Software, shared spaces fostering company culture
What often begins as a founder’s values can evolve and need changes over time
Of the four definitions of the word “culture” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, one explains it can refer to “the mode of behaviour within a particular group (corporate culture).” Ask a business consultant and coach for a definition of corporate culture, and one likely receives a similar, but more nuanced, explanation:
“It’s kind of the essence of all that we do; it’s how we communicate with our teams, it’s how we communicate with the leadership, it’s how we communicate with the board of directors, it’s how we connect with the customers,” says Rebecca Liston.
Establishing a business culture typically starts with the founder’s or owner’s core values, “which then become the core values of the company,” she says.
It’s easier to establish a company’s culture from the start. But sometimes, as a business becomes established in the marketplace, grows and takes on more clients or customers – and staff – problems can arise, and it becomes time to restore or create a culture that best serves everyone.
That’s what happened at DPM Energy, an engineering firm that’s had its hand in urban-renewal projects across Toronto — from the Bloor Street Viaduct’s Luminous Veil and the Pan Am Athletes’ Village to the reconstruction of Cherry St. and the revitalization of East Harbour. The company has grown to a team of 30 in its first seven years, and just recently made the Profit 500, coming in at 109 on the list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Yet regular employee surveys suggested staff members were dissatisfied with company communication, which left them unsure of what was required of them and how their tasks fit into the projects the company was taking on.
So more than two years ago, founder and CEO Nick Iozzo decided to change the way the business was run.
“From a culture perspective, being an entrepreneur, at some point a lot of us have to look at ourselves in the mirror and chances are we are part of the growth problem,” Iozzo says.
Changes included everything from having managers be more transparent with staff about the business, including its financial health, to establishing clear action plans to address problems. There are now also off-site team-building retreats, and once every quarter the team goes out for a “culture lunch” at a restaurant that reflects an employee’s heritage.
“We have a fairly young workforce, so engagement is really important for them,” Iozzo says.
Another piece of the culture-changing puzzle has been the recent adoption of SenseiOS, a platform that not only manages workflow but also facilitates social media-like communication among staff. Through the various channels within the platform, not only are projects defined and tasks identified and assigned, but workers can share key personal or professional achievements, which colleagues can then comment on or react to, much as they would on Facebook or Instagram.
Jay Goldman, managing director of Sensei Labs, says the program helps companies fix “collaboration and workflow challenges.” Companies that adopt the platform can customize it to their own needs for project management and to foster a certain culture in the workplace.
Younger workers have different expectations about how technology should function in the workplace and companies are looking to keep up, Goldman says.
“We consider SenseiOS a cultural amplifier,” he says. “We don’t think you should adapt your business to the technology that is rolling out. We think the technology should adapt to your business.”
If technology can be used to foster a company culture and improve workflow, there’s still much to be said for building a brand and a business with old-fashioned face-to-face communication. And there’s one unique way companies are leveraging a strong culture to expand their network: space-sharing.
Lise Snelgrove, a founder of This Space Works, finds “the best spaces” in Toronto and Ottawa (she has plans for cross-Canada and global expansion) and approaches the companies that use those spaces to consider opening up part of their offices, such as boardrooms, for use by other businesses. She then matches companies that need to rent space short term, say for meetings or office space for out-of-town staff.
“It’s not intended to be a sales opportunity,” Snelgrove says. “It’s a way to branch out your network and shake hands with people that you might not have been able to otherwise.”
When finding a space for a wouldbe renter, Snelgrove says it’s important to match like-minded businesses: that may mean they are in complementary fields, or one may represent the other’s target market. It’s an opportunity for one business to showcase its culture to another, which can serve as a better introduction than any cold call.
“It’s more about brand awareness and first impressions. It’s why people go to events. This is just a new and interesting way of doing that,” Snelgrove says.
“I tell space owners: ‘Showcase who you are and what you’re about in your office, so when people rent the space they get to know you just by being there.’”
A positive experience observing a company’s culture up close could open doors for future business, she says.
“We do business with people we like.”