82.6% client satisfaction vs 48% industry average. How PBMares built a culture of daily deposits that produced award-winning results three years running.
Here's a pattern I've been watching for over three decades.
Organizations that tend their culture daily produce dramatically different results than organizations that launch culture initiatives annually.
The difference isn't subtle. It's the gap between 82.6% and 48%.
That's not a typo. That's PBMares, a firm that has earned ClearlyRated's Best of Accounting Award for Service Excellence for three consecutive years, versus the industry average for client satisfaction.
And having worked with their team, I can tell you exactly why those numbers look the way they do.
It's not a program. It's a practice.
Let me give you the numbers, because they tell a story that most culture consultants miss.
While the accounting industry averages around 48% client satisfaction (9-10 ratings out of 10), 82.6% of PBMares clients rated their experience at that level.
Clients of award-winning firms like PBMares are 60% more likely to be completely satisfied than those working with non-winning firms.
But here's the number that stopped me cold: 470 specific mentions. That's how many times PBMares clients called out individual team members for going above and beyond, in a single year.
470 moments of recognized excellence doesn't happen by accident. It doesn't come from a culture offsite, a values poster, or an annual retreat.
It comes from what I call the First Drop Principle, the daily micro-deposits that compound into something extraordinary.
Through our work together, I've observed firsthand how PBMares has cultivated a culture where excellence isn't just encouraged, it's expected and celebrated. That distinction matters more than most leaders realize.
CEO Harvey L. Johnson puts it in terms any leader can understand: the proof is in what his team does, not what the mission statement says.
And he's right. (I've walked into hundreds of organizations with beautiful values statements on the wall and dehydrated cultures behind the conference room door. PBMares isn't one of them.)
What makes their approach different from the culture-initiative-of-the-quarter trap?
They built systems, not events. Under the leadership of Robin Clukey, SPHR, MSHROD, PBMares created systems that make excellence repeatable and sustainable.
This is the difference between culture gardeners and culture tourists, tourists visit culture when it's convenient; gardeners tend it daily, in all weather.
They treasure feedback, not just collect it. PBMares actively seeks client feedback, and here's the critical part, they respond to it. Every piece of feedback, positive or constructive, shapes what comes next. That's not a satisfaction survey.
That's a living detection system.
They model it from the top. When leadership visibly celebrates specific behaviors (not generic great job but I saw you stay late to rebuild that report for the client), it creates a cascade.
The team doesn't just know what excellence looks like, they see it recognized, which tells them it matters.
Here's what I want you to pay attention to: PBMares didn't win this award once.
They've won it three consecutive years, while growing to 13 offices across Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.
That second part is critical.
Most organizations can sustain culture excellence at a single location with a tight-knit team.
PBMares maintained it across 13 offices during growth.
If you've ever tried to scale culture without fracturing it, you know how rare this is.
This is what happens when daily deposits compound.
The same way financial interest compounds over time, cultural deposits, small, consistent, intentional actions, build organizational resilience that withstands growth, turnover, and market disruption.
The organizations that try to install culture through quarterly initiatives are like investors who deposit a lump sum once a year and wonder why their returns are volatile.
The ones that tend daily, those are the ones that build something that survives when conditions change.
I've been watching this pattern across industries for 35+ years: culture isn't what you say, it's what you celebrate, measure, and reinforce every day.
What aspects of your organization's performance are you actively celebrating this week? Not last quarter. This week.
If you can't answer that instantly, you might be a culture tourist rather than a culture gardener.
The principles that made PBMares successful aren't reserved for certain industries or organizations of a particular size.
They're available to any leader willing to commit to daily deposits over annual initiatives.
Excellence isn't a skill, it's a practice. And practice means showing up every single day.
How does workplace culture improve client experience?
Organizations with intentional daily culture practices consistently outperform on client satisfaction. PBMares achieved 82.6% client satisfaction versus the industry average of 48% through systematic culture tending, daily reinforcement of values through recognition, feedback loops, and leadership modeling.
What are daily culture deposits in leadership?
Daily culture deposits are small, consistent leadership actions that compound into organizational culture over time, like a gardener watering plants daily rather than flooding them monthly. These include celebrating specific team member behaviors, actively seeking and responding to feedback, and creating systems that make excellence repeatable.
How do you make a culture of excellence sustainable?
Sustainable culture excellence requires three elements: consistent daily reinforcement from leadership, systems that make desired behaviors repeatable, and feedback loops that continuously refine the culture.
Explore articles, case studies, and resources - crafted to keep you ahead.
