A little fun never hurt anyone

Being the workplace of choice means fostering a climate where people want to work hard and love to have fun.  Influencing that climate are what we call “climate setters.” They’re the elements of our working environment that enable people to feel meaningfully employed, appreciated, empowered to reach their potential, committed to quality service and to have fun at the same time.  Here are some examples of things we do to foster a positive culture:

• Our core values guide us in the decisions we make and the way we interact with each other and our clients every day.  Every year Urban Systems adopts an annual theme that is reflective of these core values and other philosophies that we value as a company.
  
• Effective communication resources like The Pulse (our intranet) and The Pipeline (our quarterly employee newsletter) foster two-way flow of information and help people stay in touch with what’s going on in their work place and in other branches.
  
• Food.  Yes, believe it or not, food is a pretty big deal around here.  In fact, some of our best conversations have happened over donuts on Thursday mornings or around the barbeque at lunch.
  
• Group events like monthly staff meetings, noon hour sessions, special events, intra-company contests and team building activities provide opportunities for people to connect with one another, build individual and team capacity and simply have a good time.
  
• One-on-one connections like coaching, mentoring, professional development planning and recognition help people build individual capacity and understand how their contributions are supporting the overall success of the firm.
  
• Annual staff surveys that help us know how we’re doing in maintaining a climate where a diversity of people and ideas can thrive.
  

Next:  Work/Life Balance