Corporate culture vital as leadership changes

“Unlike five years ago, when heirs did not want to sell their businesses and thus the potential acquirers were deterred to get into [deals], mergers and acquisitions have flourished in the past two years because sons and nieces don’t want to succeed their seniors’ businesses,” accordinbg to Pakhawat Kovithvat hanaphong, chairman of the club.

Pakhawat, who is also chief executive of Trinity Watthana, a leading financial services firm, said a corporate culture is usually instilled in a company by its leaders, especially in a family-run business where the owner has led the firm for a long time. 

Sustaining a winning culture in a company was not that much of a problem.

But now as more family-owned companies shift to professional management and their leaders are being changed more frequently, it has become crucial for companies to develop their capability to nurture and sustain their winning culture, regardless of changes at the top. 

The need to build and sustain a good culture is also growing among firms in general as they grow in size.

The HCM club has launched several programmes to promote the correct understanding and awareness of the importance of corporate culture among Thai companies. 

Through seminars and workshops, bigger companies have been asked to help disseminate their knowledge to and share their best practices with smaller member companies.

“Dave Ulrich [a famous HR guru] has said that talent, leadership and culture are the three 

 things that an organisation needs to take hold of, because they drive the organisation’s success,” said Nattavut Kulnides, managing director of Adges Consulting and adviser to the club.

There is no “one size fits all” culture for every company that has to look at its customers and its internal conditions to determine its desired corporate culture, he said. 

Tisco group is a good example of companies that have a strong culture long developed by its chief executive. 

“At Tisco, the boss will serve coffee to new staff. This is to reflect its culture of being humble,” Pakhawat said.

Sopa Noonate, first senior vice president of Kasikornbank, said a culture has to match the needs of a business and its customers.

“Innovation is one of our core values. Since we have been given much emphasis on digital banking, we have been driven a lot by this. Though promoting the innovation culture, our staff have been encouraged to ‘do new, think new’, dare to do and dare to think. 

“All you do about culture, must [ultimately] serve your customers’ needs,” she said.

A company that can be explicit about its culture would also be able to recruit staff who “fit in” with its corporate values and enable the organisation to achieve its goals and succeed.