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This article is based on a conversation between Brad Bialy and Patrick Morin on Take the Stage, a podcast/vodcast presented by Haley Marketing. For this episode and others search for “Secrets of Staffing Success” on your preferred podcast player or watch past episodes on YouTube.
How do you stand out in an industry where everyone offers the same services? Where competitors can match your rates, mirror your offerings, and promise the same level of service?
You don’t outcompete with pricing.
You don’t out-market with buzzwords.
You out-culture them.
According to investment banker Patrick Morin, culture isn’t something you list on your website or throw into an employee handbook. It’s not lip service – it’s how your people show up every day, how they treat clients and candidates, and how they live your company’s values in real time. “Culture isn’t part of the strategy — it is the strategy,” Patrick said, quoting Bill Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company.
And that mindset can transform your staffing firm.
What Does it Really Mean That Culture Is Strategy?
It’s easy to write down a list of values and call that your culture. But that’s not what drives business results.
“Culture is the way your people behave,” Patrick said. “It’s how they treat clients, vendors, and each other. That’s what your market experiences – not the bullet points framed on your conference room wall.”
Culture is the sum of your daily actions. If your team embodies creativity, problem-solving, and service – that’s what your clients experience. If your team is disorganized, inconsistent, or transactional? Well, that’s your “culture,” too.
At its core, culture shapes how work gets done. And how work gets done is your strategy.
Culture = Competitive Advantage
In staffing, pricing and service offerings can only take you so far.
Morin says: “We’re stepping over dollars to pick up dimes when we focus only on bill rate differentials. The real money? It’s in long-term differentiation – clients who say, ‘Your team always comes through.’”
You may not always be the cheapest. But you can always be the most dependable, the most human, the most innovative, or the most caring. That consistency is how culture becomes a strategic differentiator – especially in an industry that many clients see as commoditized.
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So… How Do You Build a Culture That Is Strategy?
That’s where the real work begins (and what we’ll dig into in future posts in this series). But here’s a high-level preview:
- Define the core values you actually live by – not just ones that sound good.
- Model the behavior from the top. Culture starts with leadership but gets built by the team.
- Align your hiring, onboarding, and daily operations to reinforce those values.
- Cut out what doesn’t align. Culture is strengthened not just by what you add, but by what you remove.
As Patrick put it, “The machinery breaks when there’s a disconnect between the leaders and the people delivering the service.”
If you want to grow a business that stands out – and stands the test of time – don’t treat culture like a marketing message. Treat it like your blueprint for growth.
Because in staffing, your team is your product. And how your team acts every day? That’s your strategy.
Stay Tuned…
Up next in this series, we’ll learn how to use culture to stand out in a commoditized market. Keep an eye out for Part 2!
The post Culture IS the Strategy: A Conversation with Patrick Morin appeared first on Haley Marketing Group.
