In today's fast-paced and competitive business world, company culture plays a vital role in shaping the success and growth of an organization. It is also something that differentiates companies from each other.  

From the very beginning being a humane workplace has always been at the core for us when defining what type of employer we want to be. The work will never be completely ready as we learn constantly but there are few key elements we have identified as something we want to treasure. 

We are people first, employees second 

This might sound like a cliché but everyone should be able to be their authentic selves also in the workplace. This means that we have our feelings with us during working hours, other important elements in our lives don’t stop being important during the work days and unplanned things outside of work happen and we need to take care of them. Listening, understanding and showing empathy to each other live deep in our culture.  

Autonomy & empowerment  

We feel that having ownership of one's work and supporting a working culture of self-leadership is the key for better work satisfaction. Help and sparring are always available but part of having ownership means that you need to realise yourself when to ask for it. Simply put: our culture is based on trust.  

Work-life balance & well-being 

From the very beginning, we have prioritized employee well-being. Supporting flexible working conditions is a no-brainer: we believe everyone knows best where to get work done most effectively when to take breaks and how to arrange their work days. Work is just one part of our lives and that’s how it should be.  

Open & transparent communication 

Encouraging everyone to communicate and ask questions at all levels is important to us. There shouldn’t be topics that we can’t talk about or ask questions of – and if there are, that should be communicated why not. We work on improving our communication constantly because this is a skill hard to master 100%. 

Good company culture goes beyond providing just competitive salary and perks; it is about creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard and engaged. And that’s what we try to do everyday! The author works as the Chief People Officer in Finland. If you want to hear more about what it’s like to work with us or share your thoughts on the subject, you can connect with me on LinkedIn  or by email poola.isomaki@smartcraft.com.