Hiring the Right People and Giving Them Autonomy the Focus at Cowden
Cowden Associates is a professional services consultancy that does things differently.
Fundamentally, they add value to their clients' businesses by making compensation, benefits and retirement programs more effective and efficient. Boasting an average tenure of nine years, Cowden is described by employees, clients and advisors alike as standing in stark contrast to the larger, more traditional consulting firms. "Like apples to oranges," said one employee experienced with several larger institutions.
Their size has allowed, and in part demanded, that they remain superbly responsive to clients and eliminate siloed communication. Autonomy and independence among staff are key to their success, as is the accompanying cross-training, which gives staff the confidence to act on what they know. Add to this a bottom-up strategic planning approach and a picture of Cowden Associates emerges of a collaborative culture that allows employees to learn from experience.
Cowden is known as a niche player and leader in meeting the compensation, health, welfare, retirement, labor management, actuarial and technological needs of their clients. Since its founding in 1986, the firm has become ever more specialized in its services, fulfilling client needs, such as assistance in collective bargaining negotiation, in ways that are beneficial for the client and profitable for the firm.
"We have moved in this direction to follow our clients," explains Cowden Executive Vice President Elliot Dinkin. A staff size of 27 has meant that each member of the team must be familiar with the full resources of the firm and confident to act on this knowledge. "Our best inroads to clients are through the existing relationships we already have," he says.
Given this approach, Dinkin explains why their size and industry have demanded such a potent company culture. "In a client and professional service organization, our only assets are our people," he says bluntly. Development and communication are their primary tools for resource management.
"There's no doubt about it that Cowden is completely different from your usual big corporation," argues Beth Bindas-Vernon, account manager of two years. One of the biggest differences she highlights is how open the lines of communication remain, even with executives. "This makes you feel like you are an important part of the company and that you really matter," she says. "This motivates you to give 110% of your all."
Adding to this, David Weaver, a benefit consultant and fresh hire from one of the largest firms in the industry, observes that there are instead "no random directives coming from corporate that you don't understand the motivation behind."
While doors are kept open at Cowden, employees are expected to be extraordinarily self-directed on the whole. As Weaver puts it, "Execution is key rather than collective agreement." Staff are encouraged to be creative with their solutions, and are given autonomy in achieving the end result.
"At times it can be stressful, but you always know that you have support from management and your co-workers," says Bindas-Vernon.
Cross-training and mentorship play a big role in preparing staff to handle this autonomy and take risks. Support for external coursework and certification is strong at Cowden. Yet, internally, making people aware of clients, assignments, success stories and informal mentorship opportunities are crucial. Referencing a classic Wayne Gretzky quote, Dinkin says, "If you never take a shot you can't tell if you're gonna miss it." And although it is not customary to put employees in a position where they are uncomfortable, "We have a lot of people who want to explore and who want expand their horizons," he says.
Cowden recognizes the high demands placed on staff, and that it is not a fit for everyone. "We're looking for leaders. And we're looking for self-sufficient people," says Dinkin. "We don't have the luxury, because we're not large enough, to micromanage every step of a project." To that end, he says they are brutally honest in interviews with job candidates.
Having seen great results from their comprehensive strategic planning process three years ago, Cowden is now in the middle of another company-wide effort to examine and refine the company. The last assessment resulted in tasks which were addressed by various teams of around five employees, which composed over three-quarters of all staff. Tasks pertaining to client relations, newsletters, joining external organizations, speaking engagements and restructuring internal programs were formulated, from the bottom up.
"That was a two-year process actively involving people across the office," says Dinkin. He says it was much easier to implement when complete because many people were already familiar with the new systems.
There's always more to tweak, and new lessons to be learned. But by giving associates the confidence to act on what they know and engaging them in the transformation process, Dinkin says confidently that, "All these actions pay real dividends."
Company: Cowden Associates, Inc.
Web site: www.cowdenassociates.com
Industry: Business consulting services
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Number of Employees: 27
Sales: $5 million
