Embedding a Culture of Collaboration, Prioritisation and Experimentation

5 Min. Read

Client Context

Auditory Devices Company

Our client is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions and deemed one of the world's most innovative companies by Forbes  in 2011. With close to 5000 employees in 50 countries, our client leads the world in hearing device implants designed to help restore hearing and connect people to a world of sound.

In 2018 with growing market competition and the development of a new 5-year strategy, our client embarked on the development of a culture strategy to enable the support of their growth targets.  To succeed it was critical for them to develop a stronger achievement and one team mindset whilst maintaining a strong connection to patients, providers and users through their innovative products.  

Whilst Walking the Talk was originally employed to help assess their current culture and define clear culture priorities and behaviours, the relationship evolved over the years to include leadership development, the creation of a  support network of culture champions and the rollout of the Taylor Assessment as part of their leadership competency framework. 

Workstreams

• Target culture and values definition
• Discover diagnostic and Blueprint
• Culture planning
• Leaders as role models (Executive Team) 
• Culture Influencers & Champions activation.
• Culture Advisory
• Company wide rollout of Taylor Assessment

Outcomes:

Development, implementation and embedding of the HEAR culture behaviours. (Hear the Customer (customer orientation), Embrace Change and Innovate (innovation), Aspire to Win (achievement), Remove  Boundaries (one team/collaboration))
Increased culture of experimentation based on greater levels of psychological safety 
Greater cross-divisional cohesion and cross-geography collaboration 
Creation of a core group of Culture Influencers to help drive experimentation and culture initiatives.
Development and implementation of a leadership competency framework utilsing the Taylor Assessment as a core diagnostic tool and method for embedding culture leadership across the Global Leadership Team

Bottom Line:

• 7 year commitment to their culture journey that continues to grow, develop and evolve. 
• Executive engagement; more aligned strategy; engagement of people at all levels.
• Increased focus on prioritisation and experimentation.
• Improvements to collaboration via the removal of boundaries at a departmental, divisional and global level.
• Adoption of an ‘experimentation’ mindset across all levels of the organisation.
• 100% Global Leadership Team assessed on six core culture leadership behaviours via the Taylor Assessment