Recently we had the opportunity to speak with Robert Mostert, a highly-experienced practitioner when it comes to culture change programs. With more than 25 years of experience in supporting organizations as Global Head of Human Resources and Director of Organisation Development working for various Muti-National Corporations, he has been involved in multiple large-scale culture change programs. In this insightful session, Robert Mostert shares the variety of culture change programs that he has encountered over the years, the crucial role of a leader, and suggestions for companies looking forward to taking an initiative like culture change.
An Ongoing Conversation: Culture Change
We first asked, “Culture change is a topic that is regularly in the news and something that continues to be covered in books and business literature. Why do you think that is?”
Robert Mostert shared, “I am not surprised by it because unlike some HR topics that come and go, culture change is one of the most impactful and far-reaching interventions an organization can undertake. A strong and positive culture shapes employee behaviour, drives performance, and ultimately determines how a company adapts to challenges and opportunities.
Many companies recognise this and prioritise culture change as a strategic focus area. However, achieving meaningful and sustainable cultural change is not easy. It requires commitment, clear leadership, and alignment across all levels of the organisation. This complexity makes it a consistently relevant topic in business literature and discussions.”
Key Ingredients of Success
We further asked, “What makes it so hard to do culture change well?”
Robert Mostert responded, “Successful culture change programs require sustained, strong sponsorship from the top and a carefully designed series of interventions that are mutually supportive and well-orchestrated. These interventions must collectively drive the desired changes in behaviours, mindsets, and practices across the organisation.
Achieving this is challenging because it demands consistent effort, clear communication, and alignment over a prolonged period. Moreover, culture change often involves addressing deeply ingrained habits and beliefs, which can meet resistance at various levels. Leaders need to remain vigilant and adaptable, ensuring that momentum is maintained and any setbacks are promptly addressed. You simply can’t afford to drop the ball, as even small missteps can undermine progress and credibility.”
Different Objectives of Programs
Eager to learn more about the approaches and objectives of culture change programs, we asked, “What do you see as the differences between some past and present culture change programs that you have encountered?”
Robert Mostert mentioned, “Some of the visible differences include:
- Purpose: The goals of culture change can vary widely, from becoming more customer-focused, externally oriented, innovative, safety-obsessed or accountable, to fostering a more international mindset. As a rule, programs build on their existing culture and aim to inject or dial up a combination of these additional capabilities, reflecting the complex and interconnected challenges organizations face today. The goal of a culture change program can also be to create a new culture for 2 merging organisations.
- Scope: Programs may differ in their scope – whether they aim to transform the entire organisation or focus initially on specific parts, such as a division, geography, or subsidiary, before scaling further. Present-day initiatives often emphasise piloting changes in key areas to learn and adapt before a broader rollout.
- Intensity: Some programs are designed to create significant, rapid shifts in culture, often driven by crisis or strategic necessity, while others aim for more incremental, evolutionary changes over time. Organisations may balance these approaches, recognising that some areas may require bold changes while others benefit from steady progression.
- Methods and Tools: Advances in technology and data analytics have enabled more sophisticated tracking and measurement of culture change efforts, which was less common in the past. Today’s programs place greater emphasis on employee engagement, co-creation, and feedback loops to ensure alignment and sustainability.”
The Crucial Role Of A Leader, We asked: Robert Mostert
To learn more about the significance of leadership in an organization, we asked, “What is the role that a company’s CEO and leadership team should play?”
Robert Mostert shared, “There is a need for the President/CEO of an organisation to provide strong sponsorship and unwavering support for a culture change program, ensuring adequate focus. If it is part of a large number of change projects, then there is a risk that staff will see it as one of many things that need to be delivered, which may result in diluted efforts and insufficient focus.
Next to this, the CEO and his top team need to role model the behaviours that are defined as part of the culture change. It is like Mahatma Gandhi said – Be the change that you want to see in this world. It will require encouragement of desired and discouragement of undesired behaviours in their teams, as you need the right leadership behaviour at all layers of the organisation. Lastly the President/CEO needs to ensure that the program is sufficiently staffed, with a key role to be played by the Program Manager.”
More About Key Ingredients and the Role of AI
We asked, “What are the ingredients of a solid culture change program and what is the role of AI?”
Robert Mostert shared, “There are some key ingredients of any successful culture change program that need to be covered. Next to clear leadership (sponsorship), what is required starts with a compelling case for change, which should be aligned with the mission and strategy of the organization. An organization should incorporate the desired change in all of its core people-related processes, like its performance management, hiring and promotion, and reward & recognition decisions.
Learning and development initiatives need to be redesigned tokarjjjjjj include the mindset and skills necessary for adapting to the cultural change. Next is updating organizational symbols, rituals, and spaces so that they may reinforce the culture change. The desired change needs to be supported through transparent and frequent communication, and the organization must constantly track both qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess its cultural development as well as possibly modify the strategies based on feedback about the success of its transformation.”
Robert Mostert added, “AI can play a significant role in an organization’s cultural change program by providing data-driven insights, monitoring progress, and personalising interventions. It can analyse employee sentiment through surveys and feedback, identify patterns in behaviours and communication, and highlight areas needing attention.
AI-powered tools can also support training and engagement through tailored content and simulations, ensuring alignment with the desired culture.
Advice For Aspiring Companies
Addressing the companies that have started a program focused on culture change, we asked, “What advice do you have for companies that are in the midst of a culture change program?”
Robert Mostert shared, “When done well, culture change is one of the most significant change initiatives that a company can undertake. So good for you for having started the journey. However, it is by no means easy.
Once started, culture change needs to be one of the key programs in an organisation at any given time. It is difficult to combine it with many other change efforts without losing focus.
You need to have a clear plan with phases/horizons. Even though the work is never done, the program should have a clear beginning and end. It is discouraging for all involved if it fizzles out at the end. You need sufficient top down and bottom-up initiatives. Organisations should not try to control too much from the centre. Lastly, you cannot effectively manage without measurement. Figure out in advance what success looks like, and determine how you are going to establish regularly whether you are on track.”
Follow Robert Mostert on LinkedIn.
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