Successfully guiding a cultural transformation is often demanding but essential for making organisations fit for the future. In particular, the fourth step in the KIROI model proves to be a real game-changer here. This involves not only formulating the new culture as an abstract concept but also integrating it tangibly into everyday working life. Such sustainable anchoring is the key to truly changing values, behaviours, and collaboration, and to actively engaging employees.
Why culture transformation is so crucial
Culture transformation is more than short-term change: it describes a profound process where existing values and behavioural patterns are questioned and reshaped. The goal is to establish a company culture that promotes agility, openness, and collaboration. This allows companies not only to react to rapid market changes but also to increase innovation and boost team motivation. Industries such as IT, automotive, and healthcare, in particular, often report that culture transformation leads to long-term success and greater employee identification with their work environment.
In this context, the fourth step of the KIROI method stands out: the systematic embedding of the new culture into everyday life. Only through embedding in daily rituals, processes, and leadership styles will the cultural transformation become alive and sustainable.
KIROI Step 4: Embedding culture in everyday life
The fourth step ensures that the previously developed values do not remain abstract. Leaders are key players here, as their behaviour significantly influences the cultural climate. If the new culture is lived out, encouraging impulses arise and employees feel invited to make their own contributions.
An example from the IT industry impressively illustrates this: to establish an open feedback culture, a company first analysed the existing situation. Subsequently, all stakeholders jointly developed ideal future scenarios. New feedback workshops, leadership training, and digital tools helped to create an atmosphere of openness. This resulted in a space that enabled genuine communication.
In the automotive sector, agile methods are used for cultural transformation. Iterative ways of working are introduced that actively involve employees and express appreciation. The change is thus understood not as an add-on, but integrated into everyday work, which increases motivation and productivity.
Companies are also focusing on creating culture-shaping spaces within the healthcare sector. Physical and digital environments are emerging here that foster creativity and enable new forms of interaction. Employees report a noticeable change in their behaviour and collaboration.
BEST PRACTICE with one customer (name hidden due to NDA contract) In a medium-sized industrial company, we supported the cultural transformation by systematically establishing regular exchange formats between management and employees. This created an atmosphere of trust, which dissolved old patterns and made way for new ways of acting. The managers actively took on the role of culture bearers, thereby supporting sustainable change.
Practical tips for accompanying cultural transformation
A cultural transformation is often successful when accompanied by the following measures:
- Use leaders as role models and provide them with intensive training for their role.
- Actively involve employees at all levels and create spaces for open dialogue.
- Consolidate new behaviours through regular rituals, workshops and feedback formats.
- Designing physical and digital work environments to support the desired culture.
- Measure progress and motivate with transparent results.
A company from the financial services sector reports that regular culture checks and targeted training significantly increased the acceptance of new values and reduced resistance. Environmentally conscious companies are also using projects that playfully integrate cultural themes such as sustainability, thereby accelerating change.
Impulses for sustainable cultural change
Cultural transformation benefits from being understood not just as a strictly top-down process, but as a collaborative one. Opportunities for participation are central to enabling employees to see their contribution. Similarly, patience and a willingness to keep sight of the goal even when facing setbacks are essential.
Furthermore, practitioners recommend embedding changes into everyday life gradually and continuously: small change initiatives in teams or projects, regular reflections, and dialogue formats that provide space for questions and ideas. This makes culture transformation tangible and ensures it can withstand the challenges of a dynamic market.
My analysis
The culture transformation according to KIROI Step 4 represents a crucial milestone in the sustainable change of organisations. The entire power lies not only in defining new values and behaviours, but in actually integrating them into everyday work. Leaders play a key role here as role models and culture carriers, while employees are motivated through participation. Various industries, from IT and automotive to healthcare, demonstrate the benefits through practical examples. Finally, it becomes transparent that culture transformation is not a one-off project, but an ongoing process that requires trust, openness, and consistent support.
Further links from the text above:
[1] Successful culture transformation for businesses
[2] Mastering Cultural Transformation: KIROI Step 4 for Decision-Makers
[3] Developing company culture: tips & examples
[4] Culture transformation – 4 steps and 4 interconnections
[5] Culture Change: 6 Effective Steps
[6] Changing Culture – ICG – AT
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