4 min read
I love working at Reward Gateway and I’m a big champion of our culture. When you’re wrapped up in it every day, it’s easy to forget that all over the country there are so many other companies which are amazing places to work. And what makes for a great company culture? It’s not always those who pay big salaries or offer employee perks such as free lunches – although those things can certainly help employee engagement and happiness.
“A company with amazing culture is one which values people – both their customers and their employees – and is passionate about their products and producing results.”
Success doesn’t only mean turning a profit. It means delighting customers and trusting workers to make good choices on their own.
Hubspot calls this being “human friendly,” and its approach to culture can be found in its Culture Code. As our Head of Global Engagement and a member of our Culture Team, it’s my job to work with others on our People Team to make sure our culture is top-notch and helps us stand out against other companies as well. Here are some other organisations I admire for their employee-first approach to culture:
MOO
Picture your dream job. Then add cake. That’s the message at the top of MOO’s careers page and it’s easy to see why. MOO is an award-winning online print and design company – that we actually use for our business cards – and there’s a strong family feeling which resonates from its company culture. Collaboration is encouraged from an open working spaces which includes areas for team lunches, ping-pong matches, foosball tournaments, board games, celebrations, conversations, drinks on Friday, and all the free ice cream you can eat. Sounds good to me.
Innocent
Drinks maker Innocent are so proud of its company values that they're hung above all of the toilets so that everyone can see them every day. The organisation has a big emphasis on developing talent internally and always look to promote current employers before hiring externally. This is a vital part of building a great culture as not only does it mean roles are being filled with people who are already a cultural fit, they’re also rewarded their hard work. This builds a big sense of loyalty from their employees as it shows their individual development is a business priority.
ASOS
However you choose to pronounce it, ASOS have a clear ambition – “To become the World’s number one online fashion retailer for 20-somethings.” To help their employees achieve this, their reward package focuses on three key areas, "Health," "Wealth," and "Inner Self," with each aspect having its own set of benefits tied to it. As a thank you to their people, ASOS have a summer hours scheme where everyone finishes at 3pm every Friday with a free bar on the last Friday of each month. And on top of all that, they’ve been ranked first in LinkedIn’s top companies to work for in 2018 survey.
HomeServe
HomeServe are ranked number 10 on Glassdoor’s 2018 Best Places to Work list and it’s easy to see why! They allow their employees to buy and sell annual leave, have a subsidised canteen, a robust employee benefits scheme, and give their employees a free HomeServe policy – which I can imagine comes in very handy around the home. Strong leadership is at the core to making HomeServe’s company culture stand out and, as well as this year’s Best Places to Work ranking, their CEO has been voted #3, #12, and #4 over the last three years across all companies in the UK. We’re proud to have them as an RG client.
Doberman
Core to my role, of course, is making sure that we champion and follow through on our commitment to open and honest communication throughout the organisation. I look to companies such as Doberman for inspiration when I need to convince others of the merit of living our Speak Up value. At the very top of the design company’s priorities is the notion that employees should have a say on how the company is managed.
That’s right, every single employee in two of its main offices have the chance to sit alongside the CFO and other core Leadership Team members for 12-16 weeks and influence important company decisions.
How cool is that?
Tell me, which companies inspire you the most when it comes to celebrating company culture?
