Afiniti: values uncovered from bottom-up, not imposed top-down
Afiniti, a provider of AI to contact centres, was seeking a new direction for its business.
In particular, its new CEO wanted Afiniti to be known as a values-driven organisation that could always be trusted by its customers.
We suggested a company-wide consultation to uncover what Afiniti’s employees saw as their shared values. Afiniti agreed to this approach so we kicked it off with a short survey to all employees, asking people how they felt about the company and where it was going. The survey generated responses from over 700 participants.
Next, we set up a culture champs group comprising 185 employees from all parts of the business and all regions, including the US, Europe and Pakistan.
From there, we ran a series of workshops with these culture champs to dig into the results of the survey and identify the behaviours people associated with the most commonly cited values.
We then analysed all the data from the values survey, the culture champs workshops and Afiniti’s most recent employee engagement survey. Three themes kept cropping up: people wanted more transparency around projects and decision making; Afiniti people worked hard but covered too many time zones; and people missed the fun, warmth, and recognition that had existed pre-covid.
Further consultation with the leadership team highlighted two more themes: Afiniti’s innovative culture and the need to foster trusting relationships with clients.
The solution:
a company-wide conversation about values
The outcome:
a set of authentic values, grounded in data
Based on this in-depth research, we identified five values:
Think big
Build trust
Work smart
Be open
Spread joy
When we tested these values with the culture champs, they landed extremely well. The values felt distinctive and authentic because they reflected what Afiniti’s employees had told us was special about their workplace.
To launch the values, we worked with the in-house team to create a video that incorporated voiceovers by a diverse range of Afiniti employees. By literally giving employees a voice, this touch reflected the approach we’d taken throughout the values project.
“Working with Broom & Moon feels like a true partnership. I trust you because you're smart and intuitive, with a strong moral compass. I can put you in front of anyone, from the CEO to the most junior employee, knowing you’ll take the time to make everyone feel heard. Your value lies not just in your creativity, but also the fact I can rely on you to help me get a project approved and embedded, not just done.”
Natalie Cerny
Chief Marketing Officer
Afiniti
