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Bringing it back How to bring a start-up culture in your office

Vinod Desai

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A better workplace provides

A higher sense of ownership

There seems to be freedom

And it allowed you to make

your own choices.

So now you own your choices and their outcomes.

People know the choices they

made will make a difference

This sets in accountability and ownership

Higher awareness

Folks are more plugged into the

big picture

More honest conversations

Everything and everyone seems

approachable

And open to feedback

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Influencers are key to bringing

about any change

Managers, & influencers need to be the first to adopt & show the way.

This new culture then automatically gets permeated down to lower levels.

This can’t be stressed enough.

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aware of the little things.

Their utility bill went up a lot

for some reason

They were paying too much rent

The dishwasher is broken.

And that the amount of time they spend in office doesn’t really matter

The only reason they need to

swipe the ID is so the door could open

Folks in start-ups

are typically

more

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Suggestion bag

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Adopting an informal tone in communications. Makes you seem friendlier and more open to a

conversation.

We are pleased to inform you that the Blood Donation Camp organized on 8th & 9th of October 2014 at our Cafeteria

received a good response from everyone.

It was amazing to see so many of you participate in the blood donation drive.

What you did will soon help save someone’s sibling or a friend or a parent. Kudos! A big hurray to all of you! You’re

already heroes to us.

VS

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Highlighting people – Not committees. Committees are faceless.

Social committee is organizing a cycling event this Saturday to promote cancer

awareness. To participate, please register by sending an email to

TeamSocial@xyz.com

David, Tom and I are organizing a cycling event to raise awareness on cancer and we really need more people to join. Just

talk to any of us if you’re keen. If you write to ‘TeamSocial@xyz.com’ you can

reach all of us together. - Linda

VS

A committee name is only good for having an email alias. People are now looking for David, Tom or Linda. And not for a committee. This further increases familiarity.

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Creating a platform for ideas

• Organize annual TED like conferences. • The best company relevant ideas could be

selected and showcased again at an annual all-site TED like conference.

•  Ideas for improvement from front-lines will let the top stay connected to the ground.

Employees get to talk about any topic; whether of interest to them or of interest to the firm. Runners can speak of how to train to become one, finance hobbyists can talk of global economy etc.

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Less Guidelines | Less Rules | More Trust

Please ensure the items in the showcase are returned promptly and without

damage. It is also expected that this does not impact your work. A full list of

Do’s and Don’t’s has also been published.

We’ve finally opened up the showcase. It took quite an effort to get this together

so we’re really hoping you take great care of the items. So go ahead and

explore.

VS

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Encouraging upward

feedback

• An employee’s major work interaction occurs between him and his supervisor.

• You need to encourage employees to start talking. There should be no repercussions of speaking up.

• HR could advise employees to talk to their managers first to resolve issues directly.

•  If that fails, they need to be assured of a confidential meeting and a patient ear by HR.

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Provide a mix of workspaces

As a trial, allow teams to request for an open plan seating arrangement.

Many types of work get done faster with collaboration. Some teams may find it highly beneficial to be in an open plan. Private pods/cubicles can exist in parallel. We’re only targeting a mix of workspaces.

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Financial growth numbers aside

• Occasionally, as part of informal event, showcase recent accomplishments of the company.

• You could provide new partner announcements, product launch coverage etc.

•  This will help employees stay plugged in. • Many could even find it inspiring.

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A younger, parallel, site-

specific ground-zero ‘board’

Setup a ground zero ‘board’ comprising solely of employees who are leads or less.

This young group will help throw light on ground-zero issues, grad attrition causes, simple improvements etc.

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Have IT enable profile pictures in

Outlook.

This will help people know the faces behind the words. In a small organization, it can immediately increase familiarity and make people seem like friends when they finally do get a chance to meet.

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Thank you.