Cultivating Success: Why Culture is the heart of an Operating Model

by Taylah Heise | Oct 25, 2023 | blog

Peter Drucker, one of the most widely-known and influential thinkers on management was famous for this quote: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

As IQ continues to research more into operating models for the future, we have continued to see time and again the difference the right culture can make in building a successful organisation.

While the vision and strategic objectives of organisations vary, there are 4 cultural characteristics that resonate in a modern approach to operating models and are foundational in transforming your operating environment.

A culture that puts the customer first

It’s no secret that an organisation that has a customer centric focus embedded throughout their culture reap successes in the form of enhanced loyalty, brand advocacy, and employee engagement.

Understanding what customers actually want, and their trends using feedback and critical insights, can be a catalyst for an agile and competitive operating environment.

A culture that embraces continuous improvement

An organisation that embraces the need to continuously improve empowers a mindset of perpetual learning, fostering an environment where employees are active contributors who are motivated to do their best, sparking innovation and autonomy to achieve a collective vision.

A culture that embraces transformation

We all know that change is the one certainty in this age. Giving your team the autonomy to pivot and champion innovation creates a foundation of agility that is key to inspiring a team that is not afraid to transform.

It is this culture that acknowledges that transformation is not only a necessity but an inherent part of growth, fostering forward thinkers who embrace the next wave of change.

A culture that values collaboration

Collaboration serves as a dynamic catalyst for innovation, recognising the impact of collective intelligence and creative synergy generated when business and technology converge.

It cultivates an environment that is empowered by ideas, marked by a pursuit of feedback, and commitment to diverse perspectives. Collaboration breaks down departmental silos and hierarchies to promote open communication and a more cohesive organisation

These essential cultural principles are why IQ surround the components of any operation with the foundational metrics of Customer Experience Excellence, Cost to Serve, and Ability to Adapt. These metrics serve as a compass, signalling precisely when levers within the operating need to shift, helping organisations to align their operation with their overarching strategy.

If you have any question or would like to chat with one of our friendly team members, feel free to comment or contact us.

By Katherine Forrest, Chief Operating Officer

How Customer Experience Excellence is the ‘Secret element’ enabling Success.

by Taylah Heise | Oct 16, 2023 | blog

The enterprise benefits of CeX are clear, increased customer loyalty, higher retention rates, positive word-of-mouth marketing and improved operational efficiency. It’s no surprise then that CeX is one of the core components propelling enterprises to become market leaders, modernisers and industry pioneers.

However, the challenge lies not in why customer experience excellence is difficult for leaders to master, but how. Research* shows that 80% of CEOs believe they deliver superior customer experiences, with only 8% of their customers agreeing, demonstrating a stark contrast between perception and reality.

IQ Group’s, CEO, Brian Peters illustrates the key to success, in his recent blog highlighting that culture is the key that “supports the adaptive organisational business model and direction…. It can be the difference between standing still and evolving.”

For this reason, it is critically important to live and breathe a customer first culture, one where a customer mindset is embedded in everything you do.

As we venture further into the digital age, we acknowledge leaders will be transforming their businesses for the remainder of their working lives. To support this evolution, IQ is working closely with super funds to help them optimise their customer experience.

IQ’s consultancy operating model toolkit includes a partnership with Enterprise Lens, which enables IQ to deliver a multi-dimensional, dynamic, and impactful view of a client’s operating model on a single, digital page. This digital visualisation tool enables executive leaders to make informed, data-driven, decisions on where capability uplift is required, to best meet strategic drivers and objectives.

If you have any question or would like to chat with one of our friendly team members, feel free to comment or contact us.

By Emma Doyle, IQ Consultant.

*Research commissioned by Bain & Company. 362 businesses and their customers were interviewed. Research completed by Frederick F. Reichheld, inventor of the NPS concept.