In the summer of 2014, I happened to be in London accompanying my daughter to a drama school audition. I got a call from our office in Edinburgh as there had been a new business enquiry from a company in the City of London, looking for HR Support. That was my first visit to the offices of Polaris, and we have supported the business ever since through internal and external changes, not least the arrival of the Vivek Banga, as MD in 2019. I was interested to talk to Vivek about his strategy and approach to developing the business – this is his story.
Polaris was a successful and established business when you joined. What were your first steps as CEO?
My predecessor had been in office for over 20 years and therefore reassuring the teams and each individual was very important when I joined the company. I spent time with colleagues to learn about their roles and the products, processes and operations which underpinned our business. I listened and made sure my door was always open, so that colleagues could drop in and discuss issues, seek my opinion and talk. I also made sure there were regular all team communication meetings – so listening, learning and sharing was my place to start.
What were your observations about the culture at the start of this journey?
I could sense that most colleagues had the mindset of wanting to deliver well for our customers and that was a great place to start. There were established ways of working and a bit of a silo mentality which meant that while each team delivered, there was less by way of cross team collaboration. Also, our key products needed investment to keep pace with customers’ needs and there was room for improvement in project management and governance. This gave me some sure footing for moving forward and an opportunity to facilitate early improvement and progress.
What, if any, changes did you make to the organisational structure?
Within three months of joining, we simplified the management structure, reducing the number of senior managers, redefining the roles and responsibilities of the leadership team and making them directly accountable for the financial and technical performance of our products. This simplified management structure led to clearer and more direct accountability and also encouraged the leadership team to work with clients and colleagues to develop investment plans for our products, which was a key priority. These changes were fundamental to developing the team and building skills that we needed to move forward.
I reassured the wider team that I would take time to learn more about the business before making further changes. Over time we identified key skills gaps and recruited to fill those, for example in areas like project management and marketing. Polaris today is a more skilled and more diverse organisation with 45% of the team having joined in the period 2019-2022. The wider organisation appreciates the value of these changes and the investment in our products has also led to higher motivation internally. This has increased the company’s visibility in the marketplace and refreshed the reputation of the business.
Quickly putting the appropriate senior management structure in place gave me the opportunity to broaden the team, invest in new skills and inject new ideas and energy to the team, at a more considered pace.
The changes to the wider structure were evolutionary rather than revolutionary which allowed us to retain key skills and knowledge which is key in our niche market and build trust and confidence as we took everyone on this journey.
What, if any role, as HR played in the development of the business?
A significant role. Gravitate have a long standing and strategic partnership which is one that I and the management team rely upon greatly. They have offered guidance on policy, logistics and offer a robust sounding board for ideas and plans. For example, our work with Gravitate has allowed us to develop our flexible working strategy which has been well received, has allowed us to respond to and recover from the lockdown restrictions and helped us to retain key staff whilst building a platform for collaboration and team working.
If developing a business is a journey, what have been the learnings and what’s next?
The importance of trust in the team and giving them the freedom to operate and do their job is vital. Building that sense of empowerment within your team takes time and you need patience to allow it to happen, but once it happens you notice the difference and it is very rewarding. The process of building cohesion and trust within the team is incremental that needs to remain a key focus area. Also, we have to keep meeting the evolving and changing needs of our customers, keep investing in skills, positively respond to external factors and aspire to a can-do spirit and a culture of trust and cooperation. The journey cannot stop and the challenges are never over.
My current focus is also to make the relationship between performance and reward clear for us all to understand where our efforts make a difference and add value. And to continue to build a culture of openness where we can bring our whole self to work, where I and all managers are approachable, non-judgemental and supportive. A dose of fun and good humour helps us along the way.
I am told by the team and other partners, including Gravitate, that the culture has grown and developed for the better, and that we are more cohesive as a team. I think that has been instrumental allowing us to absorb some of the bumps in the road, including the pandemic, to attract new talent, change the shape of the team and allow us to look to the future with confidence. We are engaged with the broader team to establish what the future may look like and how we can respond.
Throughout the journey, our Board of Directors have been a constant source of support, challenge, perspective and insight. This is an important element and should not be overlooked as without good governance, the journey would lack a compass to keep us on track and heading in the right direction. Having a culture which positively embraces change, absorbs new team members and ideas and offers a degree of elasticity allows for the business to grow, develop and thrive. To build and sustain this kind of culture takes time and patience, working with like-minded individuals who have a clear view of their role and responsibilities, sprinkled with humanity and humility. We don’t get it right all the time, but we get enough right and have the capacity to know when we have not got it right and do it differently next time.
Thank you, Vivek. I have had the pleasure of being on this journey with Vivek and the team, to watch our work evolve along with the needs of the team which is equally rewarding. We are not there every day, but we keep in touch, offer advice and support when needed and every now and again come up with a suggestion on how to keep the wheels of change turning.
PS My daughter did go to drama school – but not the one in London!!