Building a Healthy Firm Culture

Based on what I saw and heard at our most recent firm retreat, I would dare say that most people who work here at Talbot & Associates CPA would tell you that we have a very healthy, happy firm culture. So much, that people from the outside will notice it too. And those who do notice ask me the secret to building such a firm culture. This is a question I struggle with as I often think and feel that it “just happened”. I question to what degree I played an important role in building a firm culture where everyone was so excited to be here (most days).

Here are a few things I think I did right that helped nurture this fun environment:

Hiring the right people

I don’t believe it’s possible to have a great work environment and culture without the right team. Team players who are hungry for knowledge, who care about the firm, the clients and most importantly, care for each other and me as their leader. Rather than hiring based on what they know and are capable of doing, hire people based on their heart. It’s much easier to teach someone how to do a bank reconciliation than to teach them how to really care about the firm and others.

A safe environment to fail

I did a pretty good job providing a space to allow everyone to fail safely.  Never, (that I can recall) have I reprimanded team members for making a mistake. I’ve done more than my fair share of mistakes, and I was quite tolerant of others making mistakes too. Failing is an opportunity to learn.

Delegate and trust

From day 1 of being hired, I would delegate responsibilities to new employees and trusted them to do it right. Did they always get it right? No, of course not. But, the trust I gave them allowed them to build trust in themselves and motivated them to try harder to not let the rest of the team and me down. I was recently told by a team member here that something they appreciated was that I always treated them like adults – trust them with responsibilities, managing their time, and providing full access to the building. Of course, we also had a trustworthy system in place that would highlight any misuse or abuse.

Encouraging a fun environment

I was always big on having fun at the office. Too much fun, my wife often complained. But a quick game of cops and robbers in the middle of the day was always a great stress reliever. It’s amazing how much fun a $5 nerf gun can be in an office. But I suspect it drove the cleaning ladies nuts.

Get rid of the poison

Learn to identify the cancers in your office and remove them swiftly. It’s unbelievable how quickly one unhappy person can turn an entire otherwise happy office into a group of grumblers who are no longer happy to be here. Regardless of how productive they are, these people are never worth keeping regardless of how productive they are. Cut them out quickly as you would a cancer because like cancer, such a person can and will infect your entire team.

I’m sure there’s more to it than what I’ve stated here. But if you can do the above well, I think you’re off to the races.