A Toxic Culture
The managing director decides to follow the guidance offered in the official handbook and initiates a cultural review. An external consultancy conducts confidential interviews with staff across various departments. The findings are deeply concerning.
Sexist attitudes are found to be particularly prevalent in the field service department. Female colleagues in the back office are frequently referred to by nicknames. Some field staff maintain close ties with specific back-office employees in order to expedite the processing of orders and secure their bonuses. Senior field staff engage in inappropriate relationships with colleagues from the back office, involving the exchange of gifts such as wine, restaurant vouchers, and football tickets. Mistakes made by favoured employees are overlooked, while others are blamed—fostering division and resentment.
In this way, a culture of mistrust has taken hold, where misconduct, favouritism and cliques dominate day-to-day practice. The incidents at staff parties are merely symptoms of a deeper problem. The managing director now faces a critical question: how can this culture be broken?
New strategic focus
The analysis reveals that the organisation’s ongoing focus on sales targets has created the conditions for this behaviour to emerge and persist. Results have taken precedence over conduct, meaning inappropriate behaviour is often tolerated. For the managing director, this is reason enough to change strategic direction. From now on, success will be measured not only by turnover, but also by employee wellbeing and collaboration. She introduces the term Business Excellence to frame this shift. The bonus scheme is revised and now based on broader performance criteria. The director recognises that this may also affect her own appraisal and bonus, but accepts the change as essential.
Interventions
The managing director decides to implement a number of interventions to drive change. These are aligned with the approach set out in the government commissioner’s guidance.
1. Organisational structure
- A formal management team (MT) is established, with regular meetings where cultural change and inappropriate sexual behaviour are standing agenda items.
- The heads of the field and back-office departments are tasked with identifying and addressing inappropriate personal relationships.
- The managing director will now personally deal with incidents of sexually transgressive behaviour.
2. Supporting system
- An independent external confidential advisor is appointed.
- A formal reporting procedure and code of conduct are drawn up.
- Exit interviews are standardised to determine whether departing employees have experienced sexually transgressive behaviour.
- Incidents result in concrete sanctions, such as notes in personnel files, bonus restrictions, reassignment, or even dismissal.
3. Interpersonal culture
- Employees are actively involved in defining the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.
- The code of conduct is developed collectively, to ensure broad support and buy-in.
Cultural change
While the interventions outlined above can certainly generate momentum, they are not yet specific enough to truly shift a deeply entrenched culture. Because the current culture is so ingrained, more targeted interventions are required. Change demands a mix of interventions tailored to the phase the organisation is in.
In the initial phase, the focus is on letting go of the existing culture. This requires a strong, deliberate approach to break established patterns. In the second phase, the emphasis shifts towards developing the desired culture. The third phase, which is not covered in this article, concerns embedding the new culture within the organisation.
During the initial phase, the following interventions are implemented:
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The managing director holds a series of meetings to openly discuss sexually transgressive behaviour and the need for change towards a healthier workplace culture. She also explains the shift in strategic focus to business excellence, and its implications for targets, workplace culture, and collaboration.
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Bonus allocation is now linked to multiple criteria, rather than solely to hitting sales targets.
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A professional development programme is launched for managers, aimed at recognising sexually inappropriate behaviour and fostering a healthy organisational culture.
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Staff parties are replaced with staff dinners with a set end time.
In the active second phase, the aim is to nurture the new culture. The focus is primarily on promoting a healthy working environment. Interventions include:
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Within the management team, the responsibilities of the heads of the field and back-office departments regarding culture change are formalised. The head of the field department discusses with senior staff that informal relationships aimed at securing bonuses are unacceptable, outlines the consequences, and explains the revised bonus scheme. The head of the back office proactively addresses any such relationships between staff and sales colleagues.
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A behaviour-has-consequences policy is introduced. This means that violations of the code of conduct are treated as reportable incidents with tangible consequences, such as disciplinary action. This makes it clear that the management team is serious about changing the culture and avoids the risk of the initiative remaining all talk and no action.
Conclusion
This case demonstrates that sexually transgressive behaviour can be deeply embedded in organisational culture. Tackling it requires targeted interventions to disrupt the underlying culture that normalises and perpetuates such conduct. The managing director faces a challenging journey, but this approach marks a crucial step towards creating a safe, healthy, and professional workplace.
