Some employers perceive microcultures as a threat to a unified company culture. The background of this thinking is that if employees get attached to each other in smaller groups, this will lead to dividing the company. However, the reality often is that these microcultures have the power to forge stronger bonds in the workplace and by doing this they are the glue that keeps employees bonded.
At Vincit, we cherish these microcultures and call them communities. Our communities have different characteristics, and this is what makes them more interesting. In a certain location, there’s always a group of people who know each other better – why not support this and make it one of your company’s strengths? In Vincit communities, the members do not necessarily work together. Instead, the community gives the employees the chance to connect on a deeper level.
What do the statistics say?
According to statistics, nearly 80% of employees want to work at an organization where they can feel connected to purpose and people. It can be seen in survey results concerning employee experience also, that three out of five employees consider leaving if not feeling connected at work. The sense of belonging is clearly an important matter for employees.
During the years of COVID-19 restrictions, many companies struggled as the sense of belonging wasn’t on the same level as it was before the crisis and many employees felt that changing jobs was a lot easier than before. Microcultures benefit from face-to-face time and creating a sense of belonging is much harder when trying to achieve it remotely.
How to create this sense of belonging and a healthy microculture that supports its members?
One of the key factors at Vincit has been giving all members of a community a chance to participate in what the community has to offer. The communities decide their activities themselves. In every community, there are FunSquads and SportSquads that ideate, plan and organize different kinds of activities and gatherings, like in Helsinki there are live music nights where you can hang out, or in Turku there’s a tradition of “Friday positives” where you can share your highlights of the week. In the area of sports there are morning runs for anyone to join or opportunities to try out sports you're not yet familiar with. As there’s a lot to participate in, everyone surely finds something that fits their interests. If not, new ideas are always welcomed!
During last fall, we faced some difficult times as a company and it was emotionally hard for many. I think that it would have been a lot harder had we not had these communities. It was heartwarming to see how employees supported each other during these tough times. This is one of the best qualities of the communities: they are there during the good, the bad and everything in between.
The discussion of what IT companies have to offer to their employees has been a lot from the more individualistic angle. Of course, it’s important that employees get support for their careers and can grow in their roles. Also, good benefits are very much valued. Still, there is room for an approach that is more about what can you as an employee bring to a working community and what you can receive from it.
What I often hear is that companies are not that keen on arranging events or gatherings as employees are not attending. Quite often arranging these happenings is the responsibility of a person whose priorities are somewhere else. People are surprised when I tell them that our communities are very much alive and it’s the employees themselves that do the planning and arranging. There is a certain spirit in doing things together and letting everybody come as they are. It requires giving a piece of your time that you could spend elsewhere, but we’ve seen that in our communities employees are willing to contribute.
Mari Kuha,
Manna leads People Operations and is interested in the combination of people and business. Manna has a versatile background as a leader in several growth companies. She believes that understanding the full potential of your people is the key to business success. Manna has experience in the areas of change management, culture development and leadership. Her motto is "it's OK to make mistakes, just don't ever give up."
