#EthicalBusinessPractice

The problems with the culture at Revolut are not new, as the title of this February 2019 Wired article suggests: Revolut insiders reveal the human cost of a fintech unicorn’s wild rise.

And now, four years later, management is “calling in the psychologists” to deal with these costs. Prevention is always better than cure; so what can you do to ensure that your employees and your business are not paying the price of a toxic culture? And, how can you consciously develop a healthy culture, one that supports the achievement of your strategy and the development of your people?

Both prevention and cure start with diagnosis

Accurate diagnosis requires listening to the patient. A Barrett Cultural Values Assessment (CVA) is an ideal tool for this purpose as it is easy to administer in any size company and it provides insights that are otherwise difficult to obtain and easy to understand.

How useful would it be to know what:

• values are important to your employees,
• values and behaviours they are actually experiencing, and
• is blocking and undermining your organisation’s success?

Best of all, a CVA begins the cure by accessing your employees’ solutions to the issues present in your culture. It is the starting point for a productive dialogue that involves everyone – a necessary step in prevention and cure.

Any successful culture change requires the participation of employees, slowing building trust by involving them from the beginning in diagnosing and addressing the issues.

Cultural change will not succeed if it feels to people that it is being done to them. The expertise and support of behavioural scientists and organisational psychologists, if properly deployed, will be invaluable. However, first begin by making sense of your culture. This is the foundation upon which all other interventions may succeed.

Judging from the current statement on Revolut’s website, they have got the message.

We believe that any success at Revolut comes from two things: our people and our culture. We believe that brilliant people operating in a great culture will produce the best outcome.

From revolut.com/our-culture/

For their sake, and the sake of their employees, I hope they mean what they say now. The change must come from within. You can make a difference in your culture, which will make a difference in your results if you draw on tools, frameworks and experience of those who have been there before you. Don’t ignore the warning signs in your own organisation. Don’t be Revolut.

Reach out if you would like to be confident that the culture of your organisation is driving success and fulfilment for all your stakeholders.