It’s Camberwell – but not as I know it. After 10 months away I’m back but the Camberwell I knew is gone. A new office, a staff team that has doubled in size and new branding have changed it beyond recognition.
These changes run deep; new systems, sites and structures that a large company needs. The change that is most noticeable to me though is to the culture and atmosphere. A more formal atmosphere has superceded the breezy informality. The communal lunches have been replaced by furrowed brows behind laptops.
The explanation for this seems obvious; an expanding business means less cohesion and less time for interaction. The key questions are 1) Why does this matter and 2) What can be done about it?
Organisational culture is intangible but vital. When people care about and are emotionally invested in their work they produce better results. This is especially so when work loads are high and stressful. The best workplaces are families that support each other when things are tough. Camberwell is certainly not a bad company to work for, far from it, but it has lost some of its uniqueness. The problem all growing firms face is that the bigger they are the harder it is to generate this organisational culture.
In the next few posts I’ll explore my ideas on how this can be achieved. It is certainly not easy or straightforward so feel free to pitch in with your take.
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