I am a big fan of Fast Company. I love their print magazine, their online presence and their newsletters. I always find their content interesting and relevant to the work I do at CSG.
Yesterday, when I saw the link for “How do you maintain the culture as the company grows?” pop up in one of their newsletters, I was intrigued.
I clicked. I watched. And I thought immediately, “WE DO THIS AT CSG!”
CSG Creative has grown a lot over the past several years and one of the things we do to maintain our creative culture is our commitment to “Teamtastic Fun Time.” Here’s how “Teamtastic Fun Time” works:
- The CSG staff is divided up into six groups.
- Every other month, each group takes a turn planning an activity for the entire staff.
- The activity must last no longer than one hour.
- It has to be affordable; we have a very limited budget of no more than a few dollars per person.
Some of the activities we’ve done in the past included:
- Tie-dying t-shirts
- Carving pumpkins
- Mini-golfing at the local municipal putt-putt course
- Coloring with crayons while munching on breakfast treats
While it may seem odd to some to “schedule” fun, this time together brings us closer as a team and ultimately means that we are able to deliver better results for our clients.
When I shared the link with some of my fellow staff members, Stephanie said to me: “I think it’s neat that we focus on maintaining, not ‘keeping it the same’. Culture is never going to stay the same as it once was, but we eagerly embrace growth because with it comes new faces, talents and interests and we, in turn, become stronger.”
I couldn’t agree more. So with that, I leave you with a question: “What is your company culture and what do you do to maintain that culture through growth?”