Daniel Simpson is General Manager of BSS and Griffin Psychology, a mental health provider specialising in the resources and heavy industry sector.
I caught Daniel at an interesting point in time as BSS looks to leverage culture to maintain company values as it scales and expands through its strategy plan.
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My key learning nuggets from the conversation:
Founding directors and have a strong sense of identity – who we are and why we exist – even 20+ years on
Culture is crucially linked to performance and how we see ourselves and our vision, rather than the market
Identity strongly linked to the service that is being provided; serving both individuals and the organisation
Employ all staff rather than contract – therefore not just offering income but a chance to be part of a team and knowledge base; this provides greater opportunity to influence culture
Assimilation into the culture can be a slow burn, this can be accelerated by feeling out a good cultural and value fit at the recruitment phase (something that can incentivised through ‘finders bonus’ for current employees)
Maintenance of culture is the responsibility and accountability of all; particularly as individuals can have a huge impact in a small to medium size company – this can be productive by adding new facets to the culture, but it can also be to the detriment of the culture
‘everyone with a share in the business, is in the business’ this creates a level of accountability for performance and culture alike
Culture is an agenda item for the management board and features in the strategic plan
Culture plays a key role to maintain values as a business begins to scale
Persistent measurement of management decisions against its cultural impact
Within management structure, all managers have a say in all parts of the business by encouraging respectful cross department questioning (e.g. financial and clinical)
Culture is the story that the company lives and breathes; it permeates out to employees and clients even when they’re not in contact with the company
Culture is what drives individuals and the company at large
Work has to be more than just about money – e.g. upstanding, creativity, mean something
As a service provider, it is very important to understand the culture of your client, particularly to offer a culturally appropriate solution
Personal culture creating – key behaviours are role modelling and transparency (e.g. consistent good decision rather than an over focus on one major decision)
If you are honest about when things aren’t so good, then people will believe you when you say they are; particularly as people do need to know
If you are clear about when things aren’t so good, people will pull together for the betterment of the company
Culture is more than a shiny Linkedin post, there are some harder less soft decisions that need to be made to maintain a robust culture (including having a long hard look at yourself)Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to join me on the journey into deeper understanding of Culture
Leveraging Culture to maintain company values when scaling - Daniel Simpson