Workplace climate can be a competitive advantage for a business. In fact, 88 percent of employees and 94 percent of executives believe a strong company culture is essential to success, and it’s undeniable that an organization’s environment affects its personnel, performance, and hiring capabilities. When a business experiences rapid growth, maintaining the norms and standards that have formed its culture can prove to be difficult.
Take Google, for example, which experienced a nearly 5X growth in its workforce from 2001-2019. Former staff members often cite organizational shifts as their reason for leaving.
While it can be unsettling for employees when culture shifts, some transformation is necessary. As organizations aim for new targets or expand operations, the ways employees approach work will likely have to adapt to keep pace. The danger is that without careful change in management practices, the ethos that once acted as a talent magnet and a catalyst for innovation can fade.
Different Entities Have Different Needs
To support an organization’s evolution, leaders must mindfully adapt the workplace culture. Depending on size, growth stage, or technological innovation, many factors will influence how the workforce engages with the company and their colleagues.
In startups, the founder(s) can often connect with employees directly. Close proximity enables the business’s purpose, values, and aims to be understood and shared. Culture often feels organic as staff are bought into the vision and regularly have it reinforced through everyday conversations.
In comparison, large corporations often have many divisions and levels. Work is often siloed, so companies must identify and promote expected behaviors and practices through internal communications, performance systems, and structured onboarding. Without standards, companies risk creating a collection of sub-climates.
When culture is a priority, organizations are better positioned to navigate the inevitable waves of change. To increase the potential for long-term health, every company should identify foundational pillars built on its reason for being and how work is done to achieve its objectives.
Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions
Cultural scalability is especially pressing when a merger or acquisition occurs. Combining or introducing a new enterprise into an existing one presents a complex challenge as it involves blending distinct values and working methods.
Several studies have estimated that 50-75 percent of all post-merger integrations fail to meet their goals due to cultural conflict. Disconnects lead to an erosion of employee morale as well as cause productivity and performance to suffer. In the worst cases, cultural dissonance can impact the value of the newly formed entity.
Successfully navigating a merger or acquisition requires a thoughtful integration plan that respects the strengths of each climate while building a new, unified vision. Leaders must prioritize the integration of all staff using communications to reinforce shared norms and cultivate buy-in.
3 Tips for Startups: Achieve a Thriving Culture Amid Growth
Organizations in start-up mode can proactively prepare for change while maintaining a positive, productive workplace with three core considerations:
- Cultivate a learning mindset
Startups are often in a state of discovery – experimenting to discover what works for the business and what doesn’t. Staining curiosity throughout the entity’s growth is essential to building an engaging, effective culture. Research also shows that organizations with a learning climate have 30-50 percent higher engagement and retention rates and are 17 percent more profitable than their peers.
By encouraging staff to acquire new skills and experiment, companies empower workforces to be more open to change, including cultural ones. One way to advance a learning mindset is by investing in development programs. Training personnel and investing in employee growth will equip them to handle fluctuations. No matter where a company might be pursuing growth, continuing education can serve as a thread that ties the workplace together.
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Measure and track climate
Evaluating and recording the state of the organizational climate provides a baseline and benchmarks to compare future progress. In addition to assessing the workforce’s understanding of values and norms, ask how employees feel these stated behaviors are being lived day-to-day and if they notice any shifts. When leaders introduce cultural change, the surveys can be a touchpoint to evaluate the current state and opportunities for realignment.
Businesses can course-correct where necessary by keeping an eye on employee engagement, overall sentiment, and employee feedback. Human Resources professionals can also align onboarding and training initiatives to reinforce the behaviors and aptitudes the organization strives to conserve.
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Solidify company values
Changes in business structure and goals will inevitably impact the organizational atmosphere, so leaders need to determine what elements they want to maintain when it comes to culture and where they are open to variation. I often refer to this concept as what’s “loose” and “tight.”
Defining essential principles will ground the employee base during times of transition and transformation, encouraging a sense of stability and confidence. Core values also offer leaders and staff structure and guidance with decision-making. To reinforce fundamentals, prioritize regular communication around the core values and emphasize them through training to unify teammates.
Workplace culture must be treated as a living thing, and it will evolve along with the people, systems, and structures leaders put in place. By taking measurements, preserving core principles, and embracing learning and discovery, businesses will be well-positioned to adapt and scale.
