A report published by the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland and conducted by Amárach Research, reveals that whilst 59% of boards have increased their focus on culture in the last 5 years, many are failing to treat it with sufficient rigour to sustain the business into the future. 'Ireland's Corporate Culture 2018', details the findings of research carried out with 197 IoD members in June 2018.
"Ireland's Corporate Culture 2018", which looks at the meaning and prominence of culture from the board's point of view, found that whilst culture is the second most important issue for boards at 28% (after strategy and oversight at 50%), 59% of respondents say their boards’ culture is inferred or informal rather than defined.
Surprisingly, only 22% believe the board considers the impact on culture in all decisions it takes indicating a failure to see the wider impact on a range of governance decisions including company performance, strategy and risk, employee retention and corporate reputation all of which are imperative to commercial success.
Some of the key research findings include the following:
- 59% of respondents say that their boards’ focus on culture has increased in the past five years.
- Culture is the second most important issue for boards (28%) after strategy and oversight (50%).
- While only 28% say that their board has a clearly defined culture, 59% say their boards’ culture is inferred or informal rather than defined.
- 50% say the board is responsible for setting corporate culture within an organisation, but only 16% say the board is responsible for its success. 40% say the CEO is responsible for its success.
- 73% of respondents cannot identify, or would prefer not to say, one single change they would influence in their board culture at present.
- 62% agree strongly that a key role for the board is to set the ‘tone from the top’; only 21% of respondents rate their boards as excellent in these terms.
- Only 34% agree that the long-term interests of the business are the main drivers of their boards’ strategic decision-making.
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