By Cathy Weis. Cathy was an industry guest at our SafetyCulture Shipit Week.
My week at SafetyCulture
You don’t need to read SafetyCulture’s corporate values on the office wall to get a sense of who they are as an organization. It shines through in every conversation.
I spent a week with the team soaking up the atmosphere of their whole-of-workforce forum. It was intentionally a big shift from my usual role in a large corporation with thousands of employees. Rather, I was looking to observe a small tech start-up and reflect on their lessons of rapid growth, speed to market, commercial focus, building a high-performance culture, and a shared commitment to improving safety. I was looking for some small nuggets of gold and fresh thinking to take back to my corporate world, and SafetyCulture didn’t disappoint.
From the moment team members from across the globe entered the Townsville office, I knew I was in for something special. The energy and excitement was palpable, and it built with each new arrival. Most noticeable was the strong connection with organizational values.
SafetyCulture’s values were devised by employees at a previous employee forum and it’s clear they live them every day; passionately and whole-heartedly.
[video url=https://www.youtube.com/embed/NXDdgrBEF0Q?list=PLrIXpy-55Hj3aShKd0ZAS8rV0vXN-r6Au caption="SafetyCulture came together for a Shipit Week in August 2016" ]
The values
It starts with “Think customer – We put the customer at the heart of everything we do.” Just to be clear, it’s reinforced with the decidedly non-corporate “We give a sh#t
In my time with the team, the customer was front and centre of every conversation. Sure, there were discussions about strategy, growing revenue, product development and enhancement, incorporating new technology, and the next big project. But the customer was the lynchpin. Everything centred on creating customer delight, improving customer outcomes, and striving for a frictionless, streamlined experience for customers at every interaction with SafetyCulture products and people. In everything, the customer was king.
The team’s other values reinforced their relationship with customers and each other:
Build it well – Our products help save lives each day. We build with care.
Open. Honest. Always - Enough said. We do the right thing.
Bring Ideas – We come together to create as a team. We like different.
Never stop learning – Seek new ways to make things better. We learn and grow.
It was evident that these values sit at the core of how employees work. Members were engaged and animated as they collaborated and generously shared ideas and experiences, focused on continual improvement and quality, spoke openly, honestly and frankly, while respecting each other’s ideas and input. It was high energy, brimming with a sense of fun; powered by an unshakeable commitment to driving improvements for customers.
It was a great demonstration of values driving organizational culture. While so many organizations strive for it, for many, it remains elusive. At SafetyCulture, they have it nailed. They really do give a sh#t.
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