Coral DarbyThe year is beginning to wind down, and as we turn the corner to 2024, many of us are thinking about campaigns, budgets, and new partnerships. Typically, the fourth quarter is the season to evaluate existing relationships and potentially line out new ones for the coming year.
For many of us, this exercise often means sourcing an outside agency, whether a new communications firm, a marketing agency, or an accounting group. We all use service-related third-party groups and usually vet our partners based on finances and how the outside team fits into the overall operating budget.
I am here to encourage you to change your decision-making approach this year. This time, shop your partner on Company Culture as the definitive fit indicator.
As the founder of Darby Communications, a successful PR and digital marketing firm, I’ve been considering partnership options since our inception in 2008. I’ve made some solid decisions over the years and some hastily, expensive decisions—that’s business. However, one thing has come to light: securing business partners should take the same trajectory as hiring staff. The chemistry needs to be correct.
To get started, let’s reach a consensus on company culture and what it means within the workplace. I view company culture as the sum of a business’ systems, procedures, behaviors, and values. These factors create an internal and external experience associated with the organization, a vibe, if you will. The company’s employees and customers are extensions of this vibe and carry the organization’s persona in their words and actions. If the culture is healthy and robust, there’s a high probability that employees will share generously that they’re proud of where they work, and their satisfaction will be exhibited in their deliverables. Conversely, if employees feel mistreated, they may leave their positions prematurely or deliver a sub-par effort, neither of which serves anyone well.
Why is company culture imperative to your decision-making process?
The answer is quite simple: it saves you money. In a recent presentation that Darby Communications did on Building Company Culture and Retaining Talent, we discovered that employee turnover is expensive. It costs an employer up to 33% of the employee’s annual salary to fill the position. Whew, that’s a lot of money!
The same holds true for contracting a new partner. The goal is to secure a reliable group that can fulfill your needs in the short term and has the propensity for long-term residency. By being deliberate in your vetting process, you are saving yourself and your team a multitude of time and resources. The right fit equates to excellent communication, collaborative planning, flexibility, and mutually beneficial – collective growth.
The big question is, how do I gauge culture?
Intel from probing questions and interviews with various key players at the organization you are evaluating is critical. If you are serious about moving forward, insist on speaking with account management staff and the leadership team and consider these questions.
- What is your average client retention rate?
- How many employees have been with you for more than two years?
- Who will be on our account management team? If there are still unknowns, do the firm’s processes for building account management teams seem methodical and well-organized?
- If you get a defined account team ahead of the contract, interview them. Questions about their communication style and feedback loops can be invaluable to ensuring continuity and a productive workflow.
- Insist on agency references and check them!
- Review company core values and be sure they align with yours. If there is a contract involved, review it in detail. Unknowns and fine print can leave a bad taste in your mouth if they are not closely reviewed at the onset of the partnership.
Why does this all matter?
- A happy team means they are eager to take exceptional care of your account!
- Less employee turnover will result in less transition on your account.
- Committed employees become the best mentors and want to expand their knowledge with co-workers. As they advance from your account management team, they’re likely to train your next captain. An information transfer is often better than a complete refresh.
- Satisfied employees strive for more; this equates to new ideas, stronger creativity, and a quest to reach goals.
Of course, the numbers need to work, and most budgets have boundaries. If the costs seem out of your range, please don’t give up and move on. Communicate that the relationship feels right and that you are dedicated to finding a mutually beneficial path together. Maybe that means starting with a modest campaign or project and limiting the scope of work. If chemistry is there, the partnership will grow.
Fit and relationship are two-way streets, and both parties will want to find a way to make it work. This conversation is worth the effort. If not, you might be back in the same spot next fall, shopping again for the right partner, which sounds unbelievably frustrating.
Lastly, maybe there are steps you can take to improve your internal culture.
What can I expect from your team if I am considering hiring your services? Do you know how your staff represents your brand? If not, I suggest implementing a cultural audit of your own to assess an unbiased examination of your organization. This exercise will elevate staff behaviors and force the leadership team to review employee benefits, organizational policies, and operational procedures.
The feedback gleaned from a cultural audit will help you build a value-aligned culture based on performance, collaboration, and transparency—and what is suitable for the people is ALWAYS good for business.
