Team happiness is very much part of our business at Made Tech, and something we in the People Team take a keen interest in. It helps that we have such an awesome team who do such incredible work. As it’s International Week of Happiness at Work, we thought we’d share some of the things we do to work towards making sure we’re supporting a happy, healthy, and inclusive workplace for all our team members.
Why happiness at work matters
As we spend a large part of our time at work, we want to make sure that the time is as happy as possible. We do a range of different things that address this, from great benefits to wellbeing initiatives, to fun social events with our various teams.
Our team does great work positively impacting the future of the country by using technology to improve software delivery in the public sector to make the country better for everyone, so it’s our job to support our lovely team members in doing that.
Happiness at work isn’t something you can enforce – it has to be nurtured, and there are a number of different ways we try to promote and support the happiness of our team. I’d like to dive into some of these one at a time.
Happiness surveys
Each quarter we run what we call the Happiness Survey – a survey we send out every 3 months to try to understand how our team is feeling and what we need to improve on.
Last quarter, we iterated on this and split it out into different themes to address lots of different areas in the business. Any areas that scored lower than we’d like are identified and shared with the relevant teams. Next we agree on actions to take to tackle these issues, before rolling them out.
One exciting project we’re working on is improving clarity around our promotion process, and how this will scale as our company grows. This is a direct result of feedback received from these surveys – and a great example of how feedback can make everyone’s working lives better. Feedback is something we really encourage at Made Tech, and a key part of our onboarding for new team members.
Right now, we’re running our second survey in this new style, which gives us a good benchmark of data to reflect and compare. We can then measure how these changes are affecting team happiness and which areas we need to continue working on.
Wellbeing checks
Wellbeing checks came about as a result of the pandemic. As we were unable to see our lovely team on a regular basis in the office, we made time each quarter to check in with the whole company. This was to make sure we were offering support where needed (and in case people were too shy to ask).
We used these checks to make sure they were booking enough holiday (an unlimited benefit here at Made Tech), that their working from home setups were up to scratch, and generally if there was anything else they needed.
Since we’ve grown, and now we’re filtering back into the offices more, we’ve changed how we do these. Now we’ve blocked out time in our calendars for people to book in time with us if and when they need it. As well as checking in on those proactively who may need some extra support.
Wellbeing initiatives
Our wellbeing initiatives are something that I’m particularly proud to be involved in, and really enjoy! We’ve been booking in training and talks for people to come in and share stories and other helpful information with our team.
Over the past year we’ve welcomed some really great speakers to Made Tech, addressing a whole range of different topics, such as: How to be a Trans Ally by Katie Neeves; an Imposter Syndrome workshop with Sarah Bostock; and Bereavement, Loss & Wellbeing from Mind BLMK.
We pick these topics based on important events in the calendar, topics that affect our team members directly, and different learning and training opportunities. Our next initiative is looking to address unconscious bias, so we can continue building an inclusive culture at Made Tech.
Socials
After a year of seeing barely any humans face to face, social events – or what we call socials – have been a great way to reconnect with the people we work with – and even meet for the first time. Our leadership team gave us a budget to organise 12 weekly socials in each of our regions, so people could come into the offices, meet their team members in person, and claim back all that social fun time we’ve been missing out on!
This included different events like games nights, pub trips, dinners, picnics, bowling, climbing, crazy golf, sports, and more! Our team has worked really hard over the past 18 months (and beyond) and we’re so glad that we can start rewarding and celebrating that again in person. Let’s face it: Zoom quizzes got old pretty quick! ?
There’s always more to do
Although we love what we do, there’s always more to learn and achieve. As our company grows, we need to be mindful of all our team members, try to be as inclusive and sensitive as possible, and keep growing a diverse and fabulous team here at Made Tech.
To that end, we try to encourage a work culture that is curious, gives people the freedom and safety to make mistakes, and most importantly – learn! We’ve been introducing Lunch and Learn sessions for the whole team, and doing internal training and certifications as part of our learning days allowance.
But, there’s always more we can do, so we’d love to hear what else you’d like to see from us, and what other companies are doing to make sure their workplaces are happy ones! Our Twitter and LinkedIn pages are a great way to get in touch.
Or, if you’re interested in joining the wonderful Made Tech team, take a look at our open positions and help us make Made Tech an even better place to work.
About the Author
Vikki Gill
People Partner at Made Tech
My main goal is to support a happy, healthy, and inclusive culture for all.
