OUR CULTURE STORY | AUTUMN 2019 16
THE VALUE OF VALUES CHAPTER EIGHT
WENDYWALTON Global Head of Private Client Services, concert-goer and wannabe runner I remember being part of the group who came up with our Values 18 years ago. To have had those Values truly embedded in our business for so long says a lot about our special culture. As our firm grows, we want to preserve and build on the strengths of our Unifying Culture and the characteristics that make us successful, different and a great place to work. Living by our Values will help us achieve our Unifying Culture, where we can all be ourselves and be the best that we can be. Having had Values for so many years, they aren’t just etched permanently on our office doors – (although of course they are!); they are fully integrated into our career reviews, reward and recognition processes. A section of our organisational framework called ‘Achieving My Potential’ is dedicated to Values – guiding how we operate while delivering our core and technical competencies. They are used to reflect our individual performance and personal development needs, and to assess, develop and provide feedback to others. We also run facilitated feedback sessions to review each partner against our Values – which is welcomed as a transparent approach to seeking and receiving feedback. We also use our Values to guide our recruitment. We ask questions that lead us to what the individual is passionate about and what motivates them. We know our Values are important to the candidate, as well as us; it’s very difficult to work somewhere where the Values aren’t aligned with our own. Our Values are cited regularly by new joiners as to why they joined us and why they thought BDO is a great place to work.
And to win one of our Spotlight Awards, our internal recognition programme, the nominee has to show how they’ve demonstrated at least one of the Values in delivering their brilliant work. In the last 12 months, a huge 5,000 recognition awards were given to people as either an ‘instant’ award or a prestigious Quarterly Award. Our Values help direct behaviour but also identify inappropriate behaviour. Using our Values, we can work with the person to help them reflect upon and change their behaviour. However, the Values have been so solid and embedded that I’ve only had to do this a handful of times in my 30+ years at BDO. WENDYWALTON An Assurance recruitment candidate had two job offers and said there was little between them. After having a conversation with one of our directors about BDO’s Values and how we truly ‘live’ them, the candidate snapped up our offer.”
chapter eight
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online