Growth brings opportunity, but it also introduces complexity. As organisations scale, they inevitably face structural shifts: increased headcount, added layers of management and more formal governance. While change is essential to support expansion, it can unintentionally dilute the cultural foundations.

Without deliberate effort, culture can drift toward rigidity and bureaucracy. So how can organisations safeguard their ethos, while also growing sustainably?

Spotting the Early Signs of Cultural Drift

Cultural erosion rarely happens overnight. Instead, it emerges gradually, often signalled by subtle shifts in behaviour and sentiment. Common indicators include:

A disconnect between stated values and observed behaviours, especially among new joiners
Slower decision-making due to added approval layers
Increasingly formal internal communications
A shift from trust-based norms to compliance-driven behaviours

Unchecked, these signs can undermine engagement, client delivery and cross-functional collaboration.

What to Preserve, Evolve and Retire

Preserving culture during growth doesn’t mean clinging to the past. It requires clarity on what should remain, what must adapt and what needs to be left behind:

Preserve: Core values, project delivery, in-person collaboration and social opportunities, all of which reinforce shared identity
Evolve: Operating models, decision-making structures and governance to support scale
Retire: Informal or outdated practices that no longer serve the organisation, such as overreliance on individuals or inconsistent communication

The goal is not to abandon what worked, but to recalibrate it for the future.

How to Grow while Preserving Culture:

Deecon has grown from 17 employees to almost 60 in just over a year, and yet remained dedicated to maintaining and investing in the environment that makes us unique.

We have identified five guidance points to help your organisation sustain culture at scale:

Codify Cultural Behaviours: Define the specific behaviours and working assumptions that underpin your culture. Display these through onboarding, internal guidance and leadership modelling.
Align Governance with Cultural Intent: Design decision-making processes that reflect cultural priorities. If autonomy is valued, streamline approvals. If collaboration is key, ensure forums are inclusive and non-hierarchical.
Measure What Matters: Use regular surveys and feedback loops to track cultural indicators, such as trust, empowerment and alignment. Share results transparently and act on them visibly.
Hire for Cultural Contribution: Assess how candidates will reinforce and enrich the culture. Use behavioural interviews and cross-functional panels to gain diverse perspectives.
Protect Informal Rituals: Identify informal practices that reinforce culture such as Quarterly Socials, ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions or End of Month Meetings and preserve them where possible. Not everything needs formalising.

Culture as a Strategic Asset

At Deecon Consulting, we view culture not as a static set of values, but as our DNA, that underpins execution, strengthens client relationships and drives team performance.

Growth introduces new structures, systems and people. Without intentional design, these shifts can fragment the very culture that enabled early success. That’s why at Deecon we treat culture as a strategic priority, embedding it into governance, decision-making and recruitment.

Words by Luke Ryll

Edited by Anna Pringle