Workplace culture matters.

So I am just sat on the plane back from Munich after spending two days with our German office in Planisware (first trip since COVID19 pandemic started) reflecting on the last 48hrs and I can say for sure that it is was very much needed – way more than I realised.

The trip was mainly to learn from our teams there first-hand on their growth journey since setting up the office in Munich – lessons learnt, things to avoid, things to focus on etc.

But…

I got for more than that on the trip.

I was reminded (again) why I joined Planisware, why workplace culture matters and why we must look after the employees in our businesses as leaders – without hesitation.

Far more qualified people than me have done the research, gathered the data and presented them on why workplace culture matters but it is always so refreshing to experience this first-hand. The workplace culture us some that comes to be – not something you design or create in a strategy meeting. Yes, of course, the core values etc will underpin this culture, but the employees make the culture and it is constantly evolving. 

Since the COVID19 outbreak, we have seen teams and businesses across the world transform, pivot and reset in ways not expected. We have seen employees re-assess what it means to work for an organisation, a team or a project and reaffirm their connections with the business and their colleagues in new ways.  

This evolution of the workplace culture will continue at a faster rate over the next months and years as we move forward, and it is vital to be tuned into it as a leader to ensure you understand what it means to each employee and subsequently to the business.

The Planisware team in Germany lead by Gilles Chene were oozing their workplace culture in spades when I arrived on Monday morning, and it had Planisware written all over it. Most of them had not met me before and did not really know what I did as Managing Director of our UK office, but this did not stop them. Each person that saw me took the time to say hello, tell me where they fit in AND ask me about me and the UK office. 

Within minutes of being in the office, I was made to feel like I was part of the team and was included in the rituals in the business – right down to being included in the project success celebration at the end of my second day there. I very quickly got a feel for the 'beat rate' of the business and what it felt like to work there.

The team was also proud to show me what the business had to offer, from their amazing new offices (complete with an oasis of beautiful plants) to the diversity of international cuisine on their doorstep (Indian, Italian, and not to forget Bavarian), to sharing all their know-how in getting the business to where it is today. Keeping in mind - the team are currently extremely busy with several new projects kicking off, but they made the team (across Sales, Consulting, Support, Marketing and Training) to share their knowledge with me – it felt like I was being shown all the trophies in their trophy cabinet whilst making sure to provide me with lessons learnt based on some of their failures also. 

Finally, I was super impressed in the way the team were overtly demonstrating how ‘looked after’ they were. This was not done in an explicit way using any particular phrases, but I got a distinct sense that leadership was a key part of the culture, and it is part of what was allowing the culture to flourish and evolve allowing the employees to therefore look after the business. The strongest theme on this that I got was the unequivocal emphasis on work-life balance and the need to ensure that we as leaders make it possible for everyone to find their rhythm (within reason of course) and to find the best way to get the best out of each person whilst aligning this with the company goals. This is not an easy thing to do, by any stretch, but it is crucial to employee retention as well as talent acquisition.

Planisware has a distinct workplace culture, which is shaped locally across all our subsidiaries but there is a set of amazing core themes you will experience whichever office you visit – I invite you to explore some of the career opportunities we have globally and consider joining an amazing organisation.