I stumbled upon an article this weekend from a company called GDS that wanted to find a way to communicate their company culture, or “the way things are done around here”, to all their new hires. They discovered that the easiest way to let folks know how they wanted people to act and treat others was to create a poster entitled, “It’s ok”. Here’s what it says:
It’s ok to:
- say “I don’t know”
- ask for more clarity
- stay at home when you feel ill
- say you don’t understand
- ask what acronyms stand for
- ask why, and why not
- forget things
- introduce yourself
- depend on the team
- ask for help
- not know everything
- have quiet days
- have loud days, to talk, joke and laugh
- put your headphones on
- say “No” when you’re too busy
- make mistakes
- sing
- sigh
- not check your email out of hours
- not check your email constantly during hours
- just Slack it
- walk over and ask someone face-to-face
- go somewhere else to concentrate
- offer feedback on other people’s work
- challenge things you’re not comfortable with
- say yes when anyone does a coffee run
- prefer tea
- snack
- have a messy desk
- have a tidy desk
- work how you like to work
- ask the management to fix it
- have off-days
- have days off
Finding ways to reinforce your company culture and hold people accountable to it is key to maintaining the type of workplace that people want to show up to every day.
If you and your team created a poster to communicate your company culture to someone new on your team or joining your organization what would you list as “ok”? Sounds like a great way to spend a lunch with your team this week. Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
