PwC: Organizational culture is a source of competitive advantage in pandemic

Panama City, 22 Mar A survey by PwC Interamericas revealed that organizational culture has been a strength and a competitive advantage throughout the covid-19 pandemic for companies in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The 2022 organizational culture survey analyzes the views of 152 workers in Central America (Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala) and the Dominican Republic, the territory of PwC Interamericas. 80% of respondents believe that, in the past year, their organization has had the ability to adapt quickly to respond to change. They also indicate that their culture has been a source of competitive advantage in the context of the pandemic. These results are consistent in all countries of the region, with even higher percentages in the Dominican Republic (100%), Guatemala (88%), and Costa Rica (81%). The data also shows that those who say their organization has a distinctive culture are more likely to see an increase in revenue and customer and employee satisfaction. 91% of senior management agree that their organizational culture helps motivate them to learn new skills to support the success of their organization. “We have seen that the culture of an organization is deeply rooted and evolving slowly. However, the pandemic showed that, when necessary, organizations can achieve rapid change with a specific focus on a few critical behaviors,” said Director of Management Consulting, PwC Costa Rica, Jorge DeMezerville. He added that “in the future, as leaders take on a long list of business challenges such as digital transformation and adaptation to changing work practices, organizational culture can be a powerful ally.” Organizational culture “is moving forward on the leadership agenda. Proof of this is that the opinion of managers and directors in the region is aligned with that of the rest of the collaborators”, according to the study. Thus, the positive impact of culture is felt most strongly in organizations where the entire workforce sees their leaders acting authentically. Of the respondents, 64% indicate that leaders in their organization are “role models of organizational values, purpose and therefore of culture”. 81% also say their organization has a strong sense of purpose, and 89% indicate that they are motivated to learn new skills to support the success of the organization they work for. This year's survey reveals that despite the above, “there is still a significant difference between the perspectives of leaders or senior executives and collaborators at other levels on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.” 61% of senior management in Central America and the Dominican Republic believe that their organization actively listens to different voices and perspectives when important decisions are made, even if this adds time and complexity. At the same time, some workers, as a result of feeling that they cannot be themselves at work, may resort to change, adjusting their behavior, expressions or speech patterns to fit or because they believe they will be treated more fairly and given more opportunities. “The divergence in attitudes towards diversity, equity and inclusion is a prominent finding of this year's study. In the context of rapidly changing social and cultural expectations in companies, it is imperative that leaders address questions about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion head-on,” said PwC Interamericas. This, he added, “may include engaging internal and external stakeholders to define, engage and track progress with respect to inclusive behaviors and ways of working that build social trust and enable sustainable business outcomes.”