Posts

The Real Reason 73% of Culture Change Programs Fail Spectacularly

You know what really grinds my gears? Walking into yet another boardroom where executives are banging on about "culture transformation" while their employees are quietly updating their LinkedIn profiles downstairs.

After 18 years wrestling with workplace cultures across Melbourne, Brisbane, and everything in between, I've watched more culture initiatives crash and burn than a Formula One race at Albert Park. And frankly, most of them deserved to fail.

Related Blogs:

The Uncomfortable Truth About Culture Change

Here's something that'll make HR professionals squirm: culture isn't changed by posters, pizza parties, or ping-pong tables. Culture is what happens when managers think nobody's watching.

Last month I was consulting for a tech company in Sydney. Beautiful office. Amazing mission statement plastered everywhere. "We value transparency and trust," it proclaimed in stylish sans-serif font. Meanwhile, the CEO was having secret meetings about redundancies while telling staff everything was "business as usual."

Their culture change program? Dead in the water before it started.

Why Australian Workplaces Are Getting It Wrong

The problem isn't that we don't understand culture. We do. The problem is we're approaching it like we're assembling IKEA furniture - following someone else's instructions without understanding how the pieces actually fit together.

Most culture change programs I see follow the same tired playbook:

Hire expensive consultants (like me, ironically)
Run workshops about "values"
Create colourful posters
Wonder why nothing changes

It's like trying to change the flavour of soup by changing the bowl.

The real issue? Leaders confuse culture with vibes. They think if they pump enough positive energy into the workplace, culture will magically transform. Wrong. Culture is habits, systems, and consequences - not feelings.

What Actually Works (And Why You Won't Like It)

After years of trial and error, I've found three things that actually move the needle on culture change. Fair warning: none of them are comfortable.

1. Fire Your Sacred Cows

Every organisation has that person. You know the one - technically brilliant, gets results, but treats colleagues like they're competing for limited oxygen. Leadership protects them because "they're too valuable to lose."

Here's your wake-up call: that person is a culture cancer. They're teaching everyone else what behaviour really gets rewarded, regardless of what your values poster says.

I worked with a manufacturing company in Adelaide where the top salesperson was a complete nightmare to work with. Brilliant results, terrible human being. The company spent $50,000 on culture training while keeping this person in place. Guess what happened? Nothing. Because everyone knew what actually mattered.

The day they finally let him go, the entire sales team started collaborating again. Sales actually improved within six months.

2. Make Your Systems Match Your Values

If you value innovation but punish failure, you don't actually value innovation. If you claim to trust your people but require approval for every $50 expense, you don't actually trust them.

Your systems are your real culture.

I remember working with a financial services firm that claimed to value "agility and quick decision-making." Their approval process for new client initiatives required 14 signatures. Fourteen! I've seen simpler processes for organ transplants.

We spent three months ruthlessly auditing every process against their stated values. Painful? Absolutely. Effective? The results spoke for themselves - client satisfaction jumped 23% in six months.

3. Stop Talking, Start Measuring

Here's where I probably lose half my audience: if you can't measure your culture, you can't change it.

"But culture is intangible!" you protest. Rubbish.

You can measure how long it takes new employees to feel comfortable speaking up in meetings. You can track whether promotion decisions actually reflect stated values. You can survey whether people believe leadership genuinely cares about work-life balance.

Most organisations avoid measuring culture because they're afraid of what they'll find. That's exactly why you should measure it.

The Australian Context Matters

Something interesting I've noticed working across different states: Queensland workplaces tend to be more hierarchical than Victorian ones. Perth companies often struggle with geographic isolation affecting culture. Melbourne businesses sometimes get so caught up in being "progressive" they forget about practical results.

But everywhere I go, the fundamentals remain the same. Culture is what happens when leadership isn't in the room.

The Uncomfortable Questions You Need To Ask

Before you spend another dollar on culture training, ask yourself:

What behaviour do we actually reward with promotions and bonuses?
What do our systems incentivise people to do?
If a new employee shadowed our leadership team for a week, what would they conclude about our real values?

These questions will tell you more about your culture than any engagement survey.

Why Most Leaders Avoid Real Culture Change

Here's the thing nobody talks about: real culture change requires leaders to change first. And that's terrifying.

It's much easier to blame employees for "not embracing change" than to admit your leadership style is the problem. It's more comfortable to run workshops than to examine whether your decision-making processes actually reflect your values.

I've seen CEOs pay $200,000 for culture programs while refusing to address their own tendency to micromanage. It's like hiring a personal trainer but continuing to eat doughnuts for breakfast.

Real culture change starts with leadership having the courage to look in the mirror.

The Bottom Line

Culture change isn't about inspiration - it's about alignment. When your systems, decisions, and consequences all point in the same direction as your stated values, culture changes naturally.

Everything else is just expensive team building.

The companies that get this right don't need to talk about their culture constantly. Their culture speaks for itself through how they handle difficult conversations and manage workplace stress.

Stop trying to inspire your way to better culture. Start building systems that make good culture inevitable.

Want to discuss how this applies to your organisation? I'm probably being too direct again, but sometimes direct is what works.