How to preserve your culture as your organization grows
Full-staff meetings in the conference room are long gone, as are the Friday afternoon ice cream sandwiches. You can—and must—keep engagement and collaboration high. Try this advice.
As a company shifts focus and grows over time, its culture is almost certain to change.
To protect the essence of your culture, you must prioritize culture strategy as part of your overall growth plan, just as you would any other business objective.
To plan your culture strategy, ask employees:
Then ask yourself and the leadership team a couple of more difficult questions:
The answers will help you assess the core values that guide your culture, even if specific initiatives must be adapted for a larger group.
Apply this assessment exercise to the following four areas that often present challenges as companies grow.
1. Communication.
As organizations add departments and layers, communication becomes challenging. Much like the children’s game of telephone, the more people between the source and the final recipient, the more likely it is that the message will get distorted.
Building scalable communication channels is essential. Plan how you will adapt messages and channels at each staffing milestone: 100 employees, 500, and so on. Doing so will keep information flowing and your culture thriving.
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