A friend was telling me that he thinks that the motivational pictures that you often see in training rooms are naff. In fact, he believes that because they are perceived as insincere they have a demotivational effect.
Symbols in business have a very powerful impact. Think about the large M of McDonalds or even a Coca – Cola glass bottle. They are instantly associated with the brand and what that particular business stands for. Businesses often make a massive investment in their brands and imagery and also in the marketing of them to heighten customer awareness.
What often goes unnoticed is the more subtle symbols in the workplace and the impact that they have on employee behaviours and attitudes. I have a client who wants to shift the culture to one where people feel empowered to make the right decisions for customers. This is a well thought through proposition and they have calculated the return they expect to get on the investment on development.
Everyone is talking about it but the change is not happening as quickly as they had hoped. In walking into the offices there are signs everywhere, you know the sort – don’t do this, do that, put it here etc. Within the work environment there is almost no opportunity for empowerment. These signs have now been removed; some replaced with more encouraging statements and slowly the signs of change are apparent.
I am very interested to hear about symbols and there impact in your organisation.
Thanks
Kim