In my first few months at Simatree, I’ve picked up on a few things we do well to build a winning culture. The first of these is creating an environment that actively encourages people to be their genuine selves at work. With Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion top of mind for many organizations, I have observed that many large corporations miss the mark when they say, “Bring your genuine self to work every day.” Instead, you often find a culture where Monday and Tuesday’s conversations revolve around recapping the weekend, Wednesday’s, being right in the middle, default to discussing the weather, and Thursday and Friday’s reverts back to upcoming weekend plans. It ends up feeling superficial.
At Simatree, we come to every conversation, client-facing or internal, with respect, professionalism, and a genuine interest in each other’s experience, professional and personal. This then encourages us not to shy away from difficult, important conversations, from using humor to lighten the mood, or from opening up about our personal lives – as much as one feels comfortable doing so. We don’t feel pressured to perform a superficial charade. I find this makes us much more effective at collaborating.
On the collaboration front, Simatree has a great balance between collaborative work and the individual contribution to put your head down and knock out tasks on your own as needed. Our team members have total flexibility on where they work, and we make the most out of coming to the office with project team working sessions, group lunches, friendly banter, a range of workspaces (including outdoors), and a wealth of drinks and snacks to keep the mind sharp. Seeing each other in-person and meeting with clients in-person becomes highly productive, stimulating, and even fun. From leadership all the way down to our most junior consultants, there is always support in the form of a thought partner when you find yourself stuck or struggling.
Work-life balance is another area where Simatree wins. While many firms in the management consulting space have employees working long hours and dealing with burnout, Simatree is cognizant of employee well-being and respectful of their time. While always prioritizing and executing on delivering value to clients, Simatree staff regularly achieve this without the late nights, working weekends, and missing of vacations, appointments, and family events. Further, there is no guilting or pressure when you take advantage of the unlimited time off policy during a project. Sure, we hustle and work hard throughout the weeks to deliver to our clients and grow our business, but this does not come at the expense of our well-being.
The final element of Simatree’s great culture is the familial feel. This comes in part from people bringing their real selves to work and having real conversations. It also comes from the fun events that bring us together to connect both during and outside of the workday. When I joined Simatree, I was welcomed not only with top notch swag, but I also was welcomed by people at all levels who joined me for lunches and conversations. I was lucky enough to join shortly before our annual Simatree Sessions in DC, where I met and spoke with pretty much the whole team. We enjoyed lively dinners and team-building events throughout the city.
Another great advantage of our small size is the access I have to Patrick McCreesh, Simatree’s founder and Managing Partner. In addition to being transparent about his vision for Simatree, Patrick encourages the ideas of all staff members in shaping Simatree’s future growth. Personally, I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in some of our most exciting projects so early on in my tenure. The interview process with Simatree made me feel that it was a great cultural fit, and I’m both happy and relieved that it has exceeded expectations thus far.
