Corporate culture is a phrase touted often by HR and asked about frequently by potential employees. And with good reason: Employee satisfaction is strongly correlated to it; with well-documented examples of the positive effects of good work culture and employee retention. This has been proven with some of the employee outreach programmes done by the likes of Google, a company that regularly tops the 100 Best Companies To Work For list.
When an employee truly sees the value of an organisation’s vision, mission and culture, he feels part of something bigger and understands the role he plays in the company's success. It is the macro vision that helps drive the micro, daily workflow.
Instilling culture following significant growth
We as a company are proud to have a strong employee retention rate – with many members of staff who have been here for a decade or more. They are ingrained in the company, having watched it grow and contributed their passion every step of the way.
At the same time, we have been lucky to experience sustained growth – with the number of employees increasing by more than 300 per cent in the last 12 years. With the influx of new employees, so too came an injection of talent and potential.
But how does one establish a unified and shared culture at a company with hundreds of new employees across multiple countries?
The history behind the ONE-Journey
In 2014, Infront defined its ideal corporate culture – one that employees would welcome and embrace. However, while staff were aware of our existing mission and values, they were unclear how to translate this into their day-to-day business. Therefore, the defined culture needed to be transmitted and broken down into actionable and understandable principles to which staff could easily relate to and live.
The outcome was the Infront ONE-Journey.
Our 3-day on-boarding programme for new employees – the Infront ONE-Journey – was first introduced in June 2015 under an initiative from President & CEO Philippe Blatter. The programme aims at helping new colleagues to immerse themselves in our culture, build on their company knowledge and allow them to network with fellow employees outside their day-to-day activities.
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The success story so far
In the past two years, seven ONE-Journey events have taken place. Due to the incredibly positive feedback from participants and management members, the structure has remained similar throughout:
A group of approximately 30 new employees (from Infront group companies around the world) meet at Infront’s HQ in Zug before travelling up nearby Mount Rigi – the so called Queen of the Mountain.
Once on the mountain, they experience a diversified 3-day programme, which provides useful frameworks and techniques to self-reflect, optimise team work and contribute to a positive and efficient work environment.
Facilitated by a coach, the new employees engage in workshops where they learn about our vision, mission and culture, followed by breakout sessions where they work together to offer solutions to ongoing scenarios within the organisation.
The ultimate goal is to help break down barriers and create relationships across business units and departments, helping to keep the stream of communication clear and creating a well-functioning internal network.
Full buy-in from top to bottom
It was crucial to have top management fully involved from the very beginning. When company leaders embrace the culture and become ambassadors, it has a trickle-down effect, inspiring all levels of staff to do the same.
In addition, ensuring accessibility to top management during the ONE-Journey helps new staff feel valued and understand the overall messages better. This reached new heights at the last ONE-Journey event where a dedicated Q&A session was held with Philippe Blatter. This offered new employees a rare opportunity to ask both business and personal questions in an intimate and open environment.
100% satisfaction rate
With almost 200 members of staff from all levels and all offices (from Associates to Executive Directors, from Austria to Singapore) having gone through the ONE-Journey, it has become synonymous for the positive culture that has manifested across our company.
And the feedback has been overwhelmingly encouraging - 100 per cent of all participants rated the event as a valuable experience. Instilling a culture where employees truly feel valued, connected and free to pursue their passions, can only have a positive return on investment!
Become part of ONE team
Are you ready to work at the heart of sports action, uniting your passion for sports with a rewarding career? Find out more about our current open positions HERE!
