Synergy unveils new people strategy in pursuit of bold ambition
As part of a bold ambition to become Australia’s leading professional services firm within the space of a decade, Canberra-based consultancy Synergy Group has launched a new people-focused strategy.
Canberra-based professional services firm Synergy Group has unveiled its ‘National People Strategy’, which provides a detailed insight into its current personnel and will serve as the firm’s ‘north star’ as it aims to become Australia’s leading consultancy within a decade.
Dubbed ‘As One. The Synergy Way’, the release follows the launch of the firm’s first ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in the middle of last year.
“I firmly believe that we are the most successful when we put our people first at the centre of everything we do,” stated CEO Robert Kennedy. “Their skills, expertise, lived experience and unwavering commitment to each other and our clients is what sets us apart. As we look to expand our footprint, this strategy will enable us to make informed, transparent decisions for our people while remaining commercially flexible and agile.”
Synergy has made no secret of its national growth ambitions – last year launching outlets in Brisbane and Melbourne – but its new people strategy document lays out that agenda and more. Not only does Synergy, which was first established as a two-person operation in 1999, intend to become a truly national firm over the next two to five years, but it also aims to become the country’s leading consultancy within five years to a decade.
"‘As One. The Synergy Way’ is recognition of the important role our people play in achieving our strategic intent of becoming one of Australia’s leading professional services firms," said chief people & culture officer Sally Dorsett. “Developed by our people for our people, it captures the essence of what it means to be a Synergite, and brings together the strengths from our past and legacy of who we are with the excitement and opportunities of the future.”
The document has also revealed a breakdown of the its current personnel, with the firm’s full-time headcount now closing in on 350 professionals, over half who have been with Synergy for between three and five years. A further 50 have served for half a decade or more, while a similar number are still fresh faces, having joined over the past twelve months. Synergy also now has over two dozen partners, more than a third of those promoted in recent months.
Still, as it bids to “better attract, develop, retain and genuinely engage” its talent, one notable aspect of the strategy is in its view toward a shifting workforce, stating that the blueprint will evolve over time to best suit its people while remaining underpinned by its core values. Here, Synergy acknowledges that the emerging generation places a much higher premium on the connection between personal and organisational values than ever before.
Presently, over 150 of its employees are still under the age 35, considered to be members of Generation Z, which has long been noted for prioritising principles over employment. As a reflection, several of the initiatives in Synergy’s strategy speak to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture and safe environment to encourage authenticity and open and honest interactions, with a greater emphasis to also be placed on work-life balance to ensure physical and mental well-being.
“As we embark on this transformative journey, every Synergite will feel a renewed sense of purpose and pride, with the understanding that their growth, well-being, and aspirations directly contribute to Synergy Group’s overarching vision,” the firm concludes. “Together, with the synergy of collaboration, excellence and keeping our people at the core, we will redefine professional services.”
