Your firm’s culture

Culture is not just a word for your team’s happiness, or whether you have a ‘cool’ office with a ping pong table and beer-stocked fridge.

Your culture considers why your firm exists—the sum of your shared values, beliefs, objectives, and priorities. The things that guide every aspect of your firm’s activities, team behavior, and executive decision-making.

Defining your culture is a critical component of your talent management plan. Not only will it align your team on these core values, but it will be a critical tool in your recruiting decision process because cultural fit must be a consideration with every new hire.

With every new employee you hire, your firm’s culture evolves slightly, so it needs to be revisited as you grow. To assist with this, take the time to define and capture your culture on paper.

Your employer value proposition

Your employer value proposition (EVP) encompasses the offerings and benefits you provide to your employees. It helps to define your brand, differentiates your workplace from other firms, and increases your ability to attract and retain the team you want.

To define your own EVP, consider your employer brand, culture, and what your ideal members of staff are looking for in their employer. For each of the following employer/employee success drivers, think about what your current staff love most about working with your firm, and what you currently offer that is attractive to potential employees.

• Value alignment

• Flexibility

• Including all staff in the ‘big picture’

• Values of management

• Regular performance and feedback

• Career planning and growth opportunities

• Remuneration

Secondly, identify any changes you can make or new activities you can implement that will appeal to your employees.

The best relationships are those that enable mutually beneficial outcomes. Documenting, reinforcing and refining your EVP will help you achieve this.

All of this will take time—in fact, it should not ever stop—but the impact of your efforts will be felt almost immediately. When you are a destination workplace, every other aspect of talent management—inlcuding recruiting, retention and even training—becomes easier.

This article is an excerpt from The Talent Playbook. You can download the complete playbook for free here, which includes worksheets and activities to help you recruit, train & retain a world-class team in your accounting firm.