Welcome to Inside Attivo, a multi-part series that follows the core values and practices that make Attivo Partners an exceptional place to work. In this series, we’ll explore important topics like flexibility, remote work, onboarding, professional development, and more.
At Attivo, we are deeply committed to professional excellence, innovation, and fostering a supportive atmosphere for our team. Our values and policies have matured alongside our growth, forming the cornerstone of our success. Follow along as we share insights, testimonies, and stories that highlight how our culture enables our team members to thrive professionally and personally.
Career growth and advancement should be top of mind for any potential hire as they consider their employment opportunities. At Attivo, we’ve structured our employee developmental pathways to accelerate the careers of those who approach their work with a proactive, thoughtful, problem-solving mindset.
“Approaching your career with a clear sense of where you want to go and what you’d like to experience during your time with Attivo helps,” shares Rachel Tavana, “If you have that, and can take a proactive approach to the work, Attivo has the systems in place to help you go far.”
Attivo has put systems in place to foster these types of proactive career conversations, including goal setting frameworks and ongoing check-ins with mentors. The same entrepreneurial and intellectually curious approach that helps us serve clients, helps Attivo employees further their careers.
Earning Trust Every Day
Establishing trust among colleagues and with clients is essential to opening up opportunities for career advancement with Attivo. Trust is ultimately what grows relationships, and it comes from demonstrated excellence and consistent follow through.
“Trust is one of the biggest reasons I’ve been able to be successful at Attivo,” Rachel shares, “In addition to building up the reputation of Attivo and the quality of the work we do, I’m also building my personal brand. I want the quality, consistency, and trustworthiness of my work to reflect well on Attivo, and also myself. I find the opportunity to do that incredibly empowering.”
Rachel continues, “I tell new hires that a key to success is building trust with colleagues and with clients. With trust comes more challenging work. It opens doors to new opportunities.”
The Autonomy Needed for Professional Growth
Trust and autonomy go hand in hand. At Attivo, proactive problem-solving and initiative are highly valued. When an employee can build trust and offer forward-thinking solutions, more opportunities become available.
Rachel agrees, “If you’re able to demonstrate that you have a good understanding of what a client needs, what your team needs, and be proactive in bringing solutions to the problems you face, that can open up a lot of opportunities for growth moving forward.”
Employees have the opportunity to follow their interests and create a self-directed career path with Attivo. When employees are hired, there is a focused conversation where employees are asked to share which industries interest them. “We do our best to assign employees to clients appropriately, offering growth opportunities and the ability to pursue their passions from an industry perspective,” shares Jenn Kirn, Head of People & Talent.
“Attivo trusts me enough to make decisions for my team and the clients I serve,” says Rachel. “My colleagues are there to support me if I have questions or need guidance.”
A Unique Approach to Collaboration
Attivo’s 6 C’s are foundational to our culture. Collaboration is a core value that has become a pillar of the firm’s culture and work style. Rachel agrees, “I think collaboration is what keeps a lot of employees here. Having worked in a range of industries, it’s not always a given that you will have a team to bounce ideas off of. Being the only person in finance and accounting can be tough because you don’t always have someone to help you think through challenges and help you problem solve. It can be hard as a solo finance person in a startup to demonstrate why finance is an important function for a business.”
“It’s a strong contrast to Attivo, where we’re working with more than 300 companies. Many are building businesses with new or unique models, and we don’t always have immediate answers. Being able to ask colleagues their thoughts about how to approach a situation that I’ve never encountered is a great resource that reflects Attivo’s collaborative culture.”
Roles & Responsibilities Matrix
Attivo’s “Roles & Responsibilities” matrix outlines the technological and soft skills needed for each role within the organization. In December/January of each year, mentors discuss promotional opportunities with their mentees, initiating discussion around annual goals and opportunities that will encourage their chances for promotion in the coming year. Goals are then set for the year and tracked in Lattice (our performance management database) to keep mentors and mentees accountable for execution & success. Goals are reviewed by peers, client/team leads, mentors, HR, etc., to ensure the employee’s goals align with their pursuits.
While personal initiative drives the achievement of these overall goals, employees have a mentor to guide them throughout the year. Their mentor can assist in providing opportunities to learn new skillsets and practice skills with clients to ensure the employee is set up for success after they are promoted.
“Being able to identify where I’m strong and where I need improvement has been a really helpful exercise for me,” Rachel reflects. “Understanding how I compare to my peers, setting a benchmark to help me improve and help me understand what to aspire to, helps keep me on the right track. Ultimately, it’s a tool that helps me know when I’m ready to take the next step and take on a new challenge. It’s holistic in that way. Attivo has taken it really seriously when I’ve shared areas where I felt I needed improvement and allowed me to take on the opportunities I felt I needed to grow and get more experience and expand my skillset.”
Proactive, Solution-Driven Thinking Is Essential
At Attivo, we often act as an extension of our clients’ teams. We make every effort to act like true partners. Because of this, we put a significant emphasis on listening and looking for opportunities for new conversations that can drive exciting, meaningful work forward for our clients.
Rachel shares, “Because we’re advisors to clients, we need to be able to come up with solutions and explain them clearly and efficiently. If a client says, ‘We’re thinking about hiring our first sales person, what do we need to be thinking about?’, it’s important to be able to come with something quickly. Maybe they need a commission plan. Maybe they need a system to track all their sales deals. We should always be taking a step to anticipate everything that a client might need.
That’s the key to being a good advisor. It’s not an option to say ‘I can’t think of anything, sorry’. Being thoughtful and proactive goes a long way in building trust with clients. It’s about seeing the whole context of the question the client is asking. They’ve asked about hiring someone for sales, but we want to think about the whole finance system around that decision and communicate that clearly to the client.”
Join Us at Attivo
Are you ready to take your finance and accounting career to the next level? By investing in our people through best-in-class onboarding and training, we attract and retain some of the best talent in the industry. Follow Inside Attivo for more insights and stories on how our core values and innovative practices make Attivo a great place to work. Discover how we’re growing and evolving to support our team and foster a culture of innovation. Want to learn more about Attivo? Visit us at www.attivopartners.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
