Jun 27 / Staff

Aligning Culture in a Rapidly Scaling Media-Tech Division

Conducting a deep cultural assessment to guide strategic leadership at the intersection of media and technology.

Client Context

As the streaming industry experienced explosive growth, a prominent media company found itself operating at the intersection of traditional entertainment and fast-paced technology. Its Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) division, home to a flagship streaming platform, had scaled rapidly in response to market demand. The team behind this platform blended the creative energy of media production with the operational intensity of a tech firm—a hybrid that held immense promise but also surfaced new cultural challenges.

With increasing employee feedback around high stress, blurred boundaries, and a lack of clarity, the division’s leadership recognized a need to step back and assess: what kind of culture had evolved, and was it the right one for long-term success?

The Challenge

The division’s rapid expansion had produced misalignments between espoused values and lived experience. While innovation and agility were celebrated, employees were also reporting burnout, unclear expectations, and inequities in how success was defined and rewarded.

The executive team wanted to answer several pressing questions:
  • What beliefs and behaviors are shaping employee experience and which of them are enabling or undermining performance?
  • How do we build a culture that supports well-being while sustaining high expectations?
  • What changes are needed to retain talent and position the division for strategic growth?

This wasn’t just about morale. It was about sustaining a competitive edge in one of the most dynamic industries of the decade.

The Symphonic Approach

Symphonic Strategies was retained to conduct a multi-method culture assessment across the NBC Direct-to-Consumer division. We designed a process that emphasized rich storytelling, structured listening, and systems-level synthesis.

Our work unfolded in four key phases:
1. Planning and Engagement Framing
We launched the initiative with leadership alignment sessions to clarify scope, target job functions, and desired outcomes. Our goal was to ensure the assessment would produce both insight and strategic leverage.

2. Qualitative Research: Interviews and Listening Sessions
Over the course of several weeks, our team conducted five one-on-one interviews and facilitated ten employee listening sessions in both New York and Los Angeles, as well as virtually. These sessions included a range of roles and functions, allowing us to surface common beliefs and behavioral norms across the division.

3. Synthesis and Pattern Recognition
We analyzed data across all touchpoints to identify key themes, tensions, and organizational “truths.” The emerging story pointed to a culture that was fast-moving and high-performing, but also one where communication gaps, role ambiguity, and sustained pressure were taking a toll.

4. Strategic Recommendations and Executive Briefing
Our final deliverable included a strategic assessment report that detailed critical cultural patterns and offered actionable recommendations. These spanned from internal communication improvements to systems that better support work-life balance and equity in recognition.

The Impact

The engagement provided a mirror to the organization—one that reflected both its strengths and the pressures threatening to erode them. Specific outcomes included:

Increased Cultural Awareness Among Leadership
Leaders gained a nuanced understanding of how organizational practices were shaping (and at times misaligning with) employee expectations, especially regarding clarity, well-being, and inclusion.

Concrete Behavioral Profiles
The team emerged with a more accurate view of what success actually looked like across roles—not just what was written in policy. This allowed for more effective talent alignment and performance development.

Informed Decision-Making
The insights began to influence initiatives in communication strategy, people analytics, and leadership development. Conversations around equity, stress management, and inclusive culture were elevated from employee forums to executive action planning.

Early Signs of Cultural Shift
Post-engagement, internal teams reported greater openness around workload expectations, as well as clearer alignment between leadership messaging and team-level practices.

Reflections

This case affirmed the power of culture as a strategic lever in high-growth environments. By understanding not just what was happening, but why, the DTC division took critical steps toward aligning its culture with both operational demands and employee experience.

The client continues to integrate findings from the culture assessment into broader organizational change efforts, including leadership training, performance systems, and engagement planning.

Feedback

“This work gave us the language—and the insight—to talk honestly about culture. We now have a clearer path forward.”
— Senior HR Leader, Media-Tech Division (anonymous)