When Culture Cracks Quietly: A Story of a 10-Year-Old MSME at a Crossroads

“We didn’t lose her to a better offer. We lost her to a better environment.”

The resignation letter wasn’t a shock. But what she said in her exit interview was.

“I just didn’t feel heard anymore.” “It’s not one big thing—it’s small things, every day.”

This was Shruti, a bright project manager who had grown with the company for 5 years. She was the kind of person you built teams around. Her leaving felt personal. Because it was.

This MSME—an engineering company with 80 employees and a strong market reputation—was built with grit, loyalty, and deep technical expertise. But somewhere along the way, something got lost.

And now it was showing:

Rising attrition
Increasing friction between departments
Leaders managing “their own teams, their own way”
And a growing silence in meetings that once sparked with energy

How Did It Get Here?

The company had started like many others—with hustle, long hours, and a close-knit founding team. Everyone knew each other’s families. Diwali potlucks, late nights at the office, birthday cakes—those were the good days.

But now, 10 years in, things looked different.

The leadership team had grown, but so had silos.
Each department had its own micro-culture.
Conflicts simmered below the surface, unresolved.
HR existed—but barely. One manager and one junior executive, constantly firefighting.

There were policies. But there was no culture.

And without psychological safety, people stopped speaking up. Mistakes got hidden. Feedback got personal. Trust started slipping. Attrition followed.

The Hidden Costs of Culture Drift

What’s happening here isn’t unique. Many MSMEs, especially in their second decade, experience the same pattern:

Culture was never clearly defined, only absorbed.
As the team grew, so did inconsistencies.
HR got stuck in admin—compliance, payroll, onboarding—but not culture.
Founders moved to strategy. But people management wasn’t handed over with clarity.

The result?

Disengaged teams

Repeat conflicts with no resolution

Exit interviews full of “I wish…”

It’s Time for a Culture Revamp!

This isn’t about ping-pong tables or annual outings. This is about real, lived behaviors that shape trust, accountability, and belonging.

Here’s what this MSME—and any organization at this stage—needs to do:

1. Rediscover the Core Values

Why: Over time, as more people join and leaders change, the original cultural DNA can fade. Values must be revisited and redefined as the company matures.

How to do it:

Organize a 2-hour workshop with key team members from all functions.
Use simple prompts like: “What behaviors do we admire here?” “What do we tolerate that we shouldn’t?” “What kind of people succeed here?”

Example Output:

Value: Be direct, be kind. What it Looks Like in Action: Feedback is shared openly in 1:1s, not behind backs

Value: Own your work. What it Looks Like in Action: If a mistake happens, it’s reported with a recovery plan

Value: We grow together. What it Looks Like in Action: Helping a colleague is part of the job, not “extra effort”

Tip: Avoid generic values like “excellence” or “innovation” unless you define them with real behaviors.

2. Translate Values into Daily Behavior

Why: Values without behaviors become meaningless. You need to convert values into expectations and habits.

How to do it:

Identify one daily action or decision point per value.
Embed these into systems: hiring, appraisals, rewards, team meetings.

Examples:

Value: “Be direct, be kind” → Behavior: Start every team meeting with 2 minutes of “open loops” — space for anyone to raise issues respectfully.

Value: “Own your work” → Behavior: If a deadline is missed, the team member updates all stakeholders within 24 hours, with a plan.

Value: “We grow together” → Behavior: Quarterly reviews include a section: “Who did you help succeed this quarter?”

Systems to Support:

Add values-based feedback questions to your performance appraisal form.
Make “value stories” a part of onboarding.

3. Empower HR to Lead, Not Just Administer

Why: One HR manager and one executive can’t drive change unless they’re empowered by leadership and equipped with systems.

How to do it:

Have leadership communicate clearly: HR is not just admin — it's a driver of culture.
Give HR the mandate to design culture interventions (not just run payroll or exit formalities).

Examples:

Instead of: HR only creating festival calendars and policies.

Do this: Ask HR to design and launch a “Culture Champions Program” — one team member from each function meets monthly to review what’s working or breaking culturally.

Give HR authority to:

Moderate inter-departmental conflict with clear escalation protocols.
Propose people practices like flexible hours, conflict resolution frameworks, structured onboarding.

Support Needed from Leadership:

Include HR in quarterly business planning.
Give them visibility into team issues (attrition, productivity dips, manager challenges).

4. Create Meaningful Culture Rituals

Why: Culture lives in rhythm, not policies. Rituals make values visible and habitual.

How to do it: Design 2–3 rituals tied directly to your values. Keep them small, easy to run, and consistent.

Examples:

Ritual: “Friday MVP”

Every Friday, team members nominate one colleague who lived a core value (e.g., “owned a tough project,” “stepped in to help”).
Winner gets recognized in company-wide mail or huddle.

Ritual: Monthly Cross-Team Mixer

Every month, randomly pair team members from different functions for a casual coffee chat.
HR gives them 2 questions to discuss: “What part of our culture makes you proud?” “What’s one thing you’d change?”

Ritual: Day 1 Storytelling

Every new hire’s first day includes a 10-minute “founder story” where one leader shares: “What we believe here and how we show it.”

From Intention to Integration

Step: Rediscover Values. Action: Ask your team what really matters. Write them down with behaviors.

Step: Translate into Behavior. Action: Bake them into how you hire, give feedback, review, and recognize.

Step: Empower HR. Action: Treat HR as a strategic function, not a service team.

Step: Ritualize Culture. Action: Use simple, consistent habits to reinforce values in daily work.