A Bowling Ball, a Brady Bunch Zoom Screen, and a Culture System That Actually Works
In a recent conversation, Sean Menard, Chief People Officer at Frazier & Deeter, described leadership using a bowling alley metaphor. The pins represent the vision. Leaders install the bumpers so people do not drift into the gutter, but they still throw the ball their own way.
That metaphor captures how the firm operates.
Frazier & Deeter is a top 40 U.S. accounting and advisory practice with more than 800 employees across 14 locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. Roughly 10 percent of the workforce is fully remote. Most team members work in the office two to three days per week. Reported turnover sits near 10 percent, materially lower than many firms in the accounting sector.
This is not about perks. It is about system design.
Culture as Daily Behavior, Not Brand Language
Menard defines culture simply: it is the everyday interactions between employees.
That definition forces accountability. If culture is daily behavior, then leaders cannot outsource it to a values poster or onboarding slide deck.
At Frazier & Deeter, leaders operationalize culture through repeatable habits:
Greeting people intentionally
Following up on personal details shared in prior conversations
Starting meetings with nonwork check ins
Designing in office days for collaboration rather than solo Zoom calls
Hybrid work is not accidental. Office days are structured for connection. Remote days are optimized for focus.
When learning sessions include remote teammates, everyone joins from their own device. Even those physically in the office log into Zoom individually, creating parity through the familiar Brady Bunch gallery view. The design choice prevents remote employees from becoming second class participants.
During busy season, appreciation is delivered equitably. Office teams may receive catered meals. Remote employees receive digital food credits. Equal effort. Equal acknowledgment.
Recognition is embedded in workflow through Motivosity, where peer shout outs translate into points redeemable for gift cards or company merchandise. The signal is frequent and lightweight, which matters more than annual awards.
External research supports the business case. According to BetterUp, employees who experience strong belonging demonstrate:
56 percent higher job performance
50 percent lower turnover risk
75 percent fewer sick days
Belonging is not sentimental. It is financial.
The Turnover Math Most Firms Avoid
Menard reports turnover near 10 percent. In accounting, that number is meaningful.
Data from Inside Public Accounting shows non Big Four firms often experience professional staff turnover in the mid teens or higher. In recent cycles, averages have hovered around 12 to 19 percent, with voluntary departures comprising the majority of exits.
In practical terms, a 10 percent firm materially outperforms common baselines.
Lower attrition produces measurable gains:
Reduced recruiting expense
Preserved client continuity
Lower onboarding friction
Stabilized team performance during filing cycles
In a profession where margins compound through continuity and expertise retention, attrition is not a soft issue. It is a margin lever.
Trust Made Operational
Frazier & Deeter teaches two forms of trust.
First, vulnerability based trust. This is not therapy. It is leaders asking for help, admitting mistakes, and staying curious. Small behaviors compound into relational capital.
Second, trust by default. New hires are assumed competent from day one. They do not have to earn basic autonomy before being trusted with meaningful work.
The bowling metaphor clarifies the balance. Leaders set the pins. They install bumpers. They do not dictate every throw.
This model preserves autonomy while maintaining accountability. Leaders remove roadblocks instead of prescribing every step. Fear decreases. Voice increases. Errors surface earlier.
Again, belonging research explains the outcome. When employees feel accepted and respected, performance rises and exit risk declines.
Hybrid by Design, Not by Drift
Many organizations claim to operate hybrid models. Few design them intentionally.
Frazier & Deeter formalized their approach and earned a Balanced Hybrid Certification from Gather Sciences, becoming the first accounting and advisory firm to receive it.
Certification alone is not the point. The discipline behind it is.
The firm defines:
Which days are optimized for in person collaboration
Which days protect deep work
When everyone joins virtually to ensure parity
Hybrid inequity often emerges when office employees gain energy and visibility while remote employees receive information secondhand. Structured norms counteract that drift.
Recognition That Crosses Time Zones
Recognition loses power when it is episodic.
Through Motivosity, gratitude appears in the same digital channels where work happens. Peers can acknowledge one another instantly. Points connect appreciation to tangible rewards.
For distributed teams, frequency matters. Recognition that travels across time zones reinforces shared standards of excellence.
The message is consistent: effort is visible.
Hiring for Character, Not Just Credentials
The firm screens candidates using the “humble, hungry, and smart” framework popularized by Patrick Lencioni.
Humble: team before ego
Hungry: self driven
Smart: people smart, not merely technically proficient
In accounting and advisory work, technical capability is table stakes. Differentiation emerges through emotional intelligence, client continuity, and collaborative behavior under deadline pressure.
Hiring for EQ with structured prompts and scoring systems institutionalizes cultural alignment. It reduces dependency on instinct.
What Leaders Can Implement Immediately
If you strip away industry context, the blueprint is portable.
Script small cultural rituals. Begin meetings with personal check ins. Follow up intentionally. Ritualized micro behaviors build belonging.
Define hybrid norms explicitly. Clarify when collaboration happens, when focus is protected, and when everyone joins from their own screen.
Embed peer recognition into workflow. Appreciation should appear in the same systems where work is executed.
Teach trust deliberately. Coach leaders to default to competence and operate with guardrails rather than micromanagement.
Hire for relational intelligence with the same rigor applied to technical standards.
None of these actions are expensive. All require consistency.
The Real Lesson
Menard described culture as the sum of ordinary moments: elevator greetings, follow up questions about a weekend soccer tournament, the first five minutes of a meeting.
That framing matters.
A 10 percent turnover firm in a profession where mid teen attrition is common is not relying on charisma. It is running a disciplined system built on three principles:
Trust by default
Hybrid by design
Belonging on purpose
In client service industries, continuity compounds into loyalty and margin. Culture is not decoration. It is infrastructure.
And when the bumpers are set correctly, the pins tend to fall.
