We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – Embark revolves around its people and culture. Like the planets around the sun. Electrons around a nucleus. Therefore, it’s not hyperbole to say our people and culture are integral to every decision we make in some way. Yes, we love our clients, too. But happy people make clients happy, right?

Put another way, when the right people are in the right seats and every Embarker feels fulfilled and appreciated, everyone wins. Every client, stakeholder, and employee – both current and future. So it only makes sense for Embark to ensure the firm’s collective well-being balances on something a bit more concrete than intuition and chance. That’s where Culture Index plays such a critical role, and we want to tell you more about our operational ace in the hole.

Embark’s Data Culture: Practicing What We Preach

We often talk about the importance of a comprehensive data culture, data-driven decision-making, and leadership in the digital age. In fact, we’ve said it again and again and again. So, while gut instinct might have helped a C-suite steer the ship decades ago, today’s world and marketplace are just too complex and dynamic to let intuition lead the way.

Therefore, whether we’re forecasting revenue and cash flow, mulling over our capital allocation, or taking a deep dive into Embark’s beating heart – our culture and people – data is at the wheel. Relevant, timely, unambiguous insights that shed a revealing light on everything from our financial performance to the health of our company culture. And that’s where Culture Index shines like a diamond.

What Is Culture Index?

Think of Culture Index as a compass for our people, helping us better navigate and understand how to communicate, lead, and manage individuals according to their unique personalities and wiring. And while, at least at first glance, a Culture Index survey might look like a mild-mannered checklist of adjectives for a person to choose from, it’s an absolute powerhouse in reality.

Through Culture Index, we’re able to gauge someone’s preferred work styles, behaviors, and genuine motivations, personal traits and preferences that might otherwise stay hidden or slip through the cracks. Simply put, the surveys transform behavior into objective results to inspire a deeper understanding of every Embarker.

Strengthening and Understanding Relationships

Our intention isn’t to provide Culture Index with free advertising here. Rather, it’s to demonstrate the utility and benefit quantitative data can bring to a traditionally qualitative area of operations. And those benefits apply to every level of our firm, not just the nuanced insights our leadership glean from the surveys. So, any combination of individuals at Embark can use Culture Index results to enhance relationships and understanding.

So, to use yet another well-worn metaphor, the surveys ensure Embark continues to run on all cylinders through those strengthened relationships and understanding, whether that’s top-down, bottom-up, or sideways across teams. And Culture Index accomplishes all of this through a simple but potent three-step process that informs our professional development plan:

• Surveys: As mentioned, Culture Index creates and delivers an online survey for every employee, generating team analytics it uses to measure key work-related traits.
• Translation: Culture Index then analyzes the data and shares the findings in a peer-to-peer format to ensure absolute clarity. This personalized approach helps facilitate any needed change within Embark’s team.
• Mobilization: Lastly, Culture Index transforms the data into meaningful insights and actionable feedback every level of the firm can leverage, completing the loop between survey insights and positive, prompt results.

Results That Speak for Themselves

We understand company culture can be one of those topics where things can get a bit too – ethereal. Melodramatic. Touchy-feely. But the quantitative approach we take distills our culture into its hard-nosed essence. The brass tacks. So, that said, what are the trackable, tangible benefits we derive from Culture Index? For starters:

• Lower attrition
• Client retention
• Strategic Planning
• Motivation and Coaching
• Team Building
• Conflict Resolution

And honestly, we must be doing something right given our performance and accolades:

• Triple-digit revenue growth in five of the last six years
• Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies for five consecutive years
• Great Place to Work® Certification™ three consecutive years
• Inc. Best Workplaces in five of the last six years

And there’s plenty more where that came from. The point being, our strategy of placing our people and culture at the center of our operational solar system obviously works. Going forward, our objective is to continue building a team of high-performers that can thrive in our work environment, revel in its uniqueness, and add to the equation, never subtract from it. And in return, we’ll always take the very best care of our people.

Ultimately, Culture Index provides the information we need to reach that objective. To a person, if we're building strong relationships across the firm, continually focusing on whole-human development, and helping our teammates excel, there’s no reason our growth can’t continue to turn heads across the industry. And if this sounds like the kind of firm you’d like to be a part of, then let’s talk.