Workplace that doesn’t give a kind regard
At Idyllic, staff are not allowed to sign off their emails with kind regards, so instead one employee’s email signature reads Hakuna Matata, which means ‘no worries’.
It is part of the unique and fun work culture Shay Starrenburg, founder of the Taranaki-based web design agency, has created.
‘‘So many of the jobs I’ve worked at it’s all about keeping it professional and kind regards, and please find the attached, whereas I’ve been the opposite. I’m like, ‘Nobody’s allowed to talk like that,’’’ the 31-year-old laughs.
Starrenburg, a web developer and coder by trade, started the business out of her basement nearly four years ago after having her first child, Hudson.
While on maternity leave she missed being creative and thought if she was going to go back to work it had to be something for herself as she was giving up so much time with her son.
Idyllic now has five employees, all of whom are female, with around 100 clients based all over New Zealand as well as some in Australia and the US.
It’s very much a work hard, play hard type policy.
The business has become a brand in its own right, filled with pastel pinks, metallics and neon signs thanks to Starrenburg’s style and personality.
‘‘I’ve been a web developer, so every time I email people, or because my name is Shay, which is unisex, everyone would be, like, ‘Oh, hey, mate, how’s it?’ So I thought, I need to make my email signature like bright pink so that they know that I’m a female.
‘‘I started getting most of my work to begin with through women’s networking pages, and because there are not many women in web development, it was quite easy to get that work.’’
It has been hugely important to Starrenburg to build a workplace culture.
Previously she had mostly worked for male bosses, and said it made a huge difference.
‘‘Having that understanding, especially coming from the mum point of view, because kids just get sick every single freaking week,’’ the now mum-oftwo says.
All her employees are female, but she says that’s because it was only women who applied for the positions.
‘‘We’ve definitely got quite a few male clients as well but, ideally, the people that come, come through our Instagram feed, so if you don’t like us, you’re off again, which is good.
‘‘We had a plumber come through. You could look as if a plumber doesn’t really fit our industry, but they were really excited about doing something different and doing it a real special way.’’
Staff and clients are well looked after at Idyllic, with each getting a welcome pack, no matter where they are based, containing items such as chocolate, badges, iron-on patches, and a bottle of wine to celebrate.
Then there’s Christmas.
Last year, every client got Christmas baubles filled with tequila, vodka, gin, and rum.
While Starrenburg dreamt up the idea thinking it would be fun, she says in hindsight it wasn’t the most practical.
‘‘It was all of us for a whole day. We ended up like a factory production line.
‘‘We always do a bit of a song and dance for clients at the end of the year.’’