Creating our values, part 4: creation and the big reveal

Maybe the previous post, Part 3: a year of buildup felt like it was a constant march of activities. If that was your conclusion, you would be right. We went over and over and over our culture and how we worked because it was a necessary part of the process — each activity, each survey, each team call, each offsite was a part of helping us define who we were.

Which is why we decided in December of 2021, a little over 2 years after we’d started the process, to finally sit down and get our values set in stone.

December 2021: The offsite that brought everything together

Based on the previous work from the past 2 years of conversations, we divided the input into 5 themes.

1. We are customer-focused:

• We solve real customer problems
• We’re passionate about our mission
• We listen and learn from customers
• We ask why and prioritise impact
• We create bold and innovative solutions

2. We are results-oriented:

• We’re resilient
• We’re proactive
• We’re problem solvers
• We look for solutions
• We can say no (to Taavi)
• We like challenges
• We’re goal-oriented, we get stuff done, and we are persistent

3. We are fast learners:

• We aren’t afraid to make mistakes
• We’re open to receive feedback
• We’re self-developing
• We enjoy tackling complex challenges
• We’re adaptable

4. We’re independent and self-driven:

• We self-manage
• We’re self-motivated
• We take ownership
• We do whatever is needed to keep it in order and successful
• We cope with chaos & lack of structure
• We’re eager and capable to learn — the faster the better
• We control ourselves, we take pauses when needed, we take time for family, friends, etc.

5. We’re team players:

• We give open & candid feedback to others
• We’re great communicators
• We have a sense of humour
• We care about other people

If you’ve read through all the posts this far, you can probably quickly recognise many of the phrases and ideas in each of these themes. So could many of our Salvers.

So we put these themes before everyone, split them up into 5 teams, and gave them several hours to create presentations on what our 5 Salv core values would be. Each team proposed 5 values based on our themes, and gave real life Salv examples to back them up.

It was a great start, and it was incredible to see the creativity and thought that each of the teams really put into the exercise.

March 2022: The big reveal

With all input finally complete, we took a few months to think, digest, and work with one of our talented Salvers — former Guardian journalist Richard Parkin — to finalise the wording of everything.

🥁 Drumroll please…

• Customer-focused: we are partners, not vendors.
• Results-oriented: we deliver.
• Fast learners: we think bold.
• Independent and self driven: we work smart.
• Team players: we lift each other.

1. We are partners, not vendors

Our mission drives us, and our customers help to get us there.

To make them become better crime-fighters we set clear expectations, honor our promises, and build relationships anchored in trust and mutual respect.

2. We deliver

The problems we solve matter, and we keep the outcomes always in focus.

We are proactive, solutions-focused, we measure success in impact and we always keep Salv’s best interests in mind.

3. We think bold

Today’s problems need tomorrow’s thinking.

We are ambitious, courageous, and resilient in how we tackle financial crime. And ideas are just the start – it also takes determination to clear the barriers to change.

4. We lift each other

Our differences empower us.

We listen, we learn, and we grow through collaboration. We respect each others’ time, are humble and empathetic in our communications.

5. We work smart

Beating financial crime is a marathon not a sprint – we work flexibly, sustainably, and we celebrate the wins along the way. We take care of ourselves, and each other.

And if it’s hard to believe how you can get a bunch of remarkable, special, and all-round amazing people to work for you, well, talk to any of us, and our stories won’t be any different.

Of course, no words are enough to describe all the important work we do across the company day after day. Nevertheless, we tried, an now it’s up to you to decide how to move forward. Here, have a look at our Careers page and… bon voyage. 😉