What Happens to Culture During a Restructure – and What You Can Do About It
HR Change Insights Series
When organisations embark on a restructure, whether driven by cost‑pressure, growth ambition or strategic re‑focus, it is often the visible elements that receive most attention: new structure charts, redefined roles, communication plans.
What receives far less spotlight is the deeper layer of culture: how people perceive what has changed, how they behave together, what norms alter or persist.
But culture is one of the most important determinants of whether a restructure succeeds or fails. As the Harvard Business Review recently argued, “a firm’s culture is strongly related to the way it handles change”.
In this article I will unpack:
- The typical cultural dynamics triggered by restructure
- Why they matter for execution and reputation (especially for consultancies and HR‑lead clients)
- Practical steps you can take to anticipate, manage and preserve culture in a change event.
The Cultural Impact of Restructure: What Typically Happens
Ambiguity and Anxiety
When roles are redefined, reporting lines shift, and change is announced, ambiguity often rises. Employees may ask: “What do I now do? What is expected of me? Am I safe?”
Such ambiguity can lead to anxiety, which in turn affects behaviour: decision‑avoidance, reluctance to go beyond the defined boundaries of the role, lower trust in leadership.
Culture of ‘the old way’ retains strength
In many restructures, the formal structure may change, but informal culture holds strong as do the old ways of working.
Existing loyalties continue even where reporting lines have changed, and an attitude of “but this is how we’ve always done it” persists.
Emergence of sub‑cultures and ‘winners’ vs ‘losers’ narratives
Restructure often creates new distinctions: those whose roles are expanded vs those whose roles are reduced; those aligned with the new strategy vs those in legacy functions.
This can quickly lead to an “us and them” culture with divisions undermining internal trust, slowing collaboration, and reducing the efficacy of the change process.
Drift in culture towards what is managed rather than what is lived
When change becomes the headline, organisations often revert to telling people what the culture is rather than demonstrating the culture through day-to-day actions.
Many organisations try to pre-empt potential impact on culture by issuing new culture initiatives and updating values statements.
Often, these become the subject of ridicule if they are not a true reflection on what’s happening in the organisation. Culture is not about a statement, it’s the reality of employee’s day-to-day experience.
Why Culture Matters (Especially in Restructures)
Culture matters in restructures as it can have significant influence success or failure of the change.
- Execution risk increases: When culture and formal structure are misaligned, implementation slows.
- Employee engagement and retention are affected: Cultural disruption often leads to flight or disengagement.
- Long‑term value creation depends on culture: Culture is a lasting asset that supports sustainable success.
What You Can Do: A Practical Framework to Protect Culture
Phase 1: Pre‑Restructure – Diagnosis & Culture Buffering
- Culture Diagnostic: Map current cultural attributes using frameworks such as the Cultural Web (Johnson & Scholes).
- Stakeholder Conversations: Engage key influencers to understand what might resist change.
- Pre‑empt the ‘winners/losers’ narrative through clear, transparent communication.
Phase 2: During Restructure – Reinforce & Monitor
- Visible Role‑Modelling: Leaders must demonstrate desired behaviours explicitly.
- Monitoring Mechanism: Use pulse surveys and feedback to track culture drift.
- Surface Cultural Mismatches Promptly.
Phase 3: Post‑Restructure – Sustain & Embed
- Embed Rituals & Stories: Culture lives in stories. Celebrate small wins.
- Align Performance & Reward Systems.
- Continuous Culture Check‑in: Set quarterly cadence for reassessment.
- Leadership Development for New Norms.
Keep Culture Steady Through Change
Our consultants help HR leaders maintain alignment, trust, and engagement during restructure, supporting culture as rigorously as compliance and delivery.
