Founded in 2012, THRUUE aligns culture with the strategy to ensure continuous growth for organizations and their people. The company enables clients to measure, understand, and connect culture with their values and strategy.

THRUUE believes that today, with burnout increasing and top talents uninspired, leaders need to take proactive measures to drive business performance. As a result, it utilizes culture data to help leaders make decisions that translate into real business outcomes.

In an interview, Dr. Philipia L. Hillman, Vice President of Talent and Client Solutions, and Amanda Graham, Principal, talk about how THRUUE enables leadership teams to drive performance.

Please tell our readers about THRUUE and its mission.

Graham: Culture plays a vital role in a company’s long-term success. Our goal is to build a connection between culture and strategy to help leaders concentrate on both aspects. We help clients determine the appropriate culture and architect the right strategy for better outcomes. Also, we believe that businesses need to rightly utilize culture data to decide their next plan of action, to achieve desired objectives.

What are some of the challenges or issues that your clients face, especially when it comes to building a connection between culture and strategy?

Graham: The business world is always subject to rapid changes. Covid-19 has just accelerated the pace of transformation. For example, businesses that once mapped digital strategy in a one- to three-year period must now scale their initiatives in a matter of days or weeks.

We evaluate culture to help clients know their strengths or the factors that have enabled them to succeed for years. Also, organizational issues have become more serious owing to the pandemic. Most businesses are struggling to retain their key talents in the face of the Great Resignation, and other related factors. In such a situation, we help clients test their existing culture and, subsequently, the people strategy to overcome the test of time.

Hillman: There is no way to deny that people are the most important intangible asset for a business. Every organization should focus on their wellbeing to keep them productive and drive long-term success. However, the pandemic has significantly changed the situation. With hybrid work culture becoming the new norm, the boundary between personal and professional is blurred every day. Leaders need to understand the evolving human dynamics and establish a favorable relationship with employees while simultaneously keeping track of their working patterns.

Please shed light on some of the solutions that you offer on the basis of the methodology, features, and benefits involved.

Graham: Every organization wants its people to succeed because successful employees result in a thriving company. Businesses have to realize that people and organizational growth are not two distinct factors; they need to be balanced properly. We focus on assisting leaders in activating cultures and strategies that drive business performance, moving beyond the traditional strategy execution and change management approaches. We rely on data to connect culture and performance, align leadership, and drive targeted, systemic action across the key growth areas.

We have seen culture data get sidelined in most HR reports. They are not even considered a core KPI. So, we have come up with the concept of culture performance indicators and present them through an intuitive dashboard. As a result, organizations can understand where they are going wrong or what is bringing positive outcomes for them.

Hillman: We are data nerds. The focus on data enables us to understand what works for an organization and what needs to be changed. More importantly, we articulate everything in a way that enables clients to see the bigger picture. Lastly, we focus on the dialogue for transformation to help leaders understand their current state through an in-depth assessment of hard truths within their organizational culture. Once they face these hard truths, they can work better to address all the bottlenecks.

Could you please cite a case study where you helped a client overcome hurdles and attain desired outcomes?

Hillman: One of our clients, a large healthcare organization, faced a major culture issue due to constant change in their organizational strategy. We helped them measure and set their own leadership and behavioral norms and expectations as well as developed the right strategy to assist them. As a result, they were able to build the right culture. This helped the client in attracting and retaining top talents. We also equipped them with the capability to track their progress over time.

What are the factors that give THRUUE a competitive edge in the market?

Hillman: Our culture performance indicators allow clients to understand where they stand in terms of their culture and what needs to be changed. Also, we have people from different backgrounds and ages, which plays a vital role in understanding clients’ diverse perspectives.

Graham: We work with leaders to become partners in their thinking and help them bring their teams on the right track. This equips leaders with the capability to materialize the changes that they envision.