Are ghosts haunting your organisation?
This October, we're leaning into our spooky side to create a blog series that brings to life common challenges that haunt organisations. As the first in the series, we're exploring Marco Mazzetti's research, which describes the 'phantom' presence and influence of people who have left a business - and the implications it can have on the workforce.
What ghosts are still haunting your organisation?
When a key person physically leaves an organisation - on their own accord, or through redundancy - research from Marco Mazzetti suggests that their influence can still live on as a 'phantom in the organisation'. And we've all probably experienced it...
The former leader that everyone still compares others or standards to
The popular colleague who disappeared without an explanation
A complete organisational restructure that nobody likes to talk about
Their phantoms are fuelled by the stories that are told, and the experience of the departure that people remember - and when left unchecked, they can start to unintentionally shape and impact the workplace culture.
How are organisational ghosts created?
Despite being linked to the departure of an individual (or multiple individuals) within an organisation, it's not the event of them leaving that creates a ghost. The phantom is created through a lack of closure.
When departures are poorly communicated or shrouded in silence, employees fill the gaps with stories - and the stories shape your culture.
At Culture Impact, we frequently come across organisations that are still dealing with cultural implications that have been shaped by events that happened years prior but have never been processed.
What's the cost of working alongside organisational ghosts?
It doesn't matter whether it's one individual who suddenly leaves the business and it's kept hush-hush, or it's a restructure that isn't clearly communicated. Both lead to whispers and stories that haunt the corridors, and employees start to worry or jump to conclusions.
When the narrative of why someone is leaving isn't clear, it sends a signal - if it happened to them, it can happen to me.
This can come at a dangerous organisational cost, including...
Less challenge from employees
Lower levels of innovation
More caution and over-compliance
Quiet quitting
Increase in attrition levels (especially following an unclear restructure)
A misconception that a lot of organisations make around these types of symptoms is that they have a motivation problem, but when they listen to the whispers echoing through the corridors, they realise it's a lack of trust in leadership.
Preventing organisational ghosts through clarity
You don't need garlic to keep these organisational ghouls away - just transparent, concise communication from leadership.
Some people may leave the business due to conflict, disagreement, or redundancy. However, even when leaders can't be fully transparent, or are uncertain about the future themselves, the best policy is to be open and fair.
Employees can cope with tough news, but if leaders leave room for stories to fill gaps, fear breeds - and that can tarnish a leadership reputation that takes time to rebuild.
Busting the ghosts in your organisation
If you recognise some of the symptoms discussed in this blog, or warning signs around lack of motivation or trust are flagging in an engagement survey, the next step is to dig into the 'why'. Find the reasons why people feel the way they do. What are they assuming? What are they questioning? What are they holding on to?
The answer to a motivational or trust problem is rarely due to the current moment in time, but is hidden within the history of the company. And sometimes the stories shaping behaviour today were written many years ago.
At Culture Impact, we work with the unknown every day. We listen to employees and facilitate discussions that bring invisible employee assumptions and mindsets to life, so leaders can understand what's really driving behaviour and how they can course-correct to align performance with strategy.
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