Are you happy at work? What about your team? Or your employees? Having a positive atmosphere at work can transform your company; happy staff have been found to be 12% more productive than an unhappy team. But how can you make that happen? We've been chatting to Director Tom Tinsley to find out.
'Creating a positive work atmosphere has always been incredibly important to us,' says Tom. 'You want people to look forward to coming to work in the morning. Part of our ethos at Transcendit is to create a strong organisation culture, within both our IT support and web development teams. It really does have an effect on the service our customers receive when our staff feel happy and comfortable at work.'
'Part of facilitating that comes down to our approach to business, and our policies; we have a profit sharing scheme, we hold quarterly social events which are paid for by the company, we're in the cycle to work scheme. But part of it comes from smaller actions. Making our employees a cup of tea in the morning or everyone playing a board game together at lunch might sound like nothing, but it helps everyone feel appreciated. You don't have to spend any money to do those things, and it makes the world of difference.'
We asked around the office to find out what our support and web development teams like about working for Transcendit. Here are our team's picks for lifting staff morale in your workplace.
'Keep calm when mistakes are made' Adam McCormick
'It makes a huge difference to work in a place where mistakes are handled properly. Nobody makes a drama out of it, everyone just jumps straight in to help. The problems get solved a lot faster, everyone gets a lot less stressed and you're able to move past something rather than dwelling on it.'
'It creates a supportive atmosphere. And that's always nicer to work in.'
'Keep your teams down to a dozen' Stephen Brazier
'Being part of a smaller team here really makes a difference. You feel like you know everyone, and there's fewer paths of communication. If you have to talk to loads of people to do something, it's much harder to do. If you have a big team, it helps to break it up so that there's a clear structure and framework.'
'It's great to know everyone that you're working with. It's probably not possible in every company, but it does make getting work done a lot easier.'
'Encourage people to ask questions.' Rebecca Harrison
'It's so great to work within a team who are happy to answer your questions and share their knowledge. Our support and web development teams are made up of some really great people. If you don't understand something, someone will always explain it to you - no matter how long it takes. It just takes the stress out of work.'
'They're pretty good at giving advice on your personal life too!'
'Support apprenticeships.' Ewan Hawkes
'It's not just about making apprenticeships available, it's about supporting the apprentices through their education too. Transcendit recognise the academic side of the apprenticeship, as well as the practical side, and I'm given time to work on both.'
'It doesn't sound like a big thing, but it really helps.'
'Help your employees feel valued' Jonty Davis
'I feel valued, and I think that's important. Individuals that feel undervalued are far more likely to leave their job. If you feel unwelcome somewhere, you're not going to stay in a company, you're not going to feel motivated at work. But when you feel appreciated, that creates a great atmosphere.'
'This is the nicest place I have ever worked. In what other organisation does the chief executive make you a coffee in the morning?'
'Hire friendly people' Michael Jarrett
'The people in your team really affect how your business runs. One of the reasons I enjoy coming to work is that the staff here are really good. Everybody works hard, everyone's prepared to put the time in, and everyone is really easy to get on with. There's no workplace drama to slow you down.'
'You can tell how great it is by how long people have worked here - more than a decade for a fair few people. It's pretty unique in that respect.'
'Get the board games out.' Kirk Conway
'There are a ton of us here who enjoy playing board games - at first we just started playing at lunch. Now we have an evening a week where some of us stay late and play a longer game together. It's a good laugh, and it's even better when you've had a stressful day at work. A few of us are going down to the UK Board Game Expo next month to pick up some new games for the office.'
'They're not just great work relationships - you end up forming friendships with the people here.'
Want to join our team? Get in touch with us on 0191 482 0444
