Culture & structure

People are one of the most important elements of any organization. They ensure that customers are helped in a good manner and that all the peripheral matters associated with an organization continue to run smoothly. The people within an organization have a very significant impact on the (financial) result that is achieved.

At the same time, many find managing the team and finding the right new people for their organization to be one of the most challenging aspects of business operations. Proper management of people, whether they are business leaders, franchisees, or other team members, requires good collaboration with effective communication between people. How a collaboration functions is largely determined by the culture and structure within an organization.

Through our workshops, we help you in developing and advancing a suitable and positive organizational culture and structure.

Culture and structure in chains

Organizational culture

Organizational culture can be defined as shared beliefs within an organization. In the best organizational cultures, these beliefs lead franchisees and employees to behave in ways that benefit the entire organization and its objectives.

In many ways, chains are even more dependent on a positive culture than other organizations. The same mindset, behavior, and tools ensure a consistent and distinctive presence to the outside world. This is especially important in unforeseen situations where the created systems, processes, and procedures are not suitable. The only way to successfully achieve consistent behavior across the entire chain is to have a strong culture that motivates every employee and, if applicable, franchisee to behave in the prescribed manner. Employees and franchisees must do this because they want to themselves and see it as best for the whole organization and for themselves.

Whether it is carefully created and supported or goes unnoticed, every organization has a culture. Unlike financial performance, which is regularly measured and assessed and considered a key to success, culture is rarely measured and effectively examined. Hence, examining the culture can be worthwhile for various aspects of business operations.

Often, culture is seen as a “sensitive” topic, difficult to understand and managed by the HR department. But in fact, culture directly impacts the productivity and profitability of every organization. Culture is also defined as 'the identity and personality of an organization.’ Thus, culture is much more than just a pleasant work environment; it is also a form of leadership that includes structure, hierarchy, and shared values.

Organizational structure in chains

Structure ensures that the culture within a chain can be controlled. The structure of an organization pertains to the distribution and grouping of tasks, authorities, and responsibilities in a coordinated arrangement of executing activities and functions. As an organization grows, there is a need to sustain the culture and expand various roles within the organization.

Therefore, consider the growth of your organization and ask yourself the following:

• What is the organizational chart of your organization?
• Are all roles logically defined with tasks, responsibilities, and required competencies?
• Do certain roles perhaps need to be split?
• Is everyone still in the right position?
• Is there a need for additional support in certain roles?
• To what extent do the current culture and structure contribute to achieving the objectives?
• Are all the necessary competencies in-house to be successful?

Culture and structure as a scale-up: essential for success!

Creating and defining culture and structure is an important part of the transition phase from start-up to scale-up. Now that the major development of products and services and their market testing is completed, it enables quick and successful scaling up.

With our workshops, we assist you in this transition and strengthen your foundation to ensure you are ready for the next phase.