum of organisational behaviour or attitudes on each subject covered. The subjects normally include the following:

• Customer/Supplier relationships
• Communications
• Decision making
• Job performance
• Leadership behaviour
• Staff attitudes to work
• Means of motivation
• Importance placed on quality
• Approach to problem solving
• Trust and co-operation
• The organisation’s attitude to training

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The questionnaire is accompanied by a personal data page containing general information on each survey participant for statistical analysis purposes. The survey instrument and data page are designed to ensure individual anonymity and confidentiality whilst providing relevant data for examination of the distribution of results among different groups of employees. There are links embedded in the survey between related questions which allow us to analyse results in terms of causality and impact.