Nineteen Years Strong: How shared moments strengthen culture at The O'Connor Group

Sep 14th, 2026 | TOC Insights

Nineteen years in business is a milestone worth celebrating. At The O'Connor Group (TOC), we marked the occasion with Spirit Week - a week filled with themed activities, team participation, memories, and plenty of TOC pride. It was fun by design, but it also reflected something more meaningful: strong cultures are built through shared experiences and the everyday actions that help people feel connected.

Company culture can be easy to describe and harder to sustain. It's more than a set of values, an employee handbook, or a leadership presentations. Culture shows up in how people communicate, collaborate, recognize one another, respond to challenges, and make space for connection. Events such as Spirit Week make those behaviors visible.

Culture Is Built Through Participation

For a team to feel connected, employees need opportunities to participate in the culture rather than simply hear about it. Spirit Week invited our team to bring their personalities, memories, creativity, and energy into the celebration. Each contribution helped tell the story of who we are and how far we have come together.

Participation matters because belonging is strengthened through experience. A shared photo, a team story, a throwback memory, or a moment of recognition may seem small on its own. Together, those moments create familiarity and trust - especially for teams that work across different locations, client engagements, and schedules.

Recognition Connects the Past to the Future

An anniversary gives an organization a natural moment to look back, recognize progress, and thank the people who made that progress possible. Over 19 years, TOC has grown and evolved alongside our employees, consultants, clients, partners, and communities. The way we work has changed, but our commitment to people has remained at the center.

Celebrating that history is not about staying in the past. It reminds teams what the organization has learned, which principles have endured, and what may be possible in the future. Recognition creates continuity. It helps long-tenured team members see the impact of their contributions and gives newer employees a stronger connection to the company's story.

Values Become Meaningful Through Action

At TOC, our values - Integrity, Execution, Collaboration, and Curiosity - guide how we support one another and serve our clients. Spirit Week offered a lighthearted expression of those same principles. Team members showed up, followed through, shared ideas, encouraged one another, and learned more about the people behind the work.

That connection matters to business performance. Teams work better when people trust one another, feel comfortable contributing, and understand how their individual role supports a shared purpose. Culture-building activities cannot replace strong leadership, clear communication, or meaningful employee support, but they can reinforce each of them by creating moments in which employees experience the culture firsthand.

A Lasting Culture Requires Intention

The most effective culture-building efforts are authentic to the organization. They do not need to be elaborate or expensive. They need to be inclusive, consistent, and connected to what the company values. Leaders can strengthen culture by creating opportunities for employees to participate, recognizing contributions across the organization, inviting different voices into the conversation, and making connection part of the regular rhythm of work.

For us, Spirit Week was a joyful way to celebrate 19 years of business. More importantly, it was a reminder that milestones are made possible by people - people who collaborate, stay curious, execute with care, and act with integrity.

As TOC enters its 20th year, we are proud of what our team has built and grateful to every employee, client, partner, and supporter who has been part of the journey. We are carrying that energy forward as we continue empowering talent, fueling growth, and helping organizations build workplaces where people and businesses can thrive.

Thank you to our team for bringing TOC Spirit Week to life - and for bringing our culture to life every day.