Don't Kill Your Culture!

Don’t Kill Your Culture!Tips for keeping your small business office culture awesome as you grow

For many employees, part of the appeal of working for a small business is the unconventional environment.

But sometimes the dynamic and chaotic nature of a brand-new business begins to shift as companies scale.

Growth brings benefits...

Growth brings benefits...

… but it’s critical that founders pay attention to office culture during growth phases.

Growth brings benefits...

… but it’s critical that founders pay attention to office culture during growth phases.

WHY?

Because research shows that over the long run, culture dramatically impacts your company’s bottom line.

We asked small business founders, CEOs and researchers to give us their best advice on what small and medium businesses can do to keep up the energy as they grow.

We asked small business founders, CEOs and researchers to give us their best advice on what small and medium businesses can do to keep up the energy as they grow.

Define your culture

By the way, we’re defining culture as “the norms of behavior and shared values of a group.”

By the way, we’re defining culture as “the norms of behavior and shared values of a group.”

FYI: That definition came from Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter.

Know who you want to beTip #1

Culture happens in an office setting whether you’re paying attention to it or not.

That’s why leaders need to be aware of its existence — and to set their course deliberately.

— Chris Cancialosi, partner and founder at gothamCulture.

“It’s all about taking the time and creating the space, early on, to define who you are (or who you want to be) as an organization.”

Walk the walk

It’s not enough to talk about office culture —

It’s not enough to talk about office culture — employees need to see it demonstrated.

Allow employees to risk — and fail

Tip #2

Is your company a place where it’s okay to experiment and fail?

In companies where failures are punished, employees will spend an incredible amount of energy blaming others or hiding their own errors.

That wastes time.

In companies where failures are punished, employees will spend an incredible amount of energy blaming others or hiding their own errors.

— Ian Ziskin, president of the EXec EXcel Group

“Hire people with a high ability to deal with ambiguity and to learn from things that they tried that both go well, and don’t go well.”

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Engage your people

You know what kind of culture you want, and made sure it’s being talked about and demonstrated by leadership.

You know what kind of culture you want, and made sure it’s being talked about and demonstrated by leadership.

Now it’s time to get everyone on board.

Look for culture over skillTip #3

It’s easier to hire people who naturally share the values of your company than to train professionals to adopt values.

Remember though: That doesn’t mean you don’t want diversity of opinions and perspectives at work.

— Curtis Blair, founder of Froghair

“Hiring for culture over skill helps to buttress the mission of the company,”

Balance play and structure

As you grow, hang on to the best of what small businesses do well,

As you grow, hang on to the best of what small businesses do well,but don’t be afraid to adopt the best practices of more mature organizations.

Consider succession planning

Tip #4

A downside of being a small organization is that there may not be much room for employee growth

To stay ahead of this problem and retain top talent, smaller companies need to be thoughtful about succession planning as they scale up.

— Alec Levenson, economist and co-author of What Millennials Want from Work: How to Maximize Engagement in Today’s Workforce

“It’s much better to be open and clear about it. You may want her to be there another five years, but if that’s going to be stifling and you have nothing for her in her career, take the mature, adult way of approaching the transition.”

Want more tips?

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