Comprehensive Cultural Assessments Summary of Scope & Methodology A. Levin © SYNERGY Consulting Services Corporation, 1999.

Page 2 The challenge: “A strategically aligned culture is critical in sustaining the levels of employee motivation, productivity and quality necessary for success in today’s competitive business environment.” SYNERGY, American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, 1996

Page 3 Contents n Background on SYNERGY – Principals, Corporate Experience & Qualifications – Prior Assessments n Scope & Methodology – General Scope, Methodology & Results – Typical Assessment – Application to Continuous Improvement n Summary & Conclusions

Page 4 Summary of Major Points n Organizational culture: – Can be objectively defined, monitored and improved. – Has a predominate, positive influence on performance and should be considered as a causal factor in solutions and a component of continuous improvement. – Top performers have demonstrated that culture can be strategically managed, similar to other facets of the business. – Is not self-sustaining and requires constant reinforcement through strong leadership.

Page 5 SYNERGY BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE n Experience of Principals n Nature of SYNERGY’s work n Cultural Assessments – More than 60 assessments since 1992 – 27 sites including 41 plants, 6 corporate locations – Representative nuclear industry database

Page 6 n Provide a clear reflection of the organization’s culture. n Ensure confidentiality. n Provide “bottom line” conclusions and suggestions for improvement. OBJECTIVES CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS

Page 7 SCOPE CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Nuclear Safety Culture n General Culture & Work Environment n Leadership, Management & Supervision n Special Topics of Interest

Page 8 Nuclear Safety Culture Model n Values & Priorities n Behaviors n Practices & Performance n Willingness to Identify & Pursue Potential Issues or Concerns n Employee Concerns Program

Page 9 General Culture & Work Environment Model n Values & Priorities n Behaviors n Practices & Performance n General Work Environment

Page 10 Leadership, Management & Supervisory Skills & Performance Model n Leadership n Business Management n Personnel Management & Development

Page 11 METHODOLOGY CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Obtain Employee Perceptions & Suggestions – Survey Questionnaire (multiple-choice and written comment format) – Employee Interviews

Page 12 METHODOLOGY CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Analysis & Presentation of Results – Company Composite – Location Composites – Major Functional-level Organizations – Department-level Organizations – Demographics: worker categories, positions, years

Page 13 Typical Cultural Assessment SCOPE n Typical Survey Questionnaire – multiple choice questions with subparts – 3-5 opportunities for write-in comments n Interviews – Pre-survey: “Background” management interviews – Post-survey: Representative cross-section of employees

Page 14 Typical Cultural Assessment SURVEY ADMINISTRATION AND RESPONSE n Administered by Client – All employees and contractors typically provided opportunity to participate. (Selection can be based upon statistical sample.) – Line management involvement in communications and feedback. – Forms sealed and mailed directly to an independent data processor.

Page 15 Typical Cultural Assessment SURVEY ADMINISTRATION AND RESPONSE n Response Monitoring – Determination if response is sufficient to support analyses for each location, organization, demographic categories, etc. – Estimate of Statistical confidence

Page 16 Typical Cultural Assessment RESULTS n Demographic & Organizational Response Statistics – Question-level – Write-in Comment Analysis – Interview Themes n Industry Comparison – Percentile / Quartile Ranking – Year-to-year Trends

Page 17 Typical Cultural Assessment RESULTS n Cultural Trends – Cultural Performance Indicators – Cultural Dimension Trends – Relative Location Trends – Relative Organizational Trends – Demographic Trends

Page 18 Typical Cultural Assessment RESULTS n Safety Conscious Work Environment Evaluation n Suggestions for Continuous Improvement n Conclusions

Page 19 Typical Cultural Assessment APPLICATION TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT n Priorities for Organizational Validation, Intervention or Remediation – Organizational Outliers – Suggestions for Action n Company and/or Location Opportunities – Mission-critical Corrective Actions – Suggestions for Continuous Improvement

Page 20 Summary LESSONS-LEARNED n Culture can be objectively measured, improved & monitored. n There is a strong correlation between culture & performance.

Page 21 Summary LESSONS-LEARNED n As participant-observers, employees have unique vantage points and provide accurate barometers of needs & solutions. n Strong leadership is critical to improving & sustaining the organizational culture. – Consistent communications, involvement & actions.

Page 22 Summary BENEFITS OF CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Continuously improve or intervene for change. n Understand the cause-effect relationships of performance barriers and identify key trends. n Monitor progress, benchmark against industry best-practices & predict outcomes (using new metrics). n Provide additional communications channel; message on values & goals, feedback, address concerns & recommendations.

Page 23 Summary BENEFITS OF CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Promote teambuilding; through interactive dialog, problem-solving & coaching. n Conduct action planning & problem solving n Understand employee attitudes & perceptions as participant-observers; acceptance of strategies, motivation. n Provide knowledge-based support of decisions.

Page 24 Conclusions COMPREHENSIVE CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Sustained, superior results in assuring strong performance depend upon an organization’s deeply embedded values & behavioral norms and how these affect the ability to change and seek continuous improvement.

Page 25 Conclusions COMPREHENSIVE CULTURAL ASSESSMENTS n Properly structured cultural assessments have demonstrated the potential for developing solutions, but equally important, the process itself has contributed to enhancing & maintaining the desired culture.