What Estates Team Culture Really Means

Over the Christmas break I was chatting to an architect who works on new school builds. We got onto a project he’d been involved in where things hadn’t quite gone to plan.

Nothing dramatic — but it led to an interesting point.

Once a school is finished and opened, the people who designed and built it are rarely thought about again. If everything works properly, that’s exactly how it should be. The building just becomes the school. It’s only when something goes wrong that anyone starts asking questions.

And when you think about it, the same thing happens with estates teams.

When things are working as they should, nobody really notices. Heating comes on, doors work, the site feels safe. There isn’t much noise — and in many cases, that’s a sign things are being looked after properly.

Of course, context matters. A 100-year-old building will always throw up more issues than a new one. But within the same context, patterns still tell you something.

Which got me thinking about what really underpins a good estates team.

For me, a big part of it is culture.

Estates team culture is the mindset that shapes how a department treats its site — whether it feels like “our place to look after” or just “somewhere we work.”

From speaking with site teams over the years, the strongest ones tend to see the buildings they look after almost as their own. When people feel that ownership, they care more, notice things earlier, and are more proactive.

Where that sense of ownership isn’t there, things often only get dealt with when they break.

So how does culture actually change?

Not through big announcements or new policies. And definitely not overnight.

Culture shifts when people see the same priorities backed up, consistently. When leadership is aligned. When it feels safe to raise small issues early, rather than waiting for them to become big ones.

If morale is low, it often helps to start with a simple win — a proper thank-you, fixing an everyday frustration, or just giving the team a chance to reset after a busy term.

And every team has people who push back. Often they’ve been around a long time and care more than it looks like. Involving them, recognising their experience, and giving them a stake in shaping the direction can work better than trying to force change.

The main thing to remember is that culture is a long game. It’s built through consistency, trust, and what quietly becomes “normal” over time.

When it works, most people won’t notice.

But that usually means something important is being done well.

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