OurWay.Rocks For Your Company Culture To Rock!

As a work culture firm dedicated to the cause of aiding companies build and sustain a positive work culture, we take great pride in our very own work culture. Of course, it wasn’t created overnight. The journey was long and yet, filled with life lessons and great memories. We have documented it on a website – OurWay.Rocks!

The objective of creating this site was to share how one can build a formidable work environment. For us it has always been about providing exactly what the employee wants, deserves, and in some cases, needs. From outlining company values that give purpose to one’s role, to saying a simple “Thank you”; there’s a lot that goes into getting the basics, right? This is exactly why we decided to make public a site so dear to our hearts. A site that tells you exactly how we run the show.

To start-up founders, entrepreneurs, and those looking to elevate or build from scratch your company culture, you’ve hit jackpot! This one-stop guide can help you see work-life from unique perspectives, and help you find your own workplace happiness formula.

What Is Our Way?

Valuing values! Company values are as important as a building’s corner stone. They act as a voice of reason that guide the people like a compass. Believing and living the company values can aid in attracting the right talent who result in being the perfect culture fit. Establishing what your company believes in and strongly stands against, symbolizes a brand that has a conscious voice to do what is right. After all, such a reputation is what makes you stand out from the crowd.

Offering The Good Stuff

Perks and benefits have always piqued a candidate’s or an employee’s interest. At Never Grow Up®, there’s a long list of benefits - Right from referring a buddy, to working from home, health insurance, in-house counselling, learning and upskilling, an open pantry, and much more.

Would you believe that over 30% of our workforce are referrals hired via our existing team members?

Incentivizing something as simple as referring a friend at work boosts an individual’s loyalty and trust in the company. Besides, it builds a work environment where it’s easy to make friends at work and strengthen the team bonding.

Being sensitive towards employee physical and mental health by offering insurance and access to an in-house counsellor, respectively, implies that the team is genuinely cared for.

P.S – We implemented ‘work from home’ as a perk way back in the day and in the long run, it served as an advantage when the world got into a state of lockdown and business operations completely moved to the digital and virtual world.

Guidelines Help Stay In The Lane

Certain company policies and guidelines prevent workplace bullying, discrimination and harassment. It benchmarks a standard of professionalism that must be adhered. Moreover, these policies protect employees and ensure that the employee experience is healthy and happy. Prevention Against Discrimination and/or Bullying (PADB) and Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH) are extremely essential policies that must be implemented in all companies, irrespective of size.

As an employer, it is imperative to understand the difference between discrimination and bullying and the myths surrounding it. Non-compliance with the 2013 POSH Act can result in hefty fines, cancellation of the company’s licence, and even jail term for senior executives. Since the birth of Never Grow Up® and the inception of POSH, we have had ZERO cases! Thus, denoting a safe working environment for ALL our employees (including the male workforce) as our POSH policy caters to all genders.

Appreciating Even The Little Things

Your team will work for money but are they willing to go the extra mile?

Recognition of any kind is one of the best ways to showcase gratitude and value a colleague’s efforts. We even believe in appreciating someone who has strong soft skills and supports the team in intangible ways!

Spot recognition with Happiness Badges, R&R programs such as Rockstar Of the Quarter, and even exclusive appreciation like our Happiness Cheques, are some of the ways we display our immense gratefulness to our peers across the floor.

No, we haven’t forgotten the most essential responsibility that an employer has towards the team – listening to them! Paying actual attention to feedback, ideas and concerns shared, is a sign of a healthy work environment. It’s obvious that such a platform must exist, but in reality, how effective are these portals if not maintained with utmost transparency and confidentiality?

At Never Grow Up®, our firm belief in these values has been the backbone in establishing an honest relationship with each of our employees as well as our clients and stakeholders. This in turn gave birth to a positive work culture that thrives on honesty, appreciation and happiness.

While we give you the basic pillars of building an effective work culture, we hope it encourages you to bring in a certain quirk or fun aspect that clearly defines ‘Your Brand’. For after all, OurWay.Rocks certainly rocks!

Building A Formidable Work Culture - It Doesn’t Happen Overnight

As Never Grow Up turned 11 at the beginning of this year, we hopped onto the nostalgia train! We started out in 2010 with the objective of being a firm that enabled companies build a formidable work culture. But alas, we were ahead of time and it took us a lot of trial and error to reach the stature that we are at today! We’ve indeed come a long way from having a three-member team to over 70 employees now.

So, what did we do differently that put us ahead of most work culture firms? Let’s find out!

Paying Actual Attention

One of the things we pride ourselves on is the open platform we give our employees, to voice their thoughts, apprehensions, and opinions. Having employees freely share feedback, ideas, or a concern is a sign of a healthy work culture. With the option of staying anonymous while sharing feedback or highlighting a concern, one trusts the system to derive at a fair and just solution to the problem at hand. Moreover, it puts the faith of people into the management to be completely transparent in such instances.

Another mechanism we use to understand the pulse of the employees is Happyness Quotient, an innovative survey tool that provides real-time indication of certain workplace aspects, based on the analysis of employee surveys. Going one step further in paying attention to what our employees are saying and not saying, we even set up access to an in-house counselor. After all, paying attention to employee well-being is equally important.

Celebrating What Really Counts

India is a land of rich culture and heritage! And yet with so much diversity each one of us are born into, how much effort do we take to recognize all of it? When we choose to celebrate only a few major festivals at the workplace, we unknowingly are being discriminatory. It also minimizes the chance of feeling part of the work family. It’s understandable that not every religious occasion can be celebrated, which is why we took the conscious decision of not celebrating any festivals at work!

We at Never Grow Up do not celebrate holidays as an organization. Though everyone is free to individually do something special for an occasion if they like. Instead, we come together to celebrate birthdays, work anniversaries, rockstar of the quarter, project completion, pitch wins, team efforts and even a job well done! Since the past few years, we also observe one day in the year as “No Work Day” (in addition to our annual offsite). The occasion is marked with pure enjoyment, food, laughs, and games at the office, but no talk of work! Why? Because having literal fun at the workplace with your peers, boosts one’s interpersonal relationships, creativity and happiness levels. And isn’t happy employees the best kind of workforce?

Involving Employees In Policy Creation

Before work from home became a norm, we had an exclusive “WFH Policy” that allowed our employees to work remotely. The aim was to be more considerate of an employee’s situation that hinders them from traveling to office, but are still capable of being equally productive by working from home or remotely. And to understand the various situations one could encounter to avail this policy, we involved our very own team members to be part of this policy creation.

As the company grew over the years, this policy too evolved. Though it initially stated 10 days in a calendar year can be used to work from home, we later decided that there should not be a limit. That’s right, unlimited work from home days. But was this benefit misused? No! Simply because we trusted the team strongly enough to know that while the organization gave them the best, we also expect honesty in return.

Therefore, permitting our employees to work from home benefited us a great deal when the lockdown came into effect. Having the experience of working distantly but cohesively and virtually, kept productivity and efficiency levels stable. More than 10 months later, our team is still going strong virtually although we do miss the office space and the crazy chai-sutta breaks!

Rome wasn’t built in a day and the same is applicable to any business that strives to create a positive work culture. While the ingredients to the formula stay the same, the proportions depend entirely on what is best suited for your brand. It takes a lot of experimenting, patience and the will to pull through the turbulent times, in order to come out shining and successful. But once you get the formula right, there’s no stopping you from having the happiest and most passionate team of super employees!

Maintaining Stability And Reputation Amidst Organizational Change

With a new management comes a new vision, bringing along a sense of unrest amongst the rest. Will the company sport a new look and employer branding? Will there be alterations in its internal communications strategy and policies? Will there be new SOPs that govern everyday operations? And with the turmoil that the pandemic has already created, an organizational change that is not communicated right, stands a higher chance to boomerang.

Managing change demands planning in order to tackle conflict of interests and avoid escalations. It also needs to simultaneously align with the business goals as well as resonate with the company’s culture. Maintaining stability amidst the workforce and the brand’s reputation in the industry is equally critical – Online, as well as offline.

Here is a simple five step process to ensure a continuous transition:

Understanding – Current state

Envisioning – Desired future state

Implementing – In an orderly manner

Analyzing – Impact of the action

Reiterating – Reason for the change

Modern organizations are said to adopt an open-source change management strategy. An approach that has not only helped organizations manage their complicated reporting structures better, but also, increased their profitability of change success up to 22%. This very approach has also reduced the implementation time by one-third.

Apart from this, there are a few aspects that the leadership needs to address prior to, or while conveying the organizational change. For starters, will the employees be subjected to a revamped employer branding strategy?

Resilience Not Resistance

Imagine, if you woke up one morning and realized that the colour of the walls in your room has changed overnight? Well, leadership is the colour that impacts the workforce on a large scale, and in more ways than one. Change is always accompanied by resistance. Being prepared for the possible challenges will help the organization tackle them more efficiently. Understanding that they are ‘valued’ for their contributions, employees will instantly experience emotional resilience being built within teams, that binds them together with the passion to work for the organization’s success.

Leverage Data For Decision Making

Data should indeed be an integral aspect of decision making. Especially, when the workforce is remote and there are chances of miscommunications due to the absence of a physical work environment. Be it reallocations or evaluations, use the previously available data sought through internal surveys or trainings to base your future plans for the organization. Channelize your internal communications towards facilitating conversations and addressing queries. One of the most impactful ways to maintain a sense of stability is when leaders take the ownership to address the ‘new’ problems, even before they are raised.

A Social Framework For Communications

During the lockdown, social media emerged as a new tool for communication to external stakeholders, as well as internal workforce. Apart from the process of online reputation management, organizations should also ensure that public conversations convey the right message and are championed by the people affiliated. Creating a group as a close-knit community, versus creating an omnichannel presence to facilitate brand mentions across platforms, that is where the key towards a personalized framework lies.

As an organization, your biggest need would be to sensitize your leaders. The times are turbulent and displaying empathy is the best way to deal with change. Because when an organization transitions from its current being, the change that occurs at the backend impacts everyday working. And more often, leaders hold the baton to communicate this change as well as to ensure that they surpass expectations. Especially, during a crisis, is when the leaders need to maintain the equilibrium. After all, managing organizational change is an integral aspect of leadership and must be addressed right, for a smooth transition.