Episode description

Culture - one of those slightly misunderstood topics. A lot of ideas about culture are different from person to person. My goal with speaking to Stacey Rodgers, Executive Director of People & Culture at Cohen & Co., is to get a little closer to a mutual understanding of how to define "culture" in an organization.

In my personal view, culture within an organization is based on a shared set of values and professional identity; who we are, why we exist, and our purpose. Once you're clear on all those definitions, it becomes a part of your vision and mission. You also start hiring people based on that cultural fit, which drives how an organization functions and succeeds.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on workplace culture. An article from California Management Review, How Have Organizational Cultures Shifted During the COVID-19 Pandemic, reports the pandemic has led organizations to emphasize certain cultural elements and downplay others. There is an increased emphasis on flexibility, transparency, supportiveness, decisiveness and confronting conflict. In exchange, there is a decreased emphasis on customer orientation, individualism, detail orientation, results orientation, and collaboration. In general, culture has shifted away from high performance orientation to one that prizes empathy, understanding and mutual support.

These changes are interpreted positively or negatively based on employees with different backgrounds - the shift has been jarring for many. One main solution to cultural related issues is improved communication between leaders and employees. A PwC article, How the pandemic can change workplace culture for the better, by James Thomas, points out that while remote working may seem "cheap" to organizations, it comes with hidden costs to your culture. Lockdown has resulted in social isolation, which can be addressed with collaborative virtual solutions and treating mental health as a necessity.

There's so much to touch on when it comes to culture, which is why I'm glad to speak to Stacey Rodgers and gain additional insight into how culture can provide opportunities and how to address cultural issues as they arise.

Resources

• California Management Review article: How Have Organizational Cultures Shifted During the COVID-19 Pandemic by N. Derek Brown, Yixi Chen, Hope Harrington, Paul Vicinanza, Jennifer A. Chatman, Amir Goldberg, and Sameer Srivastava
• PwC article: How the pandemic can change workplace culture for the better by James Thomas
• Cohen & Co. Profile: Stacey Rodgers, CPA, MAcc
• Stacey Rogers, Executive Director of People & Culture, LinkedIn