Culture is a complex, subjective yet powerful force – one that every organisation needs to understand and harness. It is the backbone of any resilient tech startup – “it’s what keeps people at the company and it’s what keeps customers coming back.”
Interaction are working with Tech South West to develop the Tech Business Culture Survival Guide, the region’s first culture guide for the tech sector.
Making use of qualitative and quantitative data, the Tech Business Culture Survival Guide will be indispensable to forward-thinking tech businesses in the South West and beyond. From start-ups to established organisations, companies of all sizes will benefit from a detailed look at the way they work.
The report is being developed with insights from an expert Steering Committee and through conversations with some of the South West’s leading tech businesses. Rocketmakers, Ghyston, Singer Instruments, Filmily and iO Academy are among those involved.
At the first Steering Group meeting, the group explored key topics such as defining and measuring culture, attracting and retaining talent, managing hybrid teams, and the importance (or not) of being open about mental health.
Harry Singer, CEO of Singer Instruments, said that his company had already invested a lot of time on increasing the psychological safety of their team which paid off when the pandemic hit, seeing them receive some of their best employee feedback.
Margaret Davidson, growth manager at iO Academy, said it was crucial for companies to consistently say “it’s OK to talk about mental health.” Demonstrating a good mental health provision, Margaret said, relies on this constant drip feeding of communication until it becomes normal to talk about.
Dan Phipps, Managing Director of Ghyston, said they were wary of mounting presenteeism as a result of increased remote work, leading to increased stress. In response, they have been encouraging people to put time in their calendars for breaks and ensuring the leadership team adopt clear boundaries, inspiring others to do the same.
Culture is constantly evolving and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Businesses must be wary of assuming they know what’s important to their team. This research by Interaction will unpick these issues and provide growing businesses with a set of guidelines for building and maintaining a sustainable culture that will empower their team and enable them to rapidly scale.
The next step will be to uncover the attitudes of employees, followed by webinars across the topics of Culture, Wellness, and Attracting and Retaining Talent.
Keep an eye out!
If you’d like to contribute to the research please contact: mail@interaction.uk.com