INTHEBLACK June 2025 - Magazine - Page 51
Microcultures
As workplaces become more diverse and agile, is a monolithic view
of culture still fit for purpose? Or is there a place for complementary
microcultures that can bring a company’s values to life?
Words Nicola Heath
THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF CORPORATE
culture as a single, monolithic construct
is giving way to a new understanding
of culture — one that acknowledges differences
across teams, functions, locations and roles.
“Microcultures”, which in the workplace are
the teams in a wider company, are created
when employees connect over shared identities,
challenges, interests or hobbies.
While advocates argue that these
microcultures present an opportunity
to organisations, many leaders are unsure
how to make the most of them.
In Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital
Trends report, 71 per cent of respondents
acknowledged that the best way to cultivate
culture is to focus on individual teams.
While half the executives surveyed felt the
strongest cultures possessed a degree of
variation, many felt managing these distinctions
was a difficult challenge.
When culture fails, it can result in problems
such as high staff turnover, low engagement
and decreased productivity. Fostering
microcultures offers a new way of doing
things. Many organisations have discovered
that, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all
approach, acknowledging difference can
improve employee experience and lead
to greater productivity.
Nurturing individual team strengths,
rather than ironing out differences through
standardisation, promotes agility,
adaptability and innovation — among the
most desirable qualities for organisations.
And the concept of microculture better
reflects today’s diverse workforce.
According to the Deloitte report,
“rather than requiring sameness for
all by applying a single set of norms
to everyone, microcultures don’t confuse
fairness with sameness. By helping to
ensure equity rather than equality
(or sameness), microcultures can
celebrate and capitalise on individual
and team differences.”
It’s a trend driven by factors including
hybrid and remote work, workplace
diversity, advancing technology and a
concept known as “human sustainability”,
which prioritises employee needs, concerns
and their career development.
According to Deloitte, the benefits
of fostering a network of microcultures
include “better collaboration, stronger
business and human outcomes, and
increased agility — all key contributors
to an organisation’s long-term success”.
So, how can organisations leverage
microcultures to improve company culture?
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 51
