The Dutch energy sector is changing dramatically, and Gasunie is changing with it: from natural gas to hydrogen and heat. That calls for an organisation that can adapt faster. The board had chosen three core values. The question was what those values mean on the shop floor, and how you determine that with the whole organisation rather than for it.
From abstract values to concrete behaviour
Core values on the wall change nothing. The real work starts with the translation: what behaviour goes with ownership, simplification and collaboration, and what does that look like on an ordinary working day?
The usual ways of finding this out each fall short in their own way. Interviews go deep, but reach only a few dozen people; everyone else feels unheard. Surveys reach everyone, but miss the conversation. Working groups think along, but take a lot of time and leave most of the organisation on the sidelines.
Four dialogues, over 700 voices
In four online dialogues of just under an hour, more than 700 employees talked at the same time and anonymously about one question: what do these values mean in your work, and what behaviour goes with them? Participants contributed ideas and rated each other's. What gained support rose to the top on its own.
In a short time, this created a shared picture, carried by a large group of colleagues and not only by whoever spoke loudest.
Why it worked: giving meaning together
Employees decided for themselves what good behaviour is. As a result, nobody had to impose it from above afterwards.
The way the questions were framed helped with that. The question "what opportunities do you see to simplify your work?" puts people into a design mindset. And "what makes you sometimes fall back into old behaviour?" accuses nobody. That made room for honest reflection on workload and the example set by managers.
From 6,000 messages to a culture compass
The dialogues produced 6,000 messages, rated and prioritised by the employees themselves. A clear direction emerged for every question.
On that basis, Gasunie built its own culture compass, describing for each core value what the behaviour looks like on a good day and on a bad day. That way everyone knows what the values look like in everyday work.
