A Nice Place to Work

Corporate leaders are spending millions trying to figure out so many work-related issues. But all it really comes down to is this one simple thing - whether we have a genuine desire to create a good environment, which actually doesn't require any great funding to pull off.

Some context about what's going on with us before I talk about this amazing share from Impression , where employees make note of each other's working preferences.

The law of development of civilization and the world works on us in a negative manner when we need to change, which is usually in transition periods. It pressures us in a negative manner to help us accelerate change. To nudge us in the right direction. We don't need to go into detail here about the deterioration of so many things in the world. We're all aware that these are challenging times, and there is no such thing as a perfect system. At the moment the crisis is coming in all shapes and forms - financial, social, educational, vocational, and cultural, with no end in sight.

It's not the end of the world or anything apocalyptic like we see in the movies. It's perfectly natural to experience challenges in a transition period. We simply need to become aware of this process as quickly as possible, so we can apply it to the new phase of our development. There's not a lot being demanded of us. From the moment we agree on what needs to happen, and even we before we do anything - just the fact that we agree on a certain direction - other forces are already operating on us that will open up new opportunities. That's phase one.

The next phase is that we can advance without any expensive training or equipment, all we need to do is sit and talk. Because the moment we start speaking we're creating a new starting point with new forces that we're not familiar with, where suddenly we are overcome with excitement and motivation.

By coming together and opening up to each other, we're inspiring one another in a mutual way. We're getting a wider perspective of the world, instead of having an "each man for himself" attitude.

The things that need to be done are so simple that our brains cannot even grasp at this point.

Wherever there is a collective agreement to have a great environment, all those people are taking action to make sure everyone will be comfortable. We can take amazing examples like the one I'm sharing here, and then habit becomes second nature.

In this way, we're actively transitioning ourselves from the previous stage to the new era with a minimum of negative impact .

Since everyone is so highly motivated and in sync in this mode of working together, new areas of identification with the company's mission and values are created with very modest means. This isn't theoretical - we practice having these discussions on a daily basis, until it's systematically integrated into our daily routine.

I'm sharing this example from Impression to demonstrate how all we really need is a bit of goodwill to create magic. To create the kind of environment that we all want to work in. It doesn't take a lot. It only requires everyone being on board with the plan and working together to make it happen.

Thanks to Nathan Dale for sharing this simple but amazing example -

At?Impression?each staff member has a document called 'My Manual'. It tells you a bit about the person’s hobbies and interests, but more importantly, it gives you insight into:

→ How they like to work

→ The best way to give them feedback

→ What they’re already great at and what they’re working on

→ How they might be acting if they’re stressed and the best way to check in on them

They also help new starters get to know their teammates and come in handy when you’re working with someone you haven’t previously worked with. A great initiative from our People team ??.

I’ve got the My Manuals for our team printed off and stuck on the wall behind my desk. That way I can always brief them how they like to be briefed, make the best use of their strengths, and encourage (challenge) them in the things they’re working on.