Intentional strategies to uphold a strong company culture regardless of geographical boundaries.
As firms expand their footprint across multiple office locations, maintaining a cohesive company culture becomes paramount. At Choice One Engineering, we use intentional strategies to uphold our vision, mission, purpose, and core values, as we know that perpetuating these values fosters connections and ensures that employees feel at home, regardless of their physical workspace. From regular quizzing on core values to leveraging technology and encouraging cross-office collaboration, our best practices create a thriving culture that transcends geographical boundaries.
In recent years we have learned to accept that our offices won’t do everything identically. However, our shared culture makes it so that everyone will experience the same Choice One Engineering (internally and externally). For reference, Choice One Engineering is a civil engineering, surveying, and landscape architecture firm with two offices in western Ohio: Sidney, Ohio, 51 employees, founded in 1994; and Loveland, Ohio, 26 employees, opened in 2011. We define culture now as “the way we do things.” We operate based on the same set of collective values: same purpose, vision, mission, and core values, and we all work toward the same strategic priorities to act as one team.
The following are practices implemented and regularly enhanced by our firm:
- Reinforce values often. Consistently reinforcing our company’s core values is crucial to our success. This is by far the most important aspect of creating as consistent a culture as possible. We accomplish this with:
- Regular quizzing and reminders. Incorporate value-related questions into company meetings. Yes, we take written quizzes at company-wide meetings each month. This keeps everyone engaged and reinforces the importance of these principles.
- Decision filter. We use our collective values as a decision-making filter. When faced with choices, we evaluate the choices against this set of beliefs.
- Enjoyment checkups. We periodically assess employee satisfaction and alignment with company values, which helps us to address any gaps promptly.
- Host inclusive events. Creating opportunities for employees to connect and build relationships is vital. We use the following ideas to perpetuate these connections:
- Quarterly offsite meetings. We regularly bring both offices together (often at a central, rented space) for strategic planning, team-building exercises, and knowledge sharing.
- Company picnics. By organizing and supporting casual gatherings where colleagues can relax and meet each other’s families, we encourage interaction and bonding.
- Company trips. We organize and pay for trips to explore new locations with co-workers and spouses to get to know each other better outside of work and share experiences we then are able to bond over.
- Fun competitions. Events like March Madness brackets and chili cook-offs encourage friendly competition and camaraderie.
- Facilitate office swapping. Our firm encourages employees to spend time in different office locations – thankfully, our offices are about 1.25 hours apart, which allows us to do this regularly, which may not be the case for all firms. We also have a cloud-based software system, which simplifies working from any computer on our system. Benefits we have realized include the following:
- Cross-pollination. Employees gain fresh perspectives by collaborating with colleagues from other offices.
- Networking. Employees strengthen professional relationships beyond local teams.
- Understanding context. Seeing firsthand how different offices operate enhances empathy and understanding.
- Rotate desks annually. Almost everyone in the company switches desks annually. While this may seem like a large undertaking, we have been able to simplify the process so that most employees are only disrupted for about 30 minutes per move. This strategy prevents monotony and encourages interaction. Benefits also include the following:
- New perspectives. Different seating arrangements lead to varied interactions and insights.
- Breaking silos. Employees from different departments or offices interact more naturally.
- Adaptability. Regular desk changes prepare employees for flexibility.
- Non-entitlement. No one becomes entitled to a space, desk, or facility. Spaces, technology, and resources are viewed as shared or temporary, decreasing entitlement or feelings of superiority.
- Leverage technology. We rely heavily on technology to bridge geographical gaps, as described in the following:
- Phone paging system. Our system efficiently connects employees across offices.
- Virtual meeting capability. We are constantly conducting virtual meetings, training sessions, and team updates via virtual spaces.
- Group chats. Chats help us share jokes, stories, and updates to maintain a sense of community.
- Cloud-based server/software integration. We are able to collaborate on projects and share resources thanks to cloud-based servers and software. This system also allows anyone to work from any computer.
- Cultivate appreciation. We actively provide training to help all employees recognize and appreciate others’ efforts using the following.
- Employee recognition programs. We celebrate achievements publicly.
- Thank-you notes. We encourage personalized messages among employees.
- Peer-to-peer recognition. We encourage colleagues to appreciate each other, and give them the tools to do so via consistent education and support including Languages of Appreciation quizzes and training for all employees.
- Foster a team-wide mindset. Our firm intentionally shifts the focus from office competition to collective success with the following approaches:
- Shared goals. We align teams across locations toward common objectives.
- Profit-based bonuses. Our rewards are based on overall company profitability, not an individual office’s or an individual person’s performance.
- Collaboration. We encourage cross-office collaboration on projects by creating project teams with the best fit for the project, regardless of their physical location.
By implementing these practices, our firm creates a cohesive and thriving company culture that transcends physical boundaries. We have internalized the concept that a strong culture is the backbone of a successful organization, and we hold to this outlook no matter how many offices we operate.
Hannah Dapore is people and culture leader at Choice One Engineering. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
