Cultural change and leadership development program

Client

One of the largest industry superannuation funds in Australia, with more than 1.5 million members drawn from over 120,000 workplaces and $32 billion in funds under management. The organisation exists to deliver benefits to members, this is achieved through delivery of strong investment returns, maintaining low fees, delivering profits to members, (not to shareholders), and offering competitive insurance, investment options and commission free financial advice.

Situation

The organisation identified a strategic imperative to shape workforce skills, behaviours and culture to truly excel at putting members first. The executive team was identified as a key lever to deliver this organisational change. Alignment between the desired capabilities and culture and the organisation's core purpose, values and strategic priorities was critical to deliver the desired outcome.

Solution

Nous partnered with the organisation to deliver five interconnected elements to shape the desired culture and capabilities. The core elements included:

1. Culture gap analysis – to understand the gaps between the desired culture the organisation needs to deliver on the strategic priorities and the current culture.
2. Core competency framework development – to establish the knowledge, skills and behaviours required at various levels in the organisation to achieve their strategic goals.
3. Capability development – to assess the capability of the executive team and to build their leadership capability to achieve sustained future success.
4. Culture change – to identify and plan the implementation of initiatives to close the gap between the current and the desired cultures.
5. Engagement strategy – to deliver effective, enduring cultural transformation and leadership development it is important to include inclusive communication and engagement strategies.

Result

The culture change and leadership development program delivered substantial benefits for the organisation. They agreed on the culture and capabilities required to deliver on their strategic priorities and identified what was required to achieve these goals. Members of the organisation's executive team identified development goals to maximise their leadership effectiveness and to lead the organisation to their desired future. The success of this initiative led to Nous' engagement to deliver a leadership development program to 45 leaders in the organisation who report to the executive team.