Dr. Maria Church: Embracing the importance of organizational culture
In her experience, Dr. Maria Church is seeing culture – even more so than money – becoming the key factor in why many in today’s workplace are choosing to involve themselves in the local government sector.
Church, a leadership coach and public speaker, shared that observation with Municipal World CEO and publisher Susan Gardner when the two sat down for a conversation at the 2019 Transforming Local Government Conference (TLG) in Reno, Nevada.
“Municipalities can really only compete wage-wise, salary-wise, to a certain extent – limited budgets. So, what I find is having a really rock star culture, a great culture that people are really drawn to – and not just drawn to, but stay – really becomes the differentiator,” she said. “We’ve all had those experiences. We might say things like, ‘I can’t really stand this organization, but I love the people I work with.’ That speaks to that sort of sub-culture that is happening. If the greater culture – the entire organizational culture – is something like that, then people want to stay.”
Millennials Looking for Cultural Fit
To further her point, Church cited a study that found college students and people coming out of school saw culture as more important than compensation. The Millennial generation, Church said, is willing to “stay home with mom and dad,” until they find the right fit. She also discussed reasons why that may be the case.
With that in mind, Church said she is seeing more organizations focusing on spreading the word about their culture.
Storytelling Essential for Expressing Culture
People and organizations are talking more about culture today and are also interviewing for positions specifically with it in mind.
Perhaps the best tool for sharing the culture of an organization, Church explained, is by sharing stories around it. Stories, she said, “really solidify” what an organization is about and can help establish the culture of an organization. MW
Related resource materials: