How to Preserve Culture During Rapid Growth

BY ERIC GIESECKE

Picture this: Your startup has hit its stride, doubling in size every year. But something feels different. The energy and shared purpose that got you here is starting to fade. Success is a double-edged sword.

While accelerated company expansion often leads to bigger deals and a healthier bottom line, it can also put a strain on the very foundation that fueled that growth—particularly the company’s culture. Many entrepreneurs and leaders find that as their business scales, the ethos that was once the backbone of their company wanes over time.

What starts as an exciting period of expansion can quickly transform into a juggling act. As more people come onboard and meetings fill every calendar, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain clear communication and ensure that new employees are taught—and continue to carry—the company’s original core values. As your company accelerates, so does the pace of business, which can lead to an environment where immediate tasks and towering to-do lists are prioritized over water cooler chats, happy hours, and team-building.

I’ve seen this happen firsthand throughout my professional career, and now, as a CEO, I am working hard to preserve my company’s culture even as we acquire new businesses and add to our operations.

Why is this so important? It’s reported that the average adult living in the United States spends one-third of their lives at work. That’s 90,000 hours. To make the days matter, it’s crucial to cultivate positive relationships and a sense of community in the workplace. Here’s how we’ve done it, and how you can too.

Focus on what got you here

Workplace dynamics are often seen as something that develops organically in small groups, but it requires even more care and attention during periods of expansion. But let’s not sugarcoat it: Making time for activities and moments that strengthen ties isn’t easy, especially when you are scaling the business faster than ever before. Without a clear commitment to culture as your company takes big leaps, team members can end up feeling disconnected, disengaged, and at worst, completely burnt out.

That’s why one of my top tips is to intentionally carve out time to formally honor the people who have been instrumental in building the foundation of the business. While shout outs in meetings or dropping them a line to show gratitude for their work on a regular basis is important, you can go a step beyond by creating a tradition to recognize valuable employees. An effective approach is to create a standardized program where you set aside time at least once or twice a year to recognize long-term associates for their loyalty and contributions.

For example, we developed the Pioneers Program to celebrate staff who have been with the company for over 15 years and have stuck around throughout the journey. We also begin every monthly all-hands meeting by recognizing our dedicated employees of the month with a Plant the Flag Award.

A select group of team members are then chosen to attend an all-expenses-paid annual President’s Club trip to destinations such as Hawaii and St. Lucia. Whether it’s through big or small gestures, initiatives like this remind your team you genuinely care and see the many ways they contribute to overall success.

The power of autonomy and letting go

As the company expands, you’ll inevitably face new challenges, from onboarding more colleagues in a consistent manner to navigating operational complexity. This is where taking time to think about your values becomes important. Some of our values like collaboration, accountability, authenticity, empathy, and trustworthiness guide our company through periods of change, but I feel the most important value to reinforce is autonomy.

When you empower staff to make impactful decisions without bureaucratic obstacles, especially the people on the frontlines who work directly with your products and clients, that is when you can really drive action and success.

When things are changing so quickly, it can be hard to get out of the weeds and really step back to just let your employees work. But when you let go and remind yourself that they are experts in their own right, this gives them more freedom. I’ve found it can even kindle an entrepreneurial spirit, and can spur tons of new ideas and better ways of working.

How to seek more feedback

So, how do you reinforce your company values or assess that they even exist? Whenever I am assessing our status, I always ask myself: Are our company’s values clear and actionable? Are they being communicated effectively across all levels? Are employees enjoying a consistent experience across departments?

It may sound simple, but scheduling regular 30-minute check-ins with leadership just once a quarter to specifically discuss how teams are working and interacting, without discussing regular business such as customer challenges, are one way you can check on departments beyond their metrics.

And of course, it’s one thing to ask at the company offsite, “Tell us what’s working and what isn’t,” but once a year really isn’t enough. Creating a monthly schedule where you ask company-wide questions to actively seek and encourage open feedback will make colleagues feel more comfortable about speaking up. It can also give you a pulse check on how everyone is doing in their day-to-day roles. This is something that can be easily automated so you can schedule questions all at once for a few months at a time.

Photo credit: Getty Images.