Importance of Good Organizational Culture

As a modern company that applies Agile principles to our work, we regularly think about the best ways to foster a learning culture that helps our teams feel intellectually fulfilled and engaged in the workplace.

Coming across this article by Training Industry, we took some time to review where we stand on some of the main aspects of a Learning Agile Culture. We were very happy to see that we were already doing things right.

Read on to find out why we think we offer the best place for people that want to spend 8 hours a day working and also grow and thrive during this time.

Encouraging Valued Behaviors

Everyone understands that performance feedback is mutually beneficial to both employers and employees. While we do this regularly, we also encourage people to participate in the anonymous peer-to-peer evaluation. This gives our management the full scope of a person's feats - work-related or focused on collaboration and team spirit.

Every employee knows that they feel equally valued by their leads and colleagues, and all productive behaviors are acknowledged and rewarded. Since we have a flat organizational structure, this also helps us identify any opportunities for improvement and communicate them appropriately.

In addition, we use a Bonus system; if someone does something exceptional or helps a colleague in need, they can instantly be rewarded with some points, a fun gif, or an encouraging comment. They can also donate to a charity via these points.

Handling Mistakes

It's inevitable for people to make mistakes. Instead of focusing on the negative - we aim always to turn this into a helpful lesson. With combined experience and knowledge, there is always the option to turn things around into something good. Our employees know that they will be supported, and that is precisely why they always strive to do their best and learn.

Supporting innovation and learning

When you have a team of engaged and experienced developers, you want to make sure they feel happy in their role and that their expertise is valued. Enter our Tech Guilds that focus on a specific tech stack and birth new workshop ideas.

If someone sees a great new framework or technology that could improve our products, they are more than welcome to research it and present their findings to the team. As we have more "hands on deck," we limit the possibilities of missing something new and exciting when going through our daily tasks. The Guilds also provide a haven to less experienced colleagues and interns, allowing them to tap into their mentors' knowledge to grow and become the next supporters of this cause.

To allow the time for this, we have our monthly "Tech Fridays," which is a time dedicated only to learning new skills and exploring all the possible ways to make our company great in many ways

The next step for us is to introduce our Academy, a way to find like-minded people that need a supportive place to start their careers. Finally, by sharing our knowledge and practices, we hope to invite the most motivated and happy people into our family.