1. Denison Culture Survey Results From Data to Action
Prepared by:
[Insert Name]
[Insert Company Name / Logo]
Note: This template is designed to help you as the presenter to deliver the results of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey.

2. From Data to Action

3. Path To High Performance
Why is culture important to the performance of your organization?
Executive team alignment, commitment, and sponsorship
What is the impact?
Disciplined and intentional culture development; progress towards higher performance
How can we ensure effective and sustainable culture development?
Detailed project & communication plans; Role clarification
How do we translate results into thoughtful actions?
Detailed action plans and priorities at different levels
What is your current state?
Data collection for a robust understanding of the current state
How do we create common understanding?
Common understanding across the organization and clear priorities
What is data telling us?
Integration and synthesis of different sources of data

4. REMEMBER…The Denison model and surveys are intended to facilitate important conversations in organizations AND drive change.

5. Leading Culture Conversations
The culture data offers a unique opportunity in organizations to discuss ‘how’ people work (or don’t work) together and identify some of the barriers to high performance. The following pages offer some questions that can help facilitate those conversations and surface some of the existing beliefs and assumptions that have resulted in the current culture.

6. Mission
The data generated by the Denison survey offers an excellent opportunity to engage your employees and colleagues in some important “Culture Conversations”
For example, as you review your Mission results you might consider using the following questions to help facilitate the conversations:
Vision: Do you understand why we are in business? Does our vision excite/motivate you? If so why? If not, why not? Does the vision create ‘context’ for the work that you do? What would help make the vision ‘real’ for you?
Strategic Direction: Do you know what the key areas of priority are for us as a group/organization for the next 2 – 3 years? Do you believe that our strategies will have the desired impact? Do our strategies help guide your decisions? What do you need to increase your understanding of the key organizational strategies?
Goals & Objectives: Are you clear about the short-term goals that you are trying to achieve? Is progress towards those goals being measured? Do you feel some ‘ownership’ of the goals? What else do you need to achieve the goals in your area?

7. Consistency
The data generated by the Denison survey offers an excellent opportunity to engage your employees and colleagues in some important “Culture Conversations”
For example, as you review your Consistency results you might consider using the following questions to help facilitate the conversations:
CORE VALUES: Are you clear about what our core values are and what they mean? What would you say is currently ‘valued’ most in this organization? What is ‘valued’ least? Are you able to apply the values in your day-to-day activities? What could we do to make the values more ‘real’?
AGREEMENT: Would you say that we are all in agreement regarding our key work objectives? How effectively would you say that we resolve issues/problems that arise? What could we do better to resolve issues in a way that generates more support for the solutions?
COORDINATION & INTEGRATION: Do you understand how your work impacts others? Do you believe that your colleagues across the organization have common goals? Are you kept informed about work in other areas that impacts you? Do you keep other’s informed about the work that you do that might impact them? What could be done to increase the level of coordination and integration in our organization?

8. Involvement
The data generated by the Denison survey offers an excellent opportunity to engage your employees and colleagues in some important “Culture Conversations”
For example, as you review your Involvement results you might consider using the following questions to help facilitate the conversations:
EMPOWERMENT: What does empowerment mean to you? What does it look like? What do you find empowering in your work? What prevents you from feeling empowered? Can we come to agreement about what empowerment looks like in our organization/group?
TEAMWORK: Do you feel like you are part of a team? Is our team working as effectively as it can? What if anything, gets in the way of teamwork? What should we be doing that we are not currently doing to improve our team’s effectiveness?
CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT: How are we doing with training and development? Are there specific skills that you think we lack as an organization/group? Are we building the skills and capabilities that we will need to be successful in the future? Do you believe that your skills are valued and being developed? Do you have a development plan that you believe is helping you to learn and grow in your job?

9. Adaptability
The data generated by the Denison survey offers an excellent opportunity to engage your employees and colleagues in some important “Culture Conversations”
For example, as you review your Adaptability results you might consider using the following questions to help facilitate the conversations:
Creating Change: How receptive are we to new ideas and suggestions? Do we ever hear ourselves (or others) say ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it.’ How well are changes communicated? When do changes meet the most resistance? How could we become more proactive about driving change?
Customer Focus: What do we currently do to get feedback from our customers (internal & external)? What happens to the feedback we get? Would you say that we all have a good understanding of our customer’s needs? What can we do to better serve our customer(s)?
Organizational Learning: What does risk taking at work mean to you? Can we get better at what we do without trying new things? What happens when mistakes are made around here? Do we try to learn from mistakes or is our first reaction to blame someone? What can we do to encourage more innovation?

10. Levers for Change

11. Mission
Vision
Vision Creation (engage in a Vision creation process if a current vision does not exist)
Vision Clarification (leaders can utilize a facilitated process to clarify and articulate the Vision)
Vision Communication (roll-out the vision to employees throughout the organization; engage in Q&A; and solicit feedback)
Share the Vision/Connect the Dots (continually remind employees what the vision is and how it links to their current activities)
Vision as a Litmus test (evaluate potential strategies against their contribution to the Vision)
Link Vision to Employee Performance Reviews (ask employees to share their understanding of the vision and how they are contributing to its fulfillment)
New Employee Orientation (start employee orientations with a review of the Vision and explaining why the organization exists)

12. Strategic Direction Mission
Strategic Planning (develop a FEW key strategies that offer focus regarding what to do AND what not to do)
Strategic Alignment (facilitate agreement among leadership team members regarding key strategies)
Strategy Communication (roll-out the strategy and vision to employees throughout the organization, engage in Q&A, and solicit feedback)
Share the Strategies/Connect the Dots (continually remind employees what the key strategies are and how they link to their current activities)
Link Strategy to Employee Performance Reviews (ask employees to share their understanding of the key strategies and how they are contributing to the fulfillment of those strategies)
Strategy & Skills alignment (link proposed training and skill development programs to the strategies of the organization)
New Employee Orientation (review the Vision and strategy at the start of every new employee orientation)
Customer check-ins (discuss current strategies with key customers to determine your alignment with the market place)

13. Goals & Objectives Mission
Annual Goal Setting (engage employees in a bottoms-up goal setting process – both individual and team goals)
Align goals with Employee Development (create employee development plans that support the goals, strategies and vision of the organization)
Reward Systems (align reward systems so that they support goal achievement)
Check-ins (meet with employees on a regular basis to assess progress against stated goals)
Learn from Successes & Failures (monitor progress of goals and conduct after- action reviews to learn from what worked and what did not)
Cross-functional Projects (utilize cross-functional teams to identify, share and address business goals)
Customer check-ins (discuss current goals and strategies with key customers to determine your alignment with the market place)

14. Core Values Mission Consistency
Conduct a values-clarification process (allow for discussion about what a value means and the desired behaviors associated with that value)
Create Team Agreements (identify the behaviors and practices that will guide team interactions)
Share values with clients and vendors (our interactions with clients and vendors are critical to our ongoing success. Share what values guide our actions and seek to understand the values that guide the behavior of our key stakeholders)
Orient to the Values (Share and discuss the values during new employee orientations; consider a ‘Breakfast with the CEO’ for new employees where the values are discussed and emphasized)
Include values in your Performance Review process (provide feedback to employees regarding their behavior and how well the ‘walk the talk’ of the core values)
Recognize ‘value-based’ behaviors and actions (reward and reinforce behavior and actions that are consistent with the core values)
Focus on both ‘What’ and ‘How’ (recognize good performance with respect to both WHAT was accomplished as well as HOW it was accomplished)
Call out behavior and actions that are inconsistent with the core values. Remember that core values should be ‘non-negotiable’ when it comes to behavior

15. Agreement Mission Consistency
Decision Making Process (conduct a decision-making workshop to explore the types of decisions made and how they will be addressed)
Create Team Agreements (identify the behaviors and practices that will guide team interactions)
Make Goal Setting a Transparent Process (share goals and objectives throughout the organization so that employees at every level understand the key areas of focus
Information Sharing (utilize multiple communication avenues to share and disseminate information to create a common understanding of key business issues)
Conflict Management (use a variety of interpersonal communication and personality assessment tools to highlight differences among individual styles and how to leverage those differences in the workplace)
Conduct a values-clarification process (allow for discussion about what a value means and reach agreement with respect to the desired behaviors associated with that value)
Develop Customer Focus Programs (designed to generate agreement regarding customer wants and needs)
Conduct Functional and Project Roundtables (create an interactive forum for employees from other functions and teams to hear what you are doing, share ideas and discuss how your work impacts them)

16. Coordination & Integration
Mission
Consistency
Coordination & Integration
Engage in Give/Get discussions (work with other functions, locations, etc. to assess how well you are meeting their needs and how well they are meeting your needs)
Create Cross-Functional Team Agreements (identify the behaviors and practices that will guide your cross-functional team interactions)
Conduct Functional and Project Roundtables (create an interactive forum for employees from other functions and teams to hear what you are doing, share ideas and discuss how your work impacts them)
Cross-functional Projects (utilize cross-functional teams to identify and address business goals and issues)
Annual 360 assessments (include feedback from Peers and other constituents you serve in the organization)
Make Goal Setting a Transparent Process (share goals and objectives throughout the organization so that employees at every level understand the key areas of focus
Information Sharing (utilize multiple communication avenues to share and disseminate information to create a common understanding of key business issues)

17. Capability Development
Mission
Involvement
Capability Development
Create a Performance Management System that includes regular feedback and a clear development plan
Stretch assignments (projects and assignments that stretch the individuals capabilities)
1 on 1 check-ins (regular meetings used to check-in with the employee on a number of issues including their ongoing development)
Mentoring Programs (offering mentoring and coaching – particularly to high- potential employees)
Annual 360 assessments (providing feedback to leaders and managers from their Direct Reports, Peers and Boss)
Cross-functional task forces (presenting employees with the opportunity to work with colleagues from other parts of the organization – expanding their understanding of the organization and providing exposure to others in the organization)
Promote from Within (promoting employees from within communicates that they are valued and perceived as capable of taking on greater responsibility)
Encourage participation in Industry Groups/Associations so that the employee is aware of industry trends and developments

18. Team Orientation Mission Involvement
Use a Performance Management System that includes accountability for team performance
Team Goal Setting (team goals are created by the team and are aligned with the organization’s vision and strategy)
Engage in Give/Get discussions (work with other teams – upstream and downstream - to assess how well you are meeting their needs and how well they are meeting your needs)
Create Team Agreements (identify the behaviors and practices that will guide team interactions)
Conflict Management (use a variety of interpersonal communication and personality assessment tools to highlight differences among individual styles and how to leverage those differences among the team)
Align Reward Systems with Teamwork (align reward systems with the desired team behaviors)
Teambuilding Activities (engage in teambuilding activities designed to enhance team performance and strengthen team relationships)

19. Empowerment Mission Involvement
Empowerment Clarification Process (engage employees in a discussion about what empowerment means and where they can make decisions; influence decisions; and what decisions are beyond their influence
Stretch assignments (projects and assignments that stretch the individuals capabilities)
1 on 1 check-ins (regular meetings used to check-in with the employee on a number of issues including their ongoing development)
Information Sharing (utilize multiple communication avenues to share and disseminate information to create a common understanding of key business issues)
Mentoring Programs (offering mentoring and coaching – particularly to high- potential employees)
Promote from Within (promoting employees from within communicates that they are valued and perceived as capable of taking on greater responsibility)
Cross-functional task forces (present employees with the opportunity to work with colleagues from other parts of the organization – expanding their understanding of the organization and providing exposure to others in the organization)
Encourage participation in Industry Groups/Associations so that the employee is aware of industry trends and developments

20. Creating Change Mission Adaptability
Communicate a Vision for the change (employees are much less likely to resist change if they understand WHY the change is important. Address the ‘what’s in it for me?’ OR ‘why should I care?’ questions that employees will be thinking about)
Facilitate ‘Change’ discussions (provide forums for employees and leaders to discuss pending changes)
Get employees engaged in the changes (changes are easier to accept when they are happening ‘with you’ rather than ‘to you’. Engage employees in the changes and ask for their help and input in order to create some employee ownership of the changes)
Identify key stakeholders (determine who needs to be ‘on board’ with the changes and seek out their support and feedback)
Identify some ‘quick wins’ (identify some quick wins that will highlight the positive aspects of the changes)
Recognize behaviors and actions that support the desired changes (reward and reinforce behavior and actions that are consistent with the changes desired)
Adjust and persevere (be willing to make adjustments as the change moves forward and stay focused on the improvements needed)
Offer change skills training (many employees lack the skills and experience to effectively manage change. Offer skills, tools and guidance to employees to help them throughout the change process)

21. Customer Focus Mission Adaptability
Customer check-ins (discuss current strategies with key customers to determine your alignment with the market place)
Develop Customer Feedback Processes (develop tools for customers to provide regular feedback and a process for evaluating/utilizing that feedback)
Develop Customer Focus Programs (designed to generate internal agreement regarding customer wants and needs)
Customer Appreciation Initiatives (create ways to recognize customers and express appreciation for their business)
Engage Customers in New Product/Service Development (utilize customers in the creation and design of new products and services)
Learn About Your Customer’s Business (develop an understanding of your customer’s business to inform your solution offerings)
Reward Customer Focus (recognize and reward individuals and teams that demonstrate exceptional customer focus)

22. Organizational Learning
Mission
Adaptability
Organizational Learning
Learn from Successes & Failures (monitor progress of goals and conduct after-action reviews to learn from what has worked and what did not)
Create Incentives for Innovation (develop reward systems that recognize innovative ideas and actions)
Develop Customer Focus Programs (designed to generate internal agreement regarding customer wants and needs)
Engage Customers in New Product/Service Development (utilize customers in the creation and design of new products and services)
Learn About Your Customer’s Business (develop an understanding of your customer’s business to inform your solution offerings)
Cross-functional task forces (present employees with the opportunity to work with colleagues from other parts of the organization – expanding their understanding of the organization and providing exposure to others in the organization)
Encourage participation in Industry Groups/Associations so that the employee is aware of industry trends and developments
Mentoring Programs (offering mentoring and coaching – particularly to high-potential employees)
Annual 360 assessments (providing feedback to leaders and managers from their Direct Reports, Peers and Boss)
Cross-functional task forces (presenting employees with the opportunity to work with colleagues from other parts of the organization – expanding their understanding of the organization and providing exposure to others in the organization)

23. (734) 302-4002 or DenisonConsulting.com/Contact
For additional support in preparing your Executive Summary please contact Denison Consulting at:
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