How did TravelPerk's company culture fare?
We had to ask ourselves;
- Is getting together for team-building activities safe?
- How important will it be to our teams to get together in the same physical space?
- What would a shift to remote working look like for TravelPerk?
How do we define community at Travelperk?
At TravelPerk, we define community as;
We took inspiration for our definition of community from Yuval Noah Harari's world-renowned book 'Sapiens.' For Harari, we have lived in two realities ever since we gained cognition. The first, our physical reality, is the world of trees, rivers, and cats (including their memes). The second is our imagined reality, where our notions of religion, nations, and identities dwell. As humans, we share these imagined realities as we create connections with others. The diversity of these is what we more commonly refer to as 'culture.'At TravelPerk, we see our community's shared imagined reality as the mission that we want to achieve together and the culture that supports us through the journey. As a Community team, it would be our job to bring people together over this mission and this culture.
How as a Community team Maslow Pyramid of Needs inspired us
- A sense that we belong, that we have a tribe of people who understand us and hold a common goal or set of shared values in common.
- The esteem and feeling of accomplishment that comes from being recognized for our contributions and commitment to our community.
At the bottom of the pyramid is our most basic needs. These are physiological in nature and go back to our primeval natures. At our core, we need shelter and to have access to food and water. Once these are taken care of, we can move up the chart to security. As cave dwellers, once we had our shelter established and our bellies filled, we could focus on making sure we kept ourselves safe from saber-toothed tigers and other critters that threatened our safety. In the workplace, these two basic needs manifest as having a safe space to work, not just in terms of health and safety but also job security. For organizations, that means, for example, having human resources processes and policies that ensure employees are paid on time and protected from discrimination.Once we meet our basic needs, we can move up the scale to address our psychological needs. As homo sapiens, we evolved to be a part of small communities so that we could thrive. Teamwork enabled us to divide up the essential tasks that kept us alive, meaning we had more time to develop new skills. In time we came to need these groups for reasons beyond the purely practical. They fulfill our psychological needs of belonging and esteem.While our lifestyles have changed, our biological wiring hasn't! Feeling part of a team striving for a shared goal continues to be necessary. In the workplace, it's the difference between going through the motions to collect your paycheck and feeling like you have a purpose. This is where our newly formed Community team comes in. Our role is to create an atmosphere that fosters belonging and esteem through a variety of measures to ensure our employees feel secure and empowered in the workplace.At the top of the pyramid of needs is self-actualization. This stage is where we can achieve our full potential and strive for fulfillment. Only once we meet our basic and psychological needs can we break through to this new level of ability and creativity. We refer to this sweet spot as 'The TravelPerker's Nirvana.' Our Community team creates the ecosystem that fulfills the essential and psychological needs so employees can feel confident and take ownership in the self-actualization phase. Here employees feel fired up and are empowered to develop their own meaningful and fulfilling work experience.
I feel like it's vital to point out that this is not about creating an atmosphere where employees are ecstatically happy all the time! It is about shaping the environment where they feel safe and secure enough to speak up when something isn't working and provide solutions. It's also not about pressuring colleagues to stay longer at work or revolve their social lives around company events. We all need time away from work to spend with our friends and families and find fulfillment in other aspects of life. If you have seen the movie 'The Circle,' you know how a seemingly great company culture can quickly erode all sense of work-life balance and end up feeling like a full-on cult! To reap the benefits of a great workplace community, you need balance, honesty, and transparency so employees can find their unique sense of purpose and fulfillment.
What benefits has the principle of community brought to TravelPerk?
What tangible benefits does a sense of community bring to a business?
- When they feel aligned with their company's values, and therefore more engaged with their work, employee performance is increased by 20%. [2013, Institute for the Study of Labour by Carpenter & Gong]
- Retention improves as 87% of employees who find their work engaging are less likely to seek employment elsewhere. [2008, "Improving Employee Performance in the Economic Downturn," The Corporate Leadership Council]
- It's easier to attract quality candidates as referrals from engaged employees are, on average, around 70% more likely to be a better cultural fit for your company. [2020, "10 Employee Referral Program Fast Facts with Bonus Tips", ClearCompany]
- Absence due to sickness decreases as employees take an average of 2.7 sick days a year when they feel fulfilled by their work, compared to 6.2 sick days when they don't feel engaged. Burnout reduces, and engaged employees also report a higher sense of wellbeing, especially regarding their mental health. [2006, "Employee Engagement: How to Build a High-Performance Workforce," Gallup]