Tech and Insurance: Where does culture fit?
The first thing we should acknowledge when writing about the place of company culture within tech and insurance is that while one approach may be what’s right for one company, it is not necessarily what’s right for another. Company culture is by no means homogenous, and as such, shouldn’t be written about objectively. There are no set rules on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to building a successful business or establishing great company culture.
At Zego, we’ve worked hard to build an environment our employees can thrive in; somewhere they can produce their best work, but at the same time always remain open to being challenged. In order to do that, we’ve had to overcome the preconception that financial services is, almost by definition, a slow-moving industry. This has not always proved to be easy, especially when it comes to our hiring process.
Enthusiastic workers, seeking to drive change and innovation, may have concerns that questioning established and outdated ways of working is not achievable within the context of an industry that is notorious for slow movement. At Zego, we want to challenge the assumption that financial services and slow movement are tethered together — after all, speed and innovation are cornerstones of our company culture, which is why we’re able to bring new products to market so quickly.
The necessity of alignment
The platform upon which company culture can be built and nurtured is centred around the alignment of the individuals working in a business. This can take on many forms; it could be a shared mission, a common set of values or the drive to approach a particular problem together. Company culture is about finding a group of people who have this alignment and building on this, so that they can go on to produce great things as a team.
It’s true that businesses can bring in individuals who can produce great work by paying through the nose in terms of salaries and bonuses. Yet this approach will not bring culture along with the talent. Companies will be left with a disparity between what they want and what they actually get. They may even be left with bored staff who are less inclined to show the kind of motivated and industrious approach that they had hoped for.
Cargo-culting culture
A misguided and superficial understanding of ‘company culture’ has seen it reduced to the placement of ping-pong tables and on-demand drinks fridges in offices. It is as if some believe that the existence of culture in a company can be born out of the very sound of ball against bat resonating through the office. Or perhaps they believe that there is a special ingredient in fizzy drinks that helps to align employees’ thinking and bring them closer together.
What this approach fails to understand is that traditional ‘startup’ perks, such as these, exist as a consequence of the pre-existing culture that is already in place. Transposing these items into an office culminates in nothing more than a simple veneer of culture. If you do not have a culture that promotes innovation within your company, you will not get innovation, even if every desk in the office converts into a ping-pong table, with a fully stocked drinks fridge built in underneath.
Culture as a beautiful garden
Kiana Sharifi, Head of Portfolio Talent Services at Balderton Capital, views company culture as being akin to a garden. There are lots of different ways to achieve a beautiful garden, and beautiful gardens can appear in lots of different styles, but what matters most is that the garden is nurtured as it grows. There is no right or wrong way to grow great company culture in any industry, but by focusing on providing employees with the culture they want, you will create the right environment for employees to thrive.
We want our employees to work in a fast-paced environment, where they enjoy coming to work every day both to challenge the status quo and to be challenged themselves. Alignment in what we value and how we want to work is paramount for Zego to continue to innovate. If you neglect your garden, the weeds will grow and then they will eventually take over, and the same thing will happen in the context of a business. But if company culture is nurtured with careful attention, that company can go on to produce great things.
