Milk, Cookies, and Cupcake.

My brief brush with fame (or as near as I'm ever going to get to it ) started on Tuesday 5th April, 2016. ?That afternoon I was in the Dropbox European HQ in Dublin, visiting as part of my new hire onboarding process.

The team had all just had a briefing from the folks at Plan International Ireland - a charity devoted to making a difference for children living in poverty. ?The Dropbox for Good social impact team had organised a call out day for Plan International to help them get support for a fund raising event on the west coast of Ireland. ?After the briefing, 100 or so Dropboxers took an hour out of their day to hit the phones and canvass local businesses.?

I quickly discovered that my English accent wasn't working that well in making an appeal to the owner of the local Surf School or Bed & Breakfast in Galway. Then I was approached by Therese - the Dublin Office Manager. There's a tradition every Tuesday afternoon that a few new hires get together to wheel round the "Treat Trolley" to offer milk and homemade cookies to the whole team (more than 200 people). ?I had been volunteered to do it that day, and jumped at the chance. If I couldn't be much use on the call out, at least I could feed those who were.?

So, I spent the next two hours touring the office, delivering cookies ?(chocolate chip or apple crumble, in case you're wondering), putting faces to names, and listening in as they made their calls to to ask for donations, discounts and raising awareness of the event.?The response to the call out was very positive - thanks to the big hearted folks from Galway to Tralee and all points in between, and to the enthusiasm and application of the Dropboxers making the calls. For me, it was a heart warming introduction to the culture and attitudes of my new Dropbox colleagues.

This couple of hours of treat trolleying got me thinking. Corporate culture isn't about what you say - it's about how you act.

I’d heard a lot about the “Dropbox Culture” during my onboarding, with phrases such as we-not-I, be humble, aim higher, and?cupcake?as key values of Dropbox culture. ?Naturally, I’d asked what on earth “cupcake” meant. Dropboxers old and new gave me various responses, but the recurring theme in all answers was the notion of spreading delight - to colleagues and customers.?As I toured around the office with my Treat Trolley, I saw how Dropbox makes this real and not just a slogan. Sharing smiles, introductions, and treats with a friendly crowd of new colleagues - that was “cupcake”.?

Creating an open and inclusive work culture may seem hard. ?But it doesn't have to be. It’s about hiring people who care about a set of values, and providing them with opportunities to bring those values to life.

In this case, forging bonds with the entire team cost no more than a batch of cookies and two hours out of my day. For me, it was a fantastic opportunity and a really enjoyable day. This onboarding ritual reflects a broader set of Dropbox company values. It fosters a collective spirit and starts building the inter-departmental relationships central to the “we-not-I” ethos. It reflects a “be humble” attitude, by allowing new hires to don an apron and serve the team. On the Treat Trolley, titles and seniority don’t matter; you’re simply a valued new member of the crew. A Dropboxer.

?One of my new colleagues took a photo of me with the Trolley, so I decided to post it to LinkedIn to let my network know that I was having fun in my new role. It quickly became clear that it’s not just me who’s excited about this simple way to make a big office feel small during employee onboarding. The post got 3000+ “likes” and hundreds of positive comments.

If you're looking to foster an inclusive, feel-good culture in your offices, the small, simple things can be a good place to start.?

After all, building and maintaining a great corporate culture happens through the actions and mindsets of employees - forget that at your peril!