Unpacking the Global Culture Report With Guest Alex Lovell

This episode, we talk with Alex Lovell about the 2020 Global Culture Report, the O.C. Tanner Institute’s second annual deep-dive into the state of workplace culture. It’s absolutely essential reading for anyone and everyone looking to influence and improve the culture they work in.

Alex Lovell is the Director of Research and Assessment at the O.C. Tanner Institute. He’s an advanced PhD candidate at the University of Utah, where until very recently, he’s also been a professor. Alex specializes in mixed-method and multi-method research, with a focus on blending qualitative research with survey and experimental data. He has consulted with a wide variety of companies to develop and implement large-scale culture and recognition measurement plans, leading to robust KPIs and ROI conversations. Which is just a fancy way of saying he’s very, very good at his job.

Alex was interviewed by host and producer of The Work Place, Andrew Scarcella, and if it sounds like they’re getting along famously, it’s because they work together. Though not as often as they’d like.

Host: Andrew Scarcella
Guest: Alex Lovell

Topics covered:

• Why do we need a Global Culture Report, anyway?
• Burnout: crisis or mere calamity?
• Employee lifecycle vs. employee experience
• Modern vs. traditional leadership
• Listening vs. hearing employees
• Technology’s impact on culture
• What the next ten years looks like for workplace culture
• Team cohesion’s effect on retention

Tangible Takeaways:

1 - The first is that peak experiences have more impact than valley experiences. Not that you shouldn’t be worrying about the negative aspects of workplace culture. They still matter. But peak experiences, the ones that surprise, delight, and reaffirm everything you love about a company, have the power to define, or redefine, how people perceive their workplace culture. Valley experiences can ruin a day or a week, but peak experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.

2 - The second is that modern leaders are connectors. Instead of being a source of authority, they’re more of an advocate for their teams. They share their leadership, give influence and power to employees, and let them lead out on projects. And along the way, they guide and support their employees, and if necessary, offer advice and correct mistakes.

3 - The third is that we’ve been tinkering with hologram podcasting technology a little in our basement lab and, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like YOU to help me beta test it. Unfortunately, this only works if you have your podcast app open to the episode in question, so get your phone out, go to The Work Place feed, and skip to about 32 minutes in. Don’t forget to turn your fog machine on!

That’s it for this episode of The Work Place. If you liked it, or even if you didn’t, please rate, review, and, of course, subscribe to The Work Place on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was written and produced by yours truly, with editing and original music by Daniel Foster Smith, who also composed our theme song.

If you have a burning question about workplace culture, or a story about why YOUR workplace culture is the best (or worst) send it to theworkplace@octanner.com.

The Work Place is sponsored by O.C. Tanner, the global leader in engaging workplace cultures. O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud️ provides a single, modular suite of apps for influencing and improving employee experiences through recognition, career anniversaries, wellbeing, leadership, and more.

If you want your organization to become a place where people can’t wait to come to work in the morning, go to octanner.com.