Traditional mentoring models often focus on senior professionals guiding juniors, but what if the roles were flipped? An appreciation and observation of real, commercial benefits from reverse mentoring.

By Rob Nicol,

Chief Risk Officer, Commercial Finance UK,

Siemens Financial Services (SFS)

At SFS, our listening circles provide a space for employees from all levels of the business to come together and express their views on different workplace topics. In this article, Rob Nicol talks about his experience hosting a listening circle with early career professionals, on the topic of company culture.

At SFS, our culture underpins everything we do – how we work, how we treat each other, and, of course, our relationships with customers. Forbes defines culture as, ‘a set of beliefs and attitudes about the way things are done in your workplace’. In our listening circle, we concluded that culture is also ‘the behaviours that are encouraged, discouraged or tolerated’.

To us culture means: Respect, the vibe, atmosphere, fitting in and joining in, the small stuff, small talk, getting  to know each other on a personal level.

Voices from our listening circle

And who is responsible for maintaining culture? To an extent, it happens naturally. Once your core values are defined, it’s easier to set a standard and maintain it. And it has to start from the top. As one of my colleagues used to say, I know how much something is important to my boss by how much s/he talks about it.

It’s in the interests of business leaders to prioritise culture. Because what affects our people, affects our business. This is why, at SFS, we focus on ensuring every employee feels comfortable bringing their true selves to work, fostering a more innovative, collaborative and supportive workplace.

It’s not always easy. On one recent occasion, sticking to our principles meant walking away from a business opportunity. But that sends a powerful message to the whole company. We really mean it when we say we won’t tolerate inappropriate behaviour, and that empowers employees to speak up if they encounter behaviour that goes against our values or simply doesn’t feel right – they know we will listen.

Our listening circle with people who recently joined our workforce covered a few aspects of our culture, and how it impacts recruitment, onboarding and integration, and progression. Here are just some of the takeaways from the session. 

AI in action today

Listening circles are great for ‘de-layering’ communication and ensure management really understand what their teams are thinking, what motivates and frustrates them, and how to communicate with them effectively. They are an open platform  for collecting feedback; after all, you can’t find out what’s important to people without talking to them. Participants have the opportunity to share and celebrate strengths and achievements, but also to talk about what support they need to overcome any barriers or challenges they might be facing.

Rob Nicol, SFS

Transparency & accountability of decision-making

Recruitment: Does the culture truly impact hiring?

Of course, social platforms give potential employees an idea of the type of company you are. However, some new starters admitted they only gave the company environment some thought when they were well into the recruitment process. 

One graduate who reached the final stages in three different companies shared that she chose SFS because of the culture she observed through the interview phases. And that’s why prioritising company values consistently is so important. You don’t know where it will have the biggest impact. 

Integration: What is most helpful to new joiners seeking to learn about the company?

Starting out in your career or a new job can be intimidating. Our listening circle reported that the buddy system for on-the-job training was especially beneficial in this respect.

For some of our entry level professionals, the opportunity to ‘rotate’ around the business in the beginning was a strong contributing factor in their decision to join SFS. It gave them the opportunity to learn about different departments and thoroughly understand the business, before focusing on a specific area. I’ve found this makes people more enthusiastic about their job, since they know it’s the one they really want.

Participants also appreciated that they were given meaningful work right away, rather than starting with ‘menial’ tasks. This quickly made them feel integrated in the company. 

Life-long learning is critical to keeping ourselves and our business future-proof. At Siemens Financial Services, we are committed to encouraging a growth mindset through an annual target of fifty learning hours. We specify that some of these learning hours must focus on specific topics – last year, nine hours were reserved for sustainability topics, for example. To emphasise how serious we are about personal development as a business, we also link completion of these hours to our bonus plans.

Rob Nicol, SFS

Growth: How can employees monitor their progress?

We have replaced annual appraisals with growth talks throughout the year. Our work can  be quite fast-paced and there is a lot to do – but we cannot take our eyes off personal development. The participants shared that they had to learn how to proactively drive their own growth talks, to get the most out of them.

They valued feedback but also recognition, through our STAR award programme (a Siemens-wide recognition programme), for instance, where staff can nominate colleagues  for awards. We also discussed how a mentor or coach could help unlock their potential – empowered people empower people.

The listening circle participants appreciated the openness of the SFS working environment; they felt comfortable applying their own working styles or making suggestions about how processes and systems could be made more efficient.

To-do lists versus personal development

One final area of discussion was the balance between operational key performance  indicators (KPIs) and personal development targets. When you’re new to a business and there are KPIs to be met, it can be stressful if you are expected to participate in multiple meetings and activities.

However, these two strands actually go hand-in-hand. Feeling like you are part of a business, where you belong, and that you can be yourself drives performance and progress. I would encourage early career professionals to be proactive in engaging with events and learning opportunities, to raise their visibility across the organisation but also to see these benefits  for themselves.

At SFS, culture happens with you, not to you. We all play a role in building our culture and creating a safe space to speak up and try out new things – ultimately enhancing our customers’ experience. What happens on the inside, is felt on the outside.

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