Dimension: Organizational Culture and Climate
Organizational culture and climate consist of shared values, norms, attitudes, and perceptions that influence how people in an organization behave. An agency’s priorities, leadership commitments, and staff motivation reflect its culture and climate. For new programs and practices, an agency’s culture and climate may affect how people accept and support change.
While people often use the terms "culture" and "climate" interchangeably, Charles Glisson, a leading researcher in this area, makes the following distinction (2015, p. 2):
- Organizational culture refers to the shared behavioral expectations and norms in a work environment. This is the collective view of “the way work is done.”
- Organizational climate represents staff perceptions of the impact of the work environment on the individual. This is the view of “how it feels” to work at the agency (e.g., supportive, stressful).
An agency’s culture and climate influence how child welfare staff at all levels do their work and how they feel about their work. Staff with the right skills and knowledge may not achieve an agency’s objectives if the culture discourages their appropriate use. For example, caseworkers may receive training on family engagement skills, but they may not apply those skills unless the agency culture also supports and rewards working in partnership with parents in meaningful ways. Further, if the agency climate causes staff to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated, they may not be ready for new initiatives and may resist changing responsibilities. Finally, organizational culture and climate can influence staff morale. Low morale can result in staff turnover, which in turn, can have a negative impact on agency functioning and service delivery to children and families.
The potential impact of organizational culture and climate on staff performance and retention, agency functioning, and, ultimately, outcomes for children and families underscores the importance of leadership attention to this area. In particular, agencies interested in promoting innovation and change may need to look at how their organizational culture and climate support a learning organization, participatory decision-making, flexibility, and continuous improvement.
Agency leadership can begin to explore organizational culture and climate by considering the following questions:
- What are the agency’s values and how are they communicated?
- What does the agency expect, track, and reward? What messages does that send about what the agency considers important? Do those messages align with the agency’s stated values?
- How do staff feel about the agency environment and their jobs? How do their perceptions affect their work, morale, and commitment?
- Do the leadership vision, organizational norms and values, and prevailing workforce attitudes align to support agency goals and objectives?
- What can the agency do to build a more positive organizational culture and climate?
Subdimensions of Organizational Culture and Climate
Learn more about the subdimensions of organizational culture and climate.
- Organizational norms, values, and purpose
- Workforce attitudes, morale, motivation, and buy-in
- Leadership vision and commitment
Publications and Resources
Access publications and resources that support child welfare agencies in examining and strengthening organizational culture and climate.