“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ― Gandhi
When launching Dataworks, we had a very clear vision of what we wanted to do, how we wanted to go about it and most importantly, WHY we wanted to do it!
As the first few months of trading ended and the focus switched to hiring for our own business, a fresh set of challenges presented themselves to us.
- How are we going to convince anyone to work for us?
- How are we going to ensure every single team member is brought into the same vision as ours?
- How are we going to set a tone from day one?
- How do we drive the culture?
- How will we forge an environment based on teamwork and collaboration?
The answer was simple, we needed to define a clear set of beliefs that each one of us understood, could buy in to and could easily relate to.
And now, where to begin……??
Firstly, agree on a number! Have too many and no one pays attention to them, have too few and you aren’t going to realise the full benefit of having them in the first place!
Secondly, don’t overcomplicate the message. If we struggle to understand the meaning, how can we expect our colleagues to?
Lastly, print them, post them, brand them EVERYWHERE!!! By having a constant reminder only helps to reaffirm the message and in turn makes it harder to forget!
So…. What did we agree on and why…..
Provide a Service that you are Proud of
In a crowded marketplace with so many recruitment companies trying to gain market share, one of the only ways you can differentiate yourself is by the service you provide. Yes, we are a “sales” focused industry which has unfortunately been tarnished by many poor operators, however, there is no excuse in our eyes for not always delivering an excellent service.
Raise the bar every day
By raising the bar and in turn raising your own standards, you will inevitably receive a better outcome! In some companies, it is easy to hide behind the success of others, but in a 4 person start up, if each one of us comes in with the attitude and focus to raise our game, then this will inevitably have a positive impact on the customers we work with each day!
There’s no wealth without Wellbeing
Let’s be honest, the last 18 months have been tough for many of us and whilst we are (hopefully) beginning to get back to some sense of normality, we shouldn’t forget the toll that the pandemic has had on many people’s mental health and overall wellbeing. Whilst it’s evident the recruitment market is coming back with a vengeance and the opportunity to make money is certainly there, we don’t want to ever lose sight of what’s important, and that’s our own wellbeing. From regular catchups, through to encouraging colleagues to take time off (yes, actual time off), its important that we, as managers, ensure that we aren’t just focusing on productivity, but also our colleagues’ overall wellbeing!
Whilst this exercise to define and bring to life the beliefs certainly wasn’t an easy one, it was time well spent. We are now clearer than ever on what’s important for us, and what type of company we want to be known for!
