Lift: Elevating people-centric culture for transformative success

For the sceptics among us, it may sound like a convenient way to tick the learning and development box, but it’s not quite like that. Lift is not a learning and development program, nor is it a stand-alone concept. Lift is fundamental to our culture, because we are a people business. We also believe that maintaining a focus on people is vital in an age of automation. Lift is a vibe. It’s a language. It’s a mindset. It’s like an ink stain that runs through everything we do.

You drive your personal and professional development, and we will provide the infrastructure to get you there, is how we see it. “You own your own Lift” is our mantra and the first principle. The second principle makes client consulting assignments the primary means of learning and growth. Whilst never sacrificing the highest levels of service and quality, we endeavour to safely provide opportunities for growth and skill development in the way we approach our project mandates. Our process of matching consultants to project work is a carefully navigated one that ensures Lift takes equal priority in project execution and delivery. The facilitation of the personal learning journey of our consultants is our third principle. This is done via a range of mechanisms, because we know all too well that this very learning journey is the foundation of our success.

• Starting with talent attraction, where we seek out individuals who by nature are serious about their personal and professional development and can clearly articulate what they want, Lift spans the entire employee life cycle.
• At the selection stage, we look for a growth mindset, for only people who are intrinsically motivated to develop themselves to their full potential are a good fit for our business. We also celebrate the diversity of individuals for their potential to lift our business in terms of the services we offer our clients.
• During onboarding, we make Lift a central theme by setting clear objectives and quality targets, and expediting the new incumbent’s Lift in the first three months to ensure effective integration and portability on assignments.
• It figures that knowledge development is integral to Lift, and there is no one way that we do it. Our philosophy is that we build knowledge and expertise together, and therefore a culture of sharing knowledge is encouraged. As Larry Prusak once said, “Knowledge shared is knowledge squared”. From internal knowledge circles based on the principles of holacracy, knowledge sessions, our book club, our substantial in-house library, and the celebration and publication of thought leadership initiatives, we see no limits to knowledge development.
• Our in-house mentoring program provides for a collaborative, mutually beneficial trust relationship between mentor and mentee that fosters optimal personal and professional insight and growth. We also support personalized coaching for our people.
• When it comes to training, we do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach, and we are mindful that the unique skills, interests, and experience of our people warrant customized methods of training, which may include webinars, seminars and conference attendance. But there really is no limit to what the term “training” entails.
• In our quest for relentless improvement, we encourage a culture of regular feedback amongst fellow consultants, based on mutual respect and trust. Using Intervision groups and 360-feedback, we use our depth of skill and knowledge to support each other through peer coaching, and we create opportunities to facilitate this in a productive way.
• All of these mechanisms afford us the ability to provide an iterative and integrated approach to performance and rewardthat builds a culture of collaborative value creation.
• We recognize the inescapable reality that people and organizations sometimes choose to part ways. During offboarding, we experience a surge of pride at the contribution we have made to that person’s personal and professional growth at BlinkLane and we seek feedback in terms of how we can continue to lift in the way we lead our people and our business. We are proud of our alumni and their contribution to furthering our network and footprint in the market. All alumni remain part of the BlinkLane family.

Like the sound of Lift? So do we.