Elanor Chapman, HR and Culture Specialist, Wrays Brand, Research and Culture services
As experts in the brand and culture space, we are seemingly forever answering the question ‘so what is this organisational culture thing?’. With new ways to answer that question always on my mind (mainly so I don’t bore myself, more so I don’t bore my listener) a recent article on my Flip Board dash caught my attention. It was a design article….about chairs.
Before questioning my reasoning, let me explain a bit about organisational culture. Organisational culture is complex; has many facets and layers. Organisational culture is influenced by internal and external factors. Organisational symbols, mindsets, processes, structure, systems, leadership and behaviours all impact upon the creation of culture.
Back to the chairs. What chair are you sitting on at the moment? A simple chair, maybe grey and ugly; or maybe a streamlined and colourful one; maybe an antique and sombre one? Nonetheless something so simple can actually be a cultural symbol within an organisation and help set the tone within it.
Chair design can even influence our mindset. Think of offices with relaxed seating in breakout zones. These cleverly encourage collaboration and innovation. Fast Co. Design’s article How Your Chair Changes Your Mindset, drew my attention and discusses how chair design was used by a car dealer client to empower customers by sitting them upright and slightly forward, in turn this led to higher sales. In short, chair design and how we sit at work influences our daily mindset.
How do you sit? Is there an Occupational Therapist in your business who assesses the work environment and customises it for you? By undertaking such a process a company clearly shows it values its peoples’ health and wellbeing – either from a compliance-driven mindset, or a deeper appreciation of what is a healthy and happy workplace- one which inspires creativity and increases productivity.
Even the number of leaders sitting in seats forms part of the organisational culture. If there are too many seats the business could be little too top heavy. What does this show about the organisational structure? Are there many reporting layers or is it simplified?
Ever worked in an organisation with “chair wars”? Finally you get to snag the super comfy executive style chair, only to return from holidays to find it missing, and in its place an inferior one (or has this just happened to me…). Such behaviour is indicative of level of team spirit in this workplace.
Consider even what systems are in place to organise a new chair? Organisations can’t claim a culture of simplicity, if it takes six weeks of waiting for approval from six different departments to order your new chair.
This gives you gives a glimpse into the answer and are just some examples of what forms organisational culture. In the whole picture of your business a chair may not be top of the organisational agenda. Your people, however, are.