Two sides of the same coin: A great client experience depends on a great workplace culture
Engaged, healthy and happy employees lead to positive client experiences. That’s the overarching philosophy at Grant Thornton LLP, a leading Canadian accounting and advisory firm that provides audit, tax and advisory services to private and public organizations. Together with the Quebec firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, the organization employs more than 3,400 people in over 100 offices across the country and has annual revenues of more than $450 million. Creating a great workplace culture starts at the top. Grant Thornton’s executive partner and CEO, Phil Noble, has been with the company for 28 years. He says: "We view the people experience and the client experience as two sides of the same coin. The experience our clients have is directly attributable to the experience that our people have with the firm and our commitment is to ensure that both are exceptional." A Strategic role for Human ResourcesThe human resources (HR) function also plays a critical and strategic role in creating a great workplace culture. Sharon Healy, National Managing Director, People and Culture, is part of the senior management team. Her advice to her HR peers in other organizations is that they should use the language of business to build the case for strategic investments in human resources. When Healy was hired five years ago, she travelled across the country for six months meeting with the employees and partners from St. John’s to Victoria. She described the positive, supportive culture at Grant Thornton as a "secret weapon in the war for talent." The firm has centralized the HR role but there are also regional HR managers, who help each office respond to local needs. It dubs this philosophy ‘nationally aligned and locally relevant’. "The markets across Canada in which we operate are sometimes quite different," notes Healy. "We work hard to understand and respond to the realities of each market – both externally from a competitive approach and internally from an employee engagement perspective. As an entrepreneurial firm serving entrepreneurial clients, we believe we should lead by example." Thriving in Challenging TimesLike most businesses, Grant Thornton was particularly challenging by the 2008/09 recession. It realized it needed to engage people differently, so it launched an initiative called "Thriving in Challenging Times." The goal was to instil confidence in employees that the firm could indeed thrive – with employees’ help – despite the tougher economy. One element of the strategy was to encourage employees to promote the firm wherever they could in order to attract more clients. Employees were encouraged to manage costs very carefully. In return, Grant Thornton offered flexible work programs that were attractive to some employees who had never taken an extended leave. The "Summer Sojourn"; "Weekend Getaway" and "Moderate the Workweek" programs were very well received and allowed people to take unpaid leave to pursue their personal interests. The company also introduced a "Talent Match" program managed by HR leaders in a hands-on fashion. "We tried to make sure everyone had work so we could avoid layoffs," says Healy. "We met weekly to find out where there was extra capacity and where we had extra workloads." Only if that failed would the firm hire new employees. Grant Thornton employees responded and the firm’s financial results have improved every year since then. A Culture of HelpingHealy noted "Everyone at Grant Thornton is encouraged to make a difference for their clients, their colleagues and the communities across Canada in which we work and live as part of the Grant Thornton experience. It helps people feel their work is more than just a job, and inspires them to want to do their best." As a tangible way to understand what this feels like, in 2010 the firm formed internal teams to build bicycles for underprivileged children. "An important part of the success of this initiative was that we actually knew the names and had pictures of the children who would receive the bikes. This proved to be a great way to experience personally what it feels like to make a difference, a feeling that can extend to other parts of our lives including the way we treat our customers and clients", said Healy. The firm’s offices across the country nominate their own "Difference Makers" for the positive contributions they make in the workplace and for their clients. Last year, there were 135 nominations. The 16 winners were invited to attend a dinner in Toronto in April. By combining solid traditions and creative new approaches, those leadership ideas are alive and making a difference at Grant Thornton.  Members of a team of Grant Thornton employees building bicycles for underprivileged children The Bottom Line
Creating a great workplace is not an HR initiative; it’s a business imperative. In spite of the highly competitive and challenging economy, Grant Thornton has experienced consistent improvement in financial results over the past five years. We believe that being recognized both internally and externally as a great workplace helped us accomplish these results. The survey helps us identify areas for improvement, and also to recognise and celebrate our strengths and successes through our ‘Best of the Best’ awards. In fact, we see a direct correlation between revenue and profit growth and how individual offices score on the Great Place to Work Survey.  |
Phil Noble is CEO of Grant ThorntonLLP