For many start-ups and small UK businesses, their culture is one of their strongest assets, giving them an inimitable competitive advantage that can drive tangible results and boost productivity. Healthy cultures often exhibit shared purpose, drive, innovation, genuine relationships, loyalty, adaptability and resilience. However, as companies grow, change direction or face prolonged pressures, their culture can shift and be susceptible to atrophy.
What is Culture Atrophy?
This is the gradual decline and weakening of an organisation’s shared values, skills and distinctiveness that once defined it. Rather than happening suddenly, the process is gradual and occurs as a slow erosion or subtle manifestation, where:
- rituals and relationships that once bonded a group begin to dissipate;
- once-clear values become slogans rather than lived practices;
- decision-making feels more opaque and disconnected;
- collective ability to perform effectively or innovate decreases;
- transactional interactions weaken team bonds;
- adapting to new challenges or changing environments is met with increased resistance;
- morale and initiative quietly decline;
- discretionary effort reduces;
- advocacy is replaced by apathy;
- contribution is replaced by compliance;
- misunderstandings and conflicts increase.
Some academic studies suggest this is part of a natural and inevitable process that occurs, particularly after a long period of success, where bureaucratisation adds systems and layers of management to service the needs of a growing business.
Although some aspects can be considered the price of progress and business growth, left unmanaged, culture atrophy, sometimes referred to as culture ‘rot’, should not be ignored as it can affect staff retention, customer experience and even business performance.
In a recent study carried out by global talent solutions business, Robert Walters, 54% of UK professionals identified ‘culture rot’ as a significant problem in their workplace, described by the authors as a ‘silent threat’ caused by disengagement, broken communication loops and declining incentives. The same report also revealed that 81% of employers agreed that company-wide cost cutting measures have significantly weakened their overall work culture.
How can Cultural Maintenance Help?
Conscious cultural maintenance is a recognised concept that refers to the deliberate and ongoing efforts that can be made to nurture a culture or reverse the negative effects of culture atrophy. It recognises that thriving cultures are ones that adapt to new realities, challenges and environments, whilst preserving core values and foundational strengths. Key aspects include:
Reconnection to core values
Strong organisational culture is deeply rooted in a clear purpose and a sense of belonging among employees. A business should revisit what it stands for, why it exists and how it expects its people to behave. The values need to be visible and used in daily decisions, as well as onboarding and performance management, for them to have relevance, meaning and authenticity.
Strengthening leadership consistency
Direction has to come from the top and be aligned to core values. Leaders and managers need to champion their culture, communicate regularly and make clear links between what is done, why it is done and how it is done within the company.
Using reliable communication routines
Keeping larger teams connected is challenging, but it is helped significantly where there is an agreed mix of different communication and delivery methods that use a variety of well-thought out mechanisms, channels and platforms.
Including employees in the process
Culture is not just created by those in charge, it is co-created by everyone involved, so communication has to be multi-directional, eg using pulse surveys, working groups, and feedback sessions to understand what people feel has been lost and what they want to help rebuild or create.
Investing in development
The pace of change is unlikely to slow, but companies need to bring their people with them and make sure that investment is made into relevant training, coaching, mentoring and development for current and future skill requirements. Fostering a culture that includes continuous learning helps keep an organisation adaptable and resilient.
Celebrating successes
Small visible steps help build trust, so top level commitment and action has to be demonstrated quickly. Highlighting behaviours that reflect company values in action, can help illustrate the change.
Continuing the process
As companies grow or change, leadership must pro-actively monitor business culture as part of its oversall business strategy, and be prepared to adapt approaches to maintain core aspects, whilst innovating and progressing.
In Conclusion
Culture is not self-sustaining, but needs to be intentionally worked. It has been likened to a muscle that needs to be consistently exercised and strengthened to remain vital. Culture Atrophy is not inevitable, but rather a risk that can be actively managed. Therefore, by treating cultures as dynamic, living ecosystems that require regular work and attention, businesses can build bridges between the past and the future, helping to keep themselves relevant, adaptable and resilient, to take on the challenges of an ever-changing, volatile and unpredictable world.