Culture Matters: The Impact of Onboarding at Glassman Wealth Services

Imagine a company onboarding experience intentionally engineered to jumpstart employees’ growth and empower them to thrive in their roles.  This was what I experienced in my first 90 days at Glassman Wealth.  Here’s how:

Personalize the Experience

The experience was personal.  When I arrived on day one, I could see a balloon beaming “Welcome” before I even walked through the door.  Aside from your normal office supplies, sitting on my desk was a ribbon-wrapped box with a personal gift.  The card accompanying it, signed by everyone in the office, said “we hope this inspires you to write more.” The team remembered from my interviews that writing is a personal passion of mine and incorporated my passions into the onboarding experience with this gift: a monogrammed journal.

Incorporate the Culture

The unique culture of Glassman Wealth Services shined throughout all aspects of the onboarding process.  For example, I was welcomed on my first day with bagels and coffee: that part was normal. What was unique was the sombreros worn by each member of the team during breakfast.  That’s right, the team wasn’t afraid to look goofy in front of a new employee.  Before I was hired while seeing the Glassman Wealth office, Barry had pointed out the storage room: “That’s where we keep the sombreros.” I assumed this was a joke, but on my first day the firm sat around the table, all wearing sombreros as we enjoyed our breakfasts.

Over the next two weeks or so I met with every single member of the team, grabbing lunch or coffee, and to varying degree they pried my brain and I pried theirs. Every question I had was eagerly responded to and encouraged, and I got to not only get to know them all personally, but to understand their role as a part of Glassman Wealth.

Every week I have a one-on-one meeting with Courtney to check in, ask questions, discuss projects and develop my role within the firm. Every meeting begins with “How are you?” and ends with “What can we do to make things better for you?”

Map out Expectations

On my first day I was given a plan. 30 days, 60 days, 90 and beyond, there were steps laid out so I had my goals set ahead and no overwhelming surprises were lurking in some hidden fine-print. There were daily tasks to be addressed and certain roles that I would fall into, but one thing that was made very clear was that those tasks were not the limit of my position.

Leave Room for Possibilities

The foundation and framework of my role were set out before me, but it was up to me to decide how to build upon it. And all along the way I had my new sombrero-sporting team members to help me find my way.

Some roles I fell into more naturally, while others required collaboration with other team members to show me the way. On occasion I simply offered a helping hand for the projects they were working on, or helped them prep for upcoming client meetings, or was an extra set of eye on a project they were preparing. At other times I was given a project and told that I could run with it. I was encouraged to set my own path, to find my own projects to work on, and to develop an identity as a part of Glassman Wealth.

Drive Home the Purpose

It has been a few months now, and I’ve realized this isn’t your ordinary 9-5 office job, where Mondays are dreaded and the coffee gets stale. In fact the coffee here is pretty amazing. Every member of the team is here because they are exceptional at their job and passionate about our purpose of enriching our clients’ lives.  Nothing is done just because “that’s the way we do it” or “it’s good enough as is.”

From day one I was shown that we’re never done – not by a longshot. There are constantly new ideas and challenges that drive this team to reach further, to become something greater, and never accept the status quo.  Though I am still finding my place in this team, I’m sure it will be anything but ordinary.