Company Culture: The imployable Way

Company culture. It’s a phrase you’ll hear a lot from various businesses. With many being very proud of their ‘culture’. But what does this exactly mean? How can a company have a culture and what does it mean to you? 

What is company culture?

From the conception of the business, a company will have goals they would want to achieve. These can be varied depending on the industry this company works in. It could be anything from wanting to push the boundaries of innovation on any specific technologies; creating sustainable products to help towards the fight against climate change; or could just be to make a shedload of cash. These goals will be the driving force behind a company and will dictate the paths they will go down. 

Whatever path a company will want to take, they will have to find employees to help push the company and drive it forward. However, these employees would also need to be on board with the ethos of the company, else there will be a complete lack of motivation and productivity. That’s why many companies won’t accept employees if their primary motivation is making money. 

The imployable Drive

So, what drives us at imployable? Well of course as we’ve grown, our drives and inspirations have expanded into different territories, but we will always have one that trumps the rest, which caused the inception of this company.  

You may have heard this story before, but as it’s relevant to this, it’s worth reiterating. After our CEO Pete Kelly finished his time with the Royal Marines, he suddenly found himself in an awkward position. One where the skills he built up over the course of his service weren’t desirable to many companies. As more time passed while job searching, the more frustrated he became at the recruitment system. This was when he met up with Kieron Yeoman, who had his own coaching business, and knew too well the frustration that many people feel when job seeking. That was when they came up with the idea of imployable. To give people, no matter the background, the tools they need to find their perfect career. 

So, it’s all well and good stating what are intentions are, but actions speak louder than word right? That’s why we put our money where our mouth is (quite literally in this case!). As our company’s business revolves a lot around jobseekers, we had the idea to potentially set a jobseeker up for life. Picked randomly, we gave a lucky jobseeker a 1% stake in our company, which was worth £32,000 at the time. As we grow, this stakes value will only multiply, and the jobseeker in question could potentially be dealing with a lot of money. We know how difficult some of these job seekers situations are, and we wanted to randomly help out how we could. If you’re curious to read more about this story, be sure to read about it here 

Operations and perks within company culture

On top of the general drive and motivation behind the company and employees; the way the company operates also accounts into the culture. No one company will operate in the exact same way. Through the past 100 years, where companies have been growing in terms of reach and workforce; we’ve found various means of producing efficiency from employees. However, these ways are far from perfect, and some can even prove to be detrimental in the long run. Back then, many businesses had the ethos of just heads down and get to work. After time this grew resentment and exhaustion from employees, and if the employees aren’t happy, it complicates matters for the company.  

These days, many companies have recognised this and will provide a myriad of conditions and perks for their workforce. Some companies may provide the opportunity to work flexible hours, others may provide free lunches, or paid team getaways. 

imployable and the 4 day week

Our company took a big risk at changing up how we work. We took a look at many of the Scandinavian countries usage of 4 day working weeks, and implemented that within our own company; with an added hour onto the 4 days. Overall, this has proven to be very successful for imployable. With those of us on the 4–day week, coming in each week with a fresh mindset. According to Forbes, there have been reports of other companies facing similar results, with a 40% rise in productivity, and a 23% decrease in electricity costs. Our company isn’t afraid to completely shake up the status quo to test out what could be better, and we believe more companies should try it as well.  

imployable flexibility within company culture

Starting off as a start-up, imployable went about its business in a very casual way. Even when I first came to be interviewed; it was less them interviewing me, and more them explaining the company and what I could do to help. However, just from their explaining of the company, I knew this was an idea I could get on board with. Having struggled for months to find a suitable job, and even going to the job centre, I was feeling extremely frustrated with the whole process and the job seeking environment many companies perpetrate. So, to have a chance to help push innovation in this market, I was all for it. 

When I came to work, we only had a small team of 8 people; half of which in positions unfamiliar to them. I was one of them. Yet we were given the tools and guidance to push ourselves and find familiarity within our given roles. Though if the role wasn’t working for us, we had the options to try out other roles. For instance, I started off in sales, then moved to account management, and now I’m in marketing. This is because as time has progressed, underlying skills have become more apparent, and we have the flexibility to try out these skills in other job roles.  

Consistent growth of imployable

Since then, we have grown in leaps and bounds, with the team increasing dramatically. As we have grown, so too does the space that we occupy. Within a couple of years, we’ve moved into our third office so far. Yet each office we occupy, we love to make it our own. Currently the office we occupy features: 

• A Mini putt course 
• The Jobseekers Tavern – A fully working bar (Used out of office hours of course!) 
• An Xbox 360 for use in downtime 

We love to keep our surroundings interesting and a fun place to be in. Using either the golf or the large dice we have around the office, to decide who makes the tea and coffee. That’s what it comes down to in the end within our company. The chemistry and camaraderie we share between us. Making each day working with one another a memorable one. 

From the inception of this company, we had a very much relaxed way of tackling problems; letting us find solutions in our own ways. Even today that ethos rings true, albeit with more efficiency. As we have driven the company forward, we reached the point where we will drop the moniker of a start-up, and become a fully-fledged business. However, we know we’ll always want to tackle problems in our own unique way. Sometimes it may take some trial and error, but as long as we’re learning as we progress; we’ll always keep pushing on. 

Showcase your company culture

So that’s what makes up our culture here at imployable. Our goal of making recruitment that much easier is always in sight for us, yet we push towards it together as team, no matter how much bigger we get. If you’re a part of a company that is proud of its culture, then be sure to check out our company profiles feature within the app. Here you can show off what makes your company unique, and attract potential employees who share your philosophy.

Be sure to sign up to showcase your company culture on our app, sign up here if you haven’t already.