By Jack Yakowicz, Marketing Manager
Photos by Bri Lee, Marketing Graphic Designer at Office Sign Company
When I first applied for a job at Office Sign Company, I knew nothing about signs. In fact, I hardly knew anything about what Office Sign Company did (I suppose the name of the company was a bit of a giveaway, but still, I had no idea). I found out about Office Sign Company at the 2015 FMWF Chamber Luncheon. I was working for a different company at the time, and Office Sign Company ended up winning “Small Business of the Year”. Listening to Ryan’s (Fritz, founder) speech, and viewing the slideshow of images playing behind him, I was pretty amazed by how culture- centric this young company seemed.
For companies that are budget-conscious, it may seem even more dif cult to obtain the culture that your employees are yearning for. Trust me, that is just a misconception, and any money you do spend on culture is well-spent. Here are a few low-cost initiatives that we implement in our company to ensure that our culture is accounted for and that our employees are happy.
Potlucks
We like to eat. Why not reward that with a potluck? Our team of creative employees has quite a bit of culinary skill, and we love to see what each person can bring to the table. We’ve celebrated potlucks for holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving but also for everything from new hires to Star Wars appreciation. You should have seen the Chewbacca cake that Nate brought. The keg in our downtown location only makes these potlucks even more enjoyable.
Being Responsive To Feedback
An important learning lesson is that culture should be led by every individual within the company, not just those at the top. That way, everyone’s voice is heard and events are being planned that bene t the entire group. For this reason, every week we pose a random question to our team on a platform that allows them to reply anonymously. This ensures that we get the most-honest feedback from our team, and we can incorporate great ideas from every single person. Oftentimes, these ideas that are brought to light by employees end up being put in place.
Office Olympics
In August, we held our OSClympic games. Our two locations came together at Gooseberry Park in Moorhead to compete in the first annual OSClympics, and it was an absolute blast. We shut down at 1:30 on a Thursday afternoon, put on our uniforms and headed over to compete. Six teams played games such as water balloon dodgeball, touch football, team relay and more. Regardless of athletic skill, everyone had an awesome time coming together as a unit, and our medal ceremony at the end of it really capped things off well.
Culture Based Software
At Office Sign Company, we use specific software in-house to help boost culture. TinyPulse, for example, is used to send “Cheers for Peers” to individuals in various teams that went the extra mile and helped each other out. Podio, our internal social media, is used to post events, customer testimonials, jokes and other musings from our days at the office. These really help to create a further sense of togetherness among our team members, especially now that we are split between two separate locations.
About Office Sign Company
officesigncompany.com
310 Northern Pacific Ave, Fargo
701-526-3835
