Case Study

About the Firm

Seymour Taylor is an award-winning accountancy firm based in High Wycombe. With a forty-strong team, they have a wide range of business and individual clients, covering all sectors across the UK and abroad.

Background

As part of the firm’s centenary celebrations, the Directors wanted to identify the firm’s Values and understand how these could be used to shape the firm’s future over the next 100 years. It was felt that the Values should encompass how the firm lives and works and reflect what the Directors believe in.

The Brief

We were asked to plan and implement a campaign that would allow Seymour Taylor to explore how they could:

• Develop the Values and sense check that they are the right ones for the firm.
• Bring the Values to life in everything those working at Seymour Taylor do.
• Brand the Values and develop them across their business and marketing collateral.

The Approach

To achieve the above brief, we carried out the following activities:

• A client survey over the phone. The survey was split into two parts, the first part asked the respondents how well they rated Seymour Taylor against different Values. The second part was a series of qualitative questions designed to get the clients to go into more detail about their experience of the firm.
• An online staff survey asked all directors and staff how well they thought Seymour Taylor delivered its services. The questions were largely the same as those for clients, so we could get a comparison of internal and external views.
• Presenting the results of both client and staff surveys to the Directors and Values Team and from the survey results agreeing an initial shortlist of eight Values.
• Running separate Director and Staff workshops to discuss the shortlisted Values, reducing the number of Values down to three and discussing ways of improving client satisfaction.
• Road testing the three shortlisted Values by asking for volunteers to form a Values Project Committee. The committee included one director, a selection of staff from the accounts, audit and tax teams along with marketing and operations staff. Initially, the committee met monthly to share their experiences of how they had been living and breathing’ the Values when working with clients and also when interacting with directors and staff across the firm.
• After road testing with the staff and clients for 9-10 months, a further meeting was held with the Directors and Values Team to confirm the Values. It was agreed that the Values and the reasoning behind them should be incorporated onto the website and start being used across all client communications, marketing, operations and recruitment activities.
• Two years after the initial client survey was conducted, a new survey was carried out which targeted respondents of the previous survey, plus clients who had recently moved to the firm. Their feedback on the new Values, as well as how satisfied they were with the firm was fed back to the Directors and suggestions made on how to keep clients satisfied and engaged, whilst putting the Values at the heart of everything the firm does.

The Outcome

As a result of the work we carried out with Seymour Taylor, they are now using their Values on a day to day basis to:

• Deliver exceptional client service.
• Work more closely and effectively as a team.
• Attract new clients who can see what proactive, client-driven accountants really do look like.
• Recruit new employees who share the Values and want to work with a like-minded firm.
• Solve problems, be that strategically or on a management or process basis.

And the Values They Have Adopted?

Based on the feedback from the client and staff surveys and having road tested them to ensure they do ‘stack up’, Seymour Taylor’s Values focus on:

• Expertise;
• Support; and
• Understanding

Overarching everything they do is ‘You’, so no matter if you are a client, employee, supplier or potential client, your experience when dealing with Seymour Taylor will reflect their Values.

On Reflection

• This was a great project to be part of. Seeing how far the firm has come in getting their staff to engage with the Values and the positive difference the Values are now making to their client and internal relationships is truly inspiring.
• The Directors were key in committing to the project and keeping everyone across the firm engaged and similarly committed to delivering on the firm’s Values. The staff were great at embracing the project, giving honest and open feedback. They worked with Paul and I and the Values team to keep the project on track and to see how the Values were making a difference to client’s (and their colleague’s) perceptions.

Your Firm’s Values

What are your firm’s Values and do you live up to them? Maybe you don’t have any documented Values, but would like to explore how they could make a difference to your firm?

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you identify and implement your Values, drop me an email at vicki@momentumforprofessionals.co.uk or call 01822 833300.