Corporate purpose and culture

Monitoring and assessing the impact of culture change in the workplace is crucial. Consulting by A&O Shearman helps businesses create and sustain cultures that align with their strategic goals, meet regulatory expectations, and inspire their people.  

Many leaders recognize the need to improve their culture and conduct yet struggle to translate their vision into action. They face complex challenges, such as changing customer demands, evolving regulations, diverse stakeholders, and emerging risks. 

We have the knowledge and experience to help businesses design and implement a culture strategy that supports their business objectives, embeds ethical standards, and drives positive behaviors.  

We also help our clients measure and monitor their organization’s culture, identify gaps and risks, and provide practical recommendations for improvement. 

Our services include: 

• Conduct risk analysis and reviews 
• Corporate purpose, values, and culture strategy implementation and advice 
• Culture and conduct framework guidance 
• Culture health assessments 
• Practical solutions to support culture change 
• Culture ambassador programs 
• Training, including culture and conduct training and DE&I training 
• Culture and conduct KPIs, executive and employee performance reviews, and scorecards 

Representative matters

• A global bank experienced conduct incidents and sought to comprehend its organizational culture and behavioral drivers. Consulting by A&O Shearman conducted a cultural health assessment, revealing key cultural themes and their roots, and identified location-based differences. Our insights guided the client in prioritizing issues. We assisted in creating a comprehensive culture strategy, framework, and a culture ambassador program.
• Consulting developed a bespoke inclusion and respect training program for the European headquarters of a multinational, focusing on diversity, unconscious bias, and psychological safety to foster an environment that encourages appropriate behavior and addresses harassment and discrimination. Following the program's success, we are expanding it globally for the client.

• Consulting performed a culture review for a European bank's U.K. subsidiary, examining their cultural framework through a desktop review and engaging with over 230 employees via 30 focus groups, alongside one-on-one discussions with senior leaders. Our analysis revealed distinct cultural variations across seniority, location, and business units, and we offered actionable recommendations to improve the bank's ethics and compliance culture.
• Consulting assisted a leading bank in advancing its organizational culture and conduct as part of a comprehensive risk culture and controls improvement initiative. Our approach included a thorough review of the bank's culture-related aspects, such as strategy, governance, and policies. Through employee focus groups and discussions with senior leaders, we gained insights into the bank's cultural dynamics. Our findings were synthesized into a detailed report highlighting the bank's cultural strengths, areas for enhancement, and tailored recommendations that complemented the client's ongoing action plan.