Organizational Culture Change at Merton Council

Executive Summary

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a cultural assessment conducted within Merton Council, the municipal government of a London borough. The assessment aimed to capture the current organizational culture and establish a framework for analyzing culture change over time.  

  Our primary goal was to create a comprehensive snapshot of Merton Council’s organizational culture and provide a procedural template for future assessments, enabling the council to foster a more positive and effective workplace environment. We employed a rigorous multi-method approach incorporating surveys and focus groups to target a representative sample of Merton Council office staff and frontline workers. 

A survey targeting the Council’s office workers gave us a numerical basis to gauge Merton’s organizational values alongside open-ended responses contributing additional context. This survey was based on Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn’s Competing Values Framework, which we modified to better capture Merton Council’s core values of innovation and collaboration, as well as its position as a municipal workforce. The survey consisted of seven sections—each containing four questions each—covering topics such as organizational leadership, collaboration, career progression, and pride. In addition, a set of demographic questions were used to track responses across ethnicity, gender identity, faith, disability, and role within the Council. Finally, we included an open-ended response allowing respondents to add extra details or justifications for their answers. With the help of advertising materials on the Merton Council Hub, email communication, and physical posters, our survey received a total of 402 responses, representing 21.2% of the Civic Centre workforce. 

To incorporate feedback from specifically those outside the Civic Centre, a focus group containing staff from a frontline satellite office was held. This focus group responded to questions regarding communication, loyalty, work-life balance, and how the organization handles staff suggestions. To accompany this focus group, a shortened paper survey was conducted in a different department covering similar topics in a “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree” scale. Similarly to the Full Staff Survey, demographic questions were included in order to develop a better understanding of who responded to the survey. 

Finally, a focus group drawing from Merton Council’s staff networks aimed to gather input from staff with protected characteristics who may feel less comfortable taking staff-wide surveys. This focus group asked similar questions as the frontline focus group but placed a greater emphasis on inclusivity and respect. Together, this approach facilitated a thorough qualitative analysis complemented by data visualization techniques to ensure clear and impactful communication of findings. 

Alongside providing our survey materials to facilitate similar organizational culture assessments in the future, we created a visualization dashboard to compare survey results over time and track how future initiatives change the organization’s dominant characteristics. Part of this visualization process involved using staff responses to generate an overall score for four core qualities—collaboration, competition, innovation, and efficiency—which form a radar graph capable of conveying the strength of these qualities at a glance. Using this calculation, collaboration is the most prominent quality, followed by efficiency, with innovation and competition as the weakest qualities. Although the novelty of this method makes its inclusions difficult to prove empirically, it nonetheless forms another tool to track future culture change. 

  Our analysis revealed that Merton Council is characterized by a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere. However, opportunities for improvement were also identified, particularly in enhancing cross-team communication and management accountability. Through demographic analysis, we determined that the Merton Council has a diverse workforce that reflects the broader community’s varied ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Combining our survey and focus group data, we determined a few key findings. While employees generally view the workplace positively, concerns about communication efficiency and managerial transparency were raised. Focus group feedback highlighted the need for better cross-departmental collaboration and a more inclusive approach to decision-making processes. Additionally, frontline workers expressed a strong sense of dedication but often felt underrepresented in organizational decisions. 

  Based on the findings, we propose several recommendations to Merton Council. Firstly, enhance communication channels by implementing structured communication strategies to facilitate better information flow between teams and management. Secondly, management accountability can be increased by developing clear metrics for managerial performance and ensuring regular feedback mechanisms are in place. Thirdly, promote inclusivity by actively involving diverse voices in decision-making and recognizing the contributions of all staff members. Increasing positive feedback given to staff can also assist with this recognition process and increase morale. Lastly, a repeatable assessment framework should be established to monitor cultural changes over time and adapt strategies as needed. 

  This report underscores the importance of understanding and actively managing organizational culture to improve workplace dynamics and service delivery. Following the outlined recommendations, Merton Council can enhance its work environment, better serving its diverse community while ensuring employee satisfaction and engagement. The proposed framework offers a robust tool for ongoing cultural evaluation and development, supporting sustained positive change within the organization.