Background
The world has experienced unprecedented change since 2019. Businesses have been forced to adapt to the challenges imposed by covid-19, climate crisis, social justice conflicts and political instability. It has been one of the most challenging and uncertain times of our lives. At the beginning of the pandemic, Slalom had 8,000 employees and paused hiring to prioritise their people and to enhance and build on their then purpose; ‘we help clients reach for and realise their vision.’ Reflecting a people-first approach, the purpose needed to be broader to span their people, clients, partners, and local communities so that they could have more impact in these areas.
What inspires us as individuals, inspires us as companies. And what inspires us as companies should also inspire us as individuals. Slalom’s new purpose reflects this; ‘We help people and organisations dream bigger, move faster, and build better tomorrows for all.’ This is their ‘why’. It answers the question ‘why does Slalom exist?’. It is guided by their longstanding vision ‘to create a world in which each person has the opportunity to love their life and work’ and allows them to have more focus on societal impact and sustainability and so on; #loveyourfuture.
Slalom is a global consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. They have organically grown to 13,000+ employees, with 500 UK employees based in London and Manchester. The relentless focus on culture and putting people first is central to their new purpose.
Approach
The new purpose was shared on a global Town Hall led by their CEO and involving all 13,000 employees and, following this, ten strategic priorities were created to drive the 2030 vision. The distillation of these priorities reflects thousands of hours of work by teams across the company immersed in more than 20,000 data points and feedback from team members, clients, and partners.
- Becoming a Global Company
- Most Valued Partnerships
- Building a Great Brand
- Customer Obsession
- How We Work Together
- Sustainability & Social Impact
- Our People, Culture, & Values
- Inclusion, Diversity & Equity
- Expertise & Leadership
- Innovation & Thought Leadership
By 2030, Slalom’s ambition is to be more purpose and values-driven and to deepen their commitment to creating a more equitable and sustainable world for all. Their goal is to be a global company known for customer love, delivery excellence at scale and bringing immediate value to clients. The company’s ambition is that their brand will be recognised among the world’s top consulting firms; a standout due to their people-first culture.
For ‘Sustainability and Social Impact’, as Slalom continues to grow with purpose, they recognise an ever-greater responsibility and opportunity to do good in the world. They are committed to operating every part of the business in ways that are sustainable and responsible, while creating innovative solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. They are proud to have joined The Climate Pledge and have set a goal to achieve carbon neutral operation emissions and shift to 100% renewable energy by 2030. They sponsored the Salesforce World Tour 2022 in London and their Head of Net Zero, and the Salesforce General Manager hosted a session on sustainability, ‘Embed sustainability into every aspect of your business’.
Every year all Slalom’s markets take part in the Slalom Food Drive. This event connects the entire business in a common goal to fight food insecurity. In London, they hosted the Great Slalom Bake Off, Pub Quiz, 165 volunteering hours and £3508 donations raised for Food For All HQ. That’s 21,106 meals in total.
‘Inclusion, Diversity & Equity’ is important to Slalom. It’s who they are as a company; valuing the uniqueness of every individual and wanting their people to bring their authentic selves to work. They are learners who respect, encourage, and celebrate different perspectives through their core value: Celebrate Authenticity. They have many different diversity and equity groups including Aspire (Asian community), Horizons (disability, neurodiversity, and mental health), Prism (LGBTQ+), Slalom Veterans, to name a few. For Pride Month the company celebrated by hosting a social with branded merchandise and ran some training on LGBTQ+ history, identity, and culture.
Outcome
As the team became inspired, a landmark moment was Slalom Connects in May 2022. Gathering at the National History Museum to celebrate their new-found mission, they specifically connected on planet, people, and purpose. There was a sustainability panel and drinks reception attended by over 180 employees, clients and partners all sharing the same mission: building a better future. See photos here.
In the day-to-day, there are many metrics, surveys, and quotes from initiatives around the business that evidence progress in leading with purpose to get the best results; for example, the Employee Survey. Slalom is committed to creating the best place to work for their people, and regularly assess employee engagement. Through annual employee surveys and anniversary surveys they gather feedback on the Slalom experience. The 9th annual Slalom Engagement Survey (SES) was composed of 58 questions. The highest rated questions relating to purpose included:
- 97% ‘my people leader actively supports my work-life integration’ (13% higher than 2019)
- 93% ‘I am encouraged to share my thoughts and ideas (14% higher than 2019)
- 92% ‘I would recommend Slalom as a great place to work’ (15% higher than 2019)
- 92% ‘Slalom’s executive leaders effectively communicate the company’s strategic goals and objectives’
- 91% ‘the culture at Slalom supports work-life integration’
- 88% ‘Slalom has an inclusive environment where different work styles, personalities, and approaches are valued’ (14% higher than 2019).
Slalom have also won several awards including the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2022 based on survey responses from their people and Glassdoor Best Place to Work 2022 where employee feedback is used to determine the award recipients, with criteria including a mission to believe in, a strong culture, and being people-focused and transparent.
See other Leading with Purpose approaches here