Why Culture Change Fails: The Missing Link Between Values and Behaviors

Organizations embarking on a culture change often launch with high hopes and enthusiasm, kicking off with newly published cultural values, inspiring video messages, and polished presentations. But a few months down the line, they’re left wondering why nothing has really changed. Employees seem to carry on as usual, and the envisioned transformation feels more like a distant idea than an everyday reality. This challenge is particularly pronounced during mergers and acquisitions, where studies show that 90% of mergers fail in cultural assimilation.

So, what’s going wrong? Behavioral science offers some crucial insights that can help answer this question. For a culture change to be successful, it’s not enough to broadcast new values or deliver inspirational speeches. Real transformation requires a tangible alignment between new cultural values and everyday behaviors—and that’s where recognition programs and performance management systems come into play.

 The Disconnect Between Vision and Action

One common misstep in culture change is focusing solely on big-picture ideals without breaking down those values into concrete, actionable behaviors. Organizations may emphasize sweeping statements like “we value collaboration” or “we prioritize customer-centricity,” but if these ideas aren’t translated into specific actions that employees can implement, they remain abstract.

As a result, employees lack a shared understanding of what’s actually changing. For instance, what does “collaboration” mean in practical terms? Does it mean seeking input from colleagues on every project? Or does it mean providing constructive feedback in meetings? Without a clear definition, employees are left to interpret these values individually, leading to inconsistencies and confusion. For a culture change to take root, people need to know exactly what they should be doing differently.

The Role of Behavioral Reinforcement in Culture Change

Behavioral science tells us that for new behaviors to stick, they need to be continuously reinforced. A major part of this reinforcement comes from recognition and performance management systems, which can encourage the adoption of new behaviors and discourage outdated ones. But here’s the catch: recognition programs and performance evaluations are often left unchanged when organizations undergo a culture shift.

This oversight can be a critical failure point. Without adjusting these systems to reinforce the new values, employees have no reason to prioritize them. If, for example, “innovation” is a new cultural priority but rewards are still given based on traditional performance metrics, employees will default to the old ways. They’re not being incentivized to embrace the new values because the organizational systems haven’t aligned with the change.

To drive a lasting culture shift, organizations must ensure that recognition programs and performance management systems actively reinforce the desired behaviors associated with the new culture.

Learning New Behaviors: The Dopamine Effect

When people learn a new behavior, especially one aligned with a cultural shift, a well-timed reward can create a powerful dopamine response. Dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, motivates people to repeat behaviors that bring positive feedback or recognition. For example, if an organization wants employees to adopt a customer-first mindset, recognizing employees who go above and beyond for customers can create that dopamine spike, linking the behavior to a sense of reward and satisfaction.

Without this link between new behaviors and rewards, employees may find it difficult to make the shift. Recognition programs should be updated to ensure that employees who embody the new culture are celebrated, reinforcing the desired behaviors with immediate, positive feedback.

Sustaining New Behaviors: The Importance of Unpredictability

As people start to regularly exhibit the new behaviors, the same reward given over and over can lose its effectiveness. Behavioral science shows that predictable rewards can lose their impact over time as employees grow accustomed to them. To sustain motivation, organizations need to introduce an element of surprise.

Unpredictable rewards, like spontaneous recognition or on-the-spot praise, can keep employees engaged by adding an element of novelty. The brain responds positively to unexpected rewards, making the behavior feel fresh and motivating. This approach also encourages employees to internalize the new behaviors rather than just doing them for a reward, helping to embed the behaviors more deeply into the culture.

Discouraging Old Behaviors: Removing Reinforcement

For a culture change to fully take hold, organizations need to actively discourage old behaviors. This doesn’t mean punishing employees but rather withdrawing the recognition or rewards previously given for outdated practices. If certain behaviors are no longer in line with the new culture, then they shouldn’t be celebrated or incentivized.

Behavioral science suggests that when a reward is removed, people are less likely to continue the associated behavior. In a performance management context, this could mean no longer rewarding employees who excel at outdated practices and instead using formal feedback to guide them towards the new behaviors. Over time, this lack of reinforcement helps phase out the old ways and makes room for the new.

Closing the Gap Between Values and Behaviors

For culture change to succeed, there must be a seamless connection between the values on paper and the behaviors seen in practice. Organizations often stumble by focusing too heavily on symbolic gestures, like posters or presentations, while neglecting the systems that actually drive day-to-day behavior. Recognition and performance management are among the most powerful tools for embedding a new culture, but only if they’re used to reinforce specific, agreed-upon actions.

In short, culture change isn’t just about broadcasting new values. It’s about creating an environment where those values translate into real, observable behaviors that are consistently recognized and rewarded. By grounding cultural transformation in behavioral science, organizations can bridge the gap between ideals and actions, creating a culture that doesn’t just exist in theory but lives and breathes in every interaction.