Organizational Culture – SagePoint Financial

This summer I am interning at SagePoint Financial in Richmond. Since the internship is in person, I was able to get a sense of the organizational culture right away. In the office, the employees definitely value a social atmosphere with a lot going on rather than a quiet office where no one is speaking. Because everyone in the office is ultimately working individually for themselves, as financial advisors, there is a lot of focus on healthy competition. The employees are constantly pushing each other to reach their own individual goals and to stay focused to reach those goals. People are expected to work very hard during the day, rarely taking breaks, but never bring their work home so I would consider it a very hardworking yet rewarding work environment.

Within the office, people interact pretty informally. Employees are very respectful of each other but also place importance on being able to make jokes, not taking themselves too seriously, and making everyone in the office feel comfortable to speak their mind. In terms of communication, it is clear that everyone in the office really values communication, as the whole advising business is built on good, effective communication with clients. People communicate only by phone, and rarely use email. Because this is the way we communicate with clients, it is also the way we communicate with each other. This is interesting because as college-aged students we are very used to using email over phone, so this has been something that was difficult to get used to at first. It definitely takes a lot more effort, but it is very worth it because it really helps in building a client base. Calling clients rather than emailing opens up the opportunity for small talk and to hear the tone of voice of the other person, allowing for a real conversation and more personable interactions.

One strength of SagePoint’s culture is the laidback and comfortable, yet serious, office environment as this is definitely transferred to the clients, making them feel comfortable and trusting of those working in the office and managing their money. It is a very personable, interaction-based culture which can be seen through the way clients react to the advisors.

Within the office, there are two actual leaders of a higher position than the rest of the employees. The only improvement I would suggest would be for the leaders to take a more powerful and directive role, acting more like a superior rather than an equal to those they lead. In some environments, it is important to have leaders who are equal to their followers, but in this specific situation I think everyone would benefit from more strict and powerful leadership to create a stronger structure for the office.