166. Small Town Business: When the Boss Is the Culture with Simone Pickering and Prina Shah
In this episode, I’m joined again by Simone Pickering, HR consultant and founder of The People & Culture Office, to unpack a reality many small town businesses don’t want to admit:
Sometimes the culture is the business owner.
And in regional and small town settings, that impact is even stronger.
We explore what happens when leadership style, personality, and long-standing habits define the entire workplace culture — and why this often leads to stagnation, turnover, and growth ceilings.
This is a conversation about self-awareness, hard truths, and what it really takes to shift culture when it’s deeply personal.
In This Episode, We Discuss
- Why culture in small towns is often shaped by one dominant leader
- What happens when businesses don’t evolve beyond the founder
- The connection between leadership personality and employee experience
- Why employees leave (and it’s not always about money)
- The defensiveness that blocks culture change
- Why compliance and policies don’t fix retention
- The myth of perks (bonuses, trips) as engagement strategies
- The gap between leadership perception vs employee reality
- Why many small businesses stall at 10–15 employees
- Why culture only becomes a priority when business conditions change
About the Guest: Simone Pickering - Founder, The People & Culture Office
Simone is a Kalgoorlie-based HR consultant working with businesses across regional WA. She helps leaders build practical, human-centred cultures that support retention, performance, and long-term success.
🔗 Website: https://thepeopleandcultureoffice.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/simone-pickering-mahri-a03954134
Send Prina a text to let her know how you'd change the workplace
If you are seeking professional advice or would like to change your company culture through training, consulting, speaking and coaching, get in touch, email me.
Say hi!
- Sign up to my monthylish practical newsletter
- Get in touch with me, Prina
- Check out my website - do a professional stalk...
- Follow me on LinkedIn
- Find out what I am up to on Instagram
- Grab a copy of Make Work Meaningful and start creating your own legacy at work and leave me a review.
- Subscribe to the Ways to Change the Workplace Podcast for more actionable insights.
Prina (Helping you find GREAT ways to change your workplace) Shah
