How entrepreneurs retain their culture and lean in with talent

"For Branch, it’s been really important to find organic and repeated touchpoints for our employees to understand and celebrate our culture. Our leaders put in a lot of work so each individual understands why we’re here, why they’re the right fit and which values we try to collectively put in action to achieve our goals. It begins during onboarding at new-hire orientations and continues regularly through weekly all-hands meetings, where we reinforce what we’re working towards and share real examples of how team members not only collaborate together to embody our values but also accomplish our objectives together.

We also have our Roots Awards, a quarterly peer-nominated awards program where team members celebrate one another for exemplifying our culture. Our team members know that our culture adapts as the company continues to expand, and we assess our culture yearly to align with company and employee needs."

"Preserving company culture is critical, especially with five generations in the workforce. One key to how we preserve our culture is through engagement. In my experience, if people don't feel like part of a community at work, they are less likely to perform well or to stay with the company for long. When new team members join our company, we are intentional about creating authentic connections with them.

As our firm has grown, we continue to share our origin story. We emphasize the importance of legacy, and we highlight how new team members are now part of that story and that legacy. In addition to referencing the past when we talk about company culture, we integrate our core values into our interview process, performance reviews, leadership meetings and employee recognition. We also consistently demonstrate our core values to our clients and stakeholders, which reinforces that our values are lived, not just words on a poster."

"Every month, our Chief Revenue Officer and the General Managers from each business unit meet with our Chief Financial Officer, our Financial Planning and Analysis team, and the HR hiring teams. The purpose of these touchpoints is to review hiring budgets and discuss the future roles that will be essential for our company's growth. By collaborating in these sessions, we ensure our hiring plans align with the needs of our clients.

At the end of each meeting, we walk away with an approved hiring plan and budget that outlines the specific roles we are looking to fill in the future. This plan serves as a roadmap for our talent acquisition efforts, enabling us to attract the right people to support our expanding business and meet the demands of our valued clients."