Your business is scaling, which is fantastic! It means that your business is successful and growing, as is your team. And it’s more important now than ever to preserve your company’s culture, or what made it so great in the first place.
A symptom of rapid expansion can be feeling like the spirit of the company is not the same as it once was. With more people joining your team, they can have an impact on the overall culture of the company. More individual personalities means more voices, and the core set of values that you once established may be lost among the noise.
Scaling your business doesn’t mean you need to choose between success and a strong company culture—in fact, if your culture is well-defined, many of your new hires will echo those values and uphold them as they help you grow your business.
Let’s explore four ways to preserve your company culture as your team continues to grow and you scale your business.
1. Have a well-defined set of company values.
Your company culture is what is demonstrated through actions, not words. That being said, start with a well-defined and well-documented set of company values. Reflect on what sets your company apart, and make sure to focus on the qualities you value, not the perks and benefits only.
For example, it’s more meaningful to say that part of your company culture is to value work-life balance and recognizing that it means something different to each person, than to say you offer 15 vacation days per year.
To go even deeper, you could say your company values work-life balance, but if every manager is staying up late working and not using their vacation days, that trickles down to the culture of the individual team members. Nobody wants to be caught stopping work earlier than their boss. Actions, like in this example, speak much louder than words.
Your company values should be documented where every team member can easily find it, such as an employee handbook or onboarding document, and the values should also be talked about. Remind team members of your values in weekly stand-ups, or on company branded presentations, or in meetings with clients. Make it a priority to routinely assess whether you’re setting an example of these values and if they still make sense for your company as you scale.
2. Hire for culture fit first.
Preserving company culture starts with who you hire. Technical skills can be taught, but at the core of your company is its people. What are the qualities you’re looking for in a potential candidate? What are their values?
When you begin the interview process, make sure your values are clearly defined to the candidate and create a set of interview questions that can assess culture fit. About 46% of newly hired employees will fail within the first 18 months—set them up for success before they even come on board.
Look for candidates who have done their research and are self-aware about their strengths and weaknesses. If you’ve clearly defined your company culture before and during the interview and the candidate feels like they align with your values, they’ll feel a part of the team from day one.
3. Empower team members to help define the culture.
The actualization of your company culture trickles down, while the core of it seeps upwards. What that means is that everyone from the top down, from the leader of the company to each manager and employee, should be an example of the company values. Managers of each team should be empowered to inspire those values within their own teams, and empower their individual team members to make changes and help shape the culture.
But it’s really every member of the team that helps to define the culture. And that should be recognized and valued by the leaders of each team.
Preserving company culture is not about dictating what everyone’s values should be, but encouraging a growth mindset and recognizing the achievements of your employees. When employees feel empowered and valued, turnover is lower, and they become advocates not only of your products and services, but of your company overall.
4. Get feedback from your team.
Fostering a healthy company culture, especially as you grow, means being open to adapting. You may keep the traditions that made your company fun when it was smaller, but keep an open mind to changing based on feedback from your team. If you’re not in the day-to-day of company operations, you may need to rely on feedback about what the most important aspects of your culture are.
Additionally, if you feel like an employee isn’t behaving in a way that aligns with company values, make sure to communicate that to the employee in a constructive manner. Something may be going on with them that’s affecting others in the organization, and while you don’t need to foster a personal relationship with each employee, the ability to connect with them is an important part of being a leader.
How much of your company culture you preserve as you scale depends on how much you care about it. Preserve your company culture as you scale by being an example of your company values, hiring to fit company culture, and adapting as the company grows while maintaining the core of who your business is.
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