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When your culture needs a makeover.

C L Bernick1

  • 1Alberto-Culver Company, Melrose Park, Illinois, USA.

Harvard Business Review
|June 21, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Transforming corporate culture at Alberto-Culver North America led to significant business growth. By focusing on visibility, mentorship, feedback, and recognition, the company achieved substantial increases in sales and profits.

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Area of Science:

  • Business Management
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Corporate Culture

Background:

  • Alberto-Culver North America experienced stagnant sales and intense competition in 1994.
  • The existing corporate culture was misaligned with the needs for overcoming these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of a deliberately cultivated corporate culture on business performance.
  • To identify key strategies for transforming organizational culture to drive growth.

Main Methods:

  • Implementation of a four-pronged strategy: making culture visible, establishing Growth Development Leaders (GDLs), utilizing employee surveys for feedback, and consistent celebration of successes.
  • GDLs mentored employees and acted as change agents, empowered to influence business decisions.
  • Employee surveys provided 360-degree feedback to management and GDLs.

Main Results:

  • Employee turnover was reduced by 50%.
  • Sales increased by 83% between 1994 and the time of the report.
  • Pretax profits saw a substantial rise of 336%.

Conclusions:

  • A strategic focus on cultural transformation can yield significant improvements in business outcomes.
  • Visible leadership commitment, empowered change agents, and employee feedback mechanisms are crucial for successful cultural change.
  • The demonstrated financial growth indicates a strong correlation between cultural evolution and business success.

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