Capstone Client Update

February 24, 2022

Project Description

The success of an organization if often tied to elements related to its culture

• The lack clarity on the process of establishing an organizational culture that:
• recognizes the values of the company 
• builds the hard processes and soft practices that reflect its values. 

Deliverables for this project include:

1. Culture reviews of organizations viewed to have been successful in building their organizational culture
2. Recommendations for policies and practices to support the establishment of a culture in which individuals thrive
3. Recommendations for hiring practices and processes along with considerations related to employee retention and promotion

Update on Progress

Results to date (Triangle area research, company culture review, stakeholder interviews)

Observations/future plans (Employer Value Proposition)

1. Culture reviews of organizations viewed to have been successful in building their organizational culture​
2. Recommendations for policies and practices to support the establishment of a culture in which individuals thrive​
3. Recommendations for hiring practices and processes along with considerations related to employee retention and promotion​

Survey design and results to date (Ideal employer survey)

The Work

The Deliverables

Participating Students

• Kaya Alagappan
• Katie Drinkwater
• Tiffany Liu
• Ashna Ram
• Caroline Surrett
• Justin Tandon
• Logan Welborn
• Kaylin Woodward
• Jimmy Xiao
• Alex Xu
• Elizabeth Zhang

Agenda

• Cultural Reviews/Company Profiles
• Results to date
• Triangle Area Research
• Findings
• Stakeholder Interviews 
• Results to date 
• Ideal Employer Survey
• Design and results to date 
• Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
• Observations from reflection papers/future plans
• Discussion

Company Cultural Reviews

Tiffany Liu, Logan Welborn, Kaylin Woodward

Research Objectives & Progress

Objective: Generate company firmographic data from businesses with similarities to Spring & Mulberry

This data included

• Business information (industry, lead products, size, location, PVP, growth, mission statement, EVP, community engagement)
• Social Engagement (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Influencers)
• Workplace (In-Person vs Remote, Work hours, Office layout)
• Hiring Practices (Recruitment platforms, Hiring categories, Employee demographics, Training programs, Advancement opportunities, Internships, DEI policies, Feedback opportunities)
• Rewards (salary, benefits)
• Target customer

Team Progress:

• Each team member completed 4 company cultural reviews
• Each student in the class completed 2 company cultural reviews

Companies Surveyed

Company Profile Overview

*all companies researched had a form of community engagement (i.e: philanthropy, environmental practices or sourcing, fair trade, etc)

Workplace Summary

Most employees had a 40 hour work week, with hours from 9 AM to 5 PM. Some companies also had retail stores where part-time employees worked 20 hours a week.

FUN TIDBIT

Many offices had 

open-floor plans, where colors matched branding!

Company Culture

Most companies had opportunities for feedback, but some lacked employee to employer feedback.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policies and Practices

• Many companies preached values of inclusion, respect, and appreciation for diversity
• Some had formal affinity groups that met to discuss the company's best practices
• The best practice found was a feedback tool paired with employee-led resource groups that tracked BIPOC retention within the company and BIPOC experiences in the workplace

Employee Perks

Insurance

Medical, dental, vision

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Parental Leave

& Return-to-Work Programs

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Paid Vacation & Time Off

Mentorship

& Career Support

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Employee Training/ Leadership  Programs

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Employee Discount

Team-Building Activities

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Fitness Benefits

Like gym memberships!

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Company Equity Rewards

Salaries generally fell between $50,000 and $150,000.

Triangle Area Research and Stakeholder Interviews

Ashna Ram, Kaya Alagappan, Justin Tandon, Katie Drinkwater

General Employer Trends in the Triangle

• Growing in popularity (named #1 Best City for Jobs in 2020 by Glassdoor) 
• Triangle area gained between nearly 15,000 net new jobs in 2021
• 17% job growth rate in last five years 
• Second-fastest growing tech hub in US, 5th largest life sciences hub in US
• 4,000 tech companies (over 60,000 employees in software development + information security)
• Most popular industries: Tech, Life Sciences, Clean Tech 

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What do people in the Triangle region look for in their workplace? 

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• Companies that interact positively with the surrounding community 
• Flexibility of remote/in-person work 
• In-person option is important for new hires specifically
• Work/Life balance – a lot of people moving to triangle region also come from more urban areas and are already valuing a culture/lifestyle change 

Stakeholder Interviews: Objectives & Progress

Objectives:

• Assess past interns' experience at S&M
• Identify push/pull factors
• Analyze overarching themes from stakeholders 

Team Progress:

• Wrote and sent survey to 8 former interns (thanks, Kathryn!)
• Analyzed 6 responses
• Conducted 4 follow-up interviews 
• Researched what job candidates in the Triangle are looking for

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Survey Results- SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Innovative product and company idea —> attractive for potential employees
• Flexible work schedule
• Well-connected and passionate founders
• Inclusive culture and supportive work environment
• Diverse project work and creative freedom
• Skills building and mentorship

Opportunities

• Recent graduates and/or young adults looking to get into the startup space
• Company is a safe space for women in entrepreneurship —> potential target market for recruitment
• Have employee teams based in similar locations to be “local” resources for work
• Student internship program and/or ambassador program

Weaknesses

• Not enough collaborative team meetings with other employees
• Remote structure hurts relationship-building and interest
• Need more clarity on project objectives, expectations, and urgency of tasks
• Difficult to juggle several workplace responsibilities
• Required work outside of typical working hours (9am-5pm)

Threats

• Startups with more established employee structures, hierarchies, and work cultures
• Not adapting to change and desirable workplace characteristics for prospective employees quickly enough
• Variability in workplace conditions due to COVID-19
• Spike in popularity of company and product may require large number of hires in a short period of time to keep up with demand

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Survey Results- Quantitative Analysis

Interview Results - Pros and Cons

Pros

• Founders sought out feedback
• Founders shared their stories
• Transparency and good communication
• Connected with other interns
• Seamless onboarding process
• All around there is a faith in the company's success due to rebranding efforts and continued iterations of completed projects

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Cons

• Unpaid 
• Some circular responsibilities
• Start-ups are inherently risky 
• Difficult to be committed to a startup that is not your own
• No company-led social events to build relationships outside of working hours

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Notable Interview Statements

• Kathryn and Sarah didn't over-handle us. They let us do our thing and treated us as equals.
• I was really inspired by the way the founders talked about the company 
• I felt very valued, which is something that I noticed my friends at other companies did not necessary feel.
• They really wanted our feedback and we felt like our input was taken to heart, which is something you don't see with every founder.
• I really hope that Spring & Mulberry stays true to their core values. I hope that one day, if I'm staying at a nice, luxury hotel, their products will be the ones on the shelves available to me.

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Ideal Employer

Caroline Surrett, Jimmy Xiao, Alex Xu, Elizabeth Zhang

Ideal Employer Market Research

• Purpose: Conduct research about expectations, pull factors, and other considerations when job searching
• Surveying “target” employees (by client’s definitions) and relevance to job openings (e.g. students eligible for internship)
• Method:
• (distributed) Qualtrics Survey
• (planned) In person focus sessions at target grad schools (Fuqua)
• Targeting (but not exclusive to)
• I&E interested Students
• Fuqua Students (planned)
• N = 11, expecting more (data collection in progress)
• Data Collecting:
• Job Attribute Importance Ranking
• Importance of values alignment
• Demographics
• Ideal workplace description

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Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Ideal Employer Market Research Survey Walkthrough

Response Demographics

Company Experiences 

Ideal Job/Employer Values

Key Findings

• Ideal work environment
• 75% responses mentioned a "welcoming", "collaborative" environment
• 38% wanted an office layout that was organized and open
• 63% desired easy-going coworkers and manager who is involved with employee growth
• 38% valued employer autonomy and flexible hours

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• Why startup?
• 57% mentioned excitement, fast pace
• 43% wanted to leave a lasting impact on the company
• 71% attracted to cutting-edge product and opportunity to do "cool things"

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Employer Value Proposition

Caroline Surrett and Kaylin Woodward

with contributions from full team

Employer Value Proposition: What is it?

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EVP is "like a deal or agreement – in exchange for the skills, talents, and experiences that you will bring to the organization, this is what you will get in return. The EVP is how you distinguish your organization from your competition. Another way to think of the EVP is like a Customer Value Proposition." 

Jacobs, Jamie; Crockett, Hema. Designing Exceptional Organizational Cultures (p. 127). Kogan Page. Kindle Edition

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EVP Key Words & Themes

Food 

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• Ethical
• Real impact 
• Wellbeing

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Clothing

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• Change
• Ethical

Travel & Leisure

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• Economic impact
• Belonging
• Opening eyes to world

Beauty

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• Women-led
• Innovative

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Art 

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• Community
• Value-driven
• People first
• Shared vision

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Employer Value Proposition: Why does it matter?

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• An EVP answers the question of “why should someone work for your organization?” and helps attract and retain the specific talent an organization is looking for. In so doing, the EVP should therefore be an accurate reflection of an organization’s values, mission, and uniqueness.
• An EVP establishes the value of the company to an employee as well as the value of an employee to a company, benefiting both parties. When looking at Spring & Mulberry specifically, having a detailed EVP can help the startup gain traction, popularity, and hopefully place the company well as a competitor in the sweets market. Additionally, with an increasing rate of unhappy employees across the country, a strong EVP for a new company is not just an aspiration, but a requirement.
• An EVP that promotes close collaboration between employees and the bosses/founders. For someone looking to learn about creating a startup from the very beginning and gain valuable experience, working in a small team environment in proximity to the founders could be a compelling selling point. In addition, the small size and early stage of the company would probably allow the employee to have a significant influence on the direction in which the company grows. Another pillar of their EVP could be the fact that employees are working to create a product that will improve the lives of consumers and communities around them by using globally sourced, naturally derived, whole ingredients.

Thank You!