Georgia Irving is a Business Developer working as part of the Sales and Marketing team for Totem – a Culture Tech app that helps businesses to understand, analyse and enhance their workplace cultures.
Totem builds engaged, informed, and connected workplace cultures. And for many businesses it has been a really good way of connecting teams during Corona-virus.
“Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to work in a positive and encouraging environment!”
As a representative of Generation Z as well as Totem, I was particularly interested in Georgia’s definition of soul:
I think soul in the workplace is something authentic. There is no one thing that makes it that way. But it does have to include a group of people that trust one another, that feel comfortable enough to show a side of them that is quite vulnerable. I think this whole remote working situation has allowed people a view into that, into other people’s lives, having their kids on their laps in a video call or seeing their pets, and that’s not necessarily something you share, especially if you don’t feel close to the people that you work with. I think a company with soul is one that can go through ups and downs and together as one, be transparent about how you’re feeling. It’s got to be authentic. I think that comes with transparency – whether from the individual, the manager or the very top – it’s important. It’s also about connection, for me anyway. It always has been. I think that creating connection depends on the size of the company, the industry you’re in, how much time you spend in the office etc. It’s going to be different for every business. No matter which approach you take, I think you’ve got to take a really deep dive into what drives people to understand how to connect them.
Can you share an example of a business that you have experienced that has soul?
I’m a great believer in the whole employee journey from the minute that you sit down in an interview. When I started speaking to Totem, it was the interview process that made me think that I had a place here. And that was very interesting because, obviously, it’s important to talk to someone about the skill sets that they have and why you think you’re good for this role, but that wasn’t all they concentrated on. It was more about what I wanted for myself in the future, the things I like to learn and the parts I find difficult.
They also asked me for an example of a hard thing that I’ve had to overcome, not from a business perspective, but just to know me as a person. I think that showed me that this company is different. It showed me that they cared about you as an individual, right from the first interview.
I think the whole process that I had, as part of my on-boarding as well was fantastic. Before they offered me the job, I was invited to Friday drinks with everyone to get to know the team.
My CEO is probably one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. He really cares about everyone, which is exceedingly rare. He makes you feel like you matter.
I also believe that transparency is so important. We have an event called ‘Play Share’ on a Friday before we finish work. In short, two people can do a talk about whatever they want. It’s usually work-focused. It means that we get an insight into different projects that are happening, which is really interesting. We also catch up with our CEO once a month, for a run through of how the business is doing financially. It may seem like a small thing to do, but it shows us as employees that he trusts us.
The soul of Totem? ‘Playful’ would come to mind straight away. We love to do things that encourage us to get out of our comfort zones a little bit. We play Mario Cart all the time. I used to play Mario Cart as a kid so when I started, I was thinking: “Oh, I’m going to be fine.” But they play a lot of Mario Cart.
I think a lot of businesses are starting to wake up and realise the importance of a strong company culture – where people can be open and look to fix things rather than just say: “Oh, it’s broken and I don’t care enough to fix it.” You want an attitude that says “It’s broken and I want to fix it because I want to make my business a whole better, not just myself as an individual.” I’ve read so much about the levels of engagement dropping lower with COVID than they were in the 2008 crisis. Only 31% of businesses have surveyed their people. That just grinds my gears. It just seems crazy to me. Unless those businesses wake up and realise that if you don’t care enough about your people, they will leave…
This interview is one of over 50 I’ve completed this year with a mix of past customers and other leading industry figures. Do connect with me on LinkedIn or get in touch via our website if you’d like to know more about the research findings or explore how to drive your business forward…with soul:
https://soulcorporations.com/contact/
…or for online and live keynotes and masterclasses with me personally: https://nicholasbrice.com/book-me-to-speak/
For more about how Totem can help develop your culture with digital tools.