Our story
Every professional services firm wants to improve their clients’ condition. So, what is it that differentiates Cordelta?
We think it’s the fact that our sole focus comes from a perspective of care.
We care about what we do and who we do it for. We care that we leave our clients in a better place, equipped with the tools they need to continue to improve their own performance, as opposed to locked in to an expensive service agreement.
More importantly, it comes from the fact that our own people live these values. We are cohesive and constructive, supportive and collaborative. We live and work in an environment of powerful engagement and respect.
And so, when our teams are sent into client organisations, we bring these values with us.
Of course, we also bring massive experience, an enviable track record of expertise, success and thought leadership. Our intention is to do more than improve our clients’ condition. It is to develop in our client new capabilities that help them achieve required outcomes, overcome challenges and ensure future success.
We are hard-working, diligent and resourceful.
We encourage independent thinking by supporting each other to implement ideas and be creative.
Sometimes we feel like misfits, but actually we always fit in. That’s because we observe, question and learn.
We are a collective of creators, tinkerers and fixers with diverse backgrounds, united by a passion to create better outcomes.
We nurture personal connections.
Our people
When you partner with Cordelta, you can expect your team to be supported by good people who do great work.
Our people are empowered and driven by values. Their performance is fuelled by best-practice knowledge and experience. And although they have a track record of enormous success, they are humble in their approach.
Cordelta’s focus is on tangible outcomes for clients, outcomes that help people within our client organisations succeed. To achieve these goals, we know we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
“It seems to me that business is about building relationships, solving problems and being known for doing excellent work. I wanted to build a values-based company focussed on tangible outcomes for its clients and for its people, so I did.”
Ken Gutterson, Founder and Director
What do we value?
We value autonomy, flexibility, integrity and diversity. We admire those who are helpful, authentic, and who act with humility.
We are courageous in our independence and our connections are based on care and respect. We are not hung up on hierarchy and we put little weight on titles. We do everything within our knowledge, experience and power to make things better. But it’s not always easy. It takes hard work. We learn from the tough times, using those lessons to ensure we’re constantly improving and evolving. We are always learning.
Professionalism
Be accountable to a higher standard.
Commitment
Accept responsibility for achieving a result.
Integrity
Choose the right path over the easiest path.
Humility
Put others before yourself.
Helpfulness
Help others achieve their goals.
Balance
Give time to everything that matters.
What’s our philosophy?
We strive for an unmatched culture of recognition, inclusivity, engagement and success.
Cordelta was founded on the idea of helping people succeed. Our egalitarian culture defines us as a company that cares about making our community a better place. That begins with our people.
How do we punch above our weight in a highly competitive, professional services market? We do it by putting our people at the centre of everything we do. Don’t just take our word for it – ask them!
How we design work
At Cordelta, we put a lot of thought into excellent work design for each of our people.
Our method is consistent with the SMART work design model developed by ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Sharon Parker, from the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University.
Professor Parker’s thought-leading research shows that good work design has positive impacts on individuals, teams and organisations.
We enjoy work that is not just constantly varied, depending on the requirements of each client, but also meaningful. Our work for public service, corporate and not-for-profit entities affects government function, customer experience and improves the way people live their lives.
We do everything within our power to help our people understand the importance of their role in the bigger picture. That’s whether they’re in our office, on a client site or working from home. We provide them with the support, training and tools to ensure success.
The level of autonomy (agency) that our people enjoy is actually not for everybody. Those who thrive on being micro-managed might feel like a fish out of water. But for self-starters and people confident to work in loose, flat-structured and high-performance small teams, the sky’s the limit.
We have structured the business in a way that avoids bureaucracy but ensures our people have all the support they need, when they need it. Within our culture, which is driven and fuelled by our staff, we value and celebrate each other’s success.
If the demands of a job are too great, levels of engagement and performance fall. We build hygiene and motivating factors into our work design. These include personal time, professional development and room for the enjoyment of non work-related passions.
Our commitment to community
Cordelta cares about making our community a better place to belong. But we don’t just talk about it. We back words with action.
For example, our Share the Care program conducts ongoing research to identify community needs. We invest in initiatives that make a positive change to people in need. We distribute at least 1% of all Cordelta profits into the community. That is just the beginning.
The program was established to provide our people with a variety of meaningful ways to give back to the Canberra community. Our people work with community representatives to uplift their efforts through financial contributions or provision of human resources.
Another employee-led program identifies and creates activities around the local, national and international ‘Days’ that our employees wish to commemorate, celebrate, support, recognise and respect.
