(Original creator: andreach)
Author: Andrea Chatterson, Human Resources Business Partner, Uniface
Last year, I had the opportunity to join Uniface and further my career with a dynamic, successful company. During my first year with Uniface, I've often been asked what attracted me to the company? What I found was a combination of a highly skilled workforce and a company culture which fosters an open and innovative environment for employees to collaborate and express ideas. Being a HR Business partner, I have a unique insight into what sets Uniface apart from other companies and what makes it an exciting and motivating place to work: diversity, empowerment and emotional intelligence. The Uniface approach is refreshing, because it taps into key drivers of innovation and individual empowerment.
Workplace Diversity
At Uniface, diversity in cultural experience is a key element of our work culture: currently we have over 32 different nationalities working across 14 countries. Forbes has recognized that diversity breeds business innovation and is essential to the growth and prosperity of any company. This includes, diversity of perspectives, experiences, cultures, genders, and age. As a result, we pride ourselves on developing this intercultural approach to recruitment and have learned to recognise the value it has brought to the company. This diversity within the organisation has created an openness to new ideas, and made people highly receptive to solving problems in new ways. Compelling evidence from the Harvard Business Review shows that diversity unlocks innovation and drives market growth. Six of these behaviours have been found to unlock innovation across the board:
- Ensuring that everyone is heard
- Making it safe to propose novel ideas
- Giving team members decision-making authority
- Sharing credit for success
- Giving actionable feedback
- Implementing feedback from the team.
At Uniface, we’ve worked really hard to establish a culture in which all employees feel free to contribute ideas and share in the success of those ideas.
Empowerment and Collaboration
One way in which we promote our open culture is through scrum methodology and a monthly sprint pitch, which is all about collaboration. We achieve collaboration by engaging each and every member of the team. This has the additional benefit of being a trusted forum with a free format so individuals get to gain visibility on how they fit into the process of reaching targets while practicing skills we value. Forbes research shows that a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to driving the creation and execution of new products, services, and business processes. At Uniface, we harness diversity to give us a competitive advantage in the market place.
Emotional Intelligence
At Uniface, it’s not just about hiring the “smartest” people. We know we can do that. So, we also look for what Daniel Goleman has described as ‘emotional intelligence’ and in particular, we look for people who can demonstrate proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. This includes an ability to find common ground and build rapport with others. In fact, this is probably what separates life at Uniface from other companies I’ve worked in. So at Uniface, building a uniquely motivating and empowering workplace culture comes as a result of the type of employee we actively look to recruit and the type of workplace environment we co-create. If you think you’d like to join us here at Uniface, you can always check our job listings at https://uniface.has-jobs.com/ - we’d love to have you become a successful part of our global team. What’s your experience of working in diverse teams? Has it been positive? Let me know what you think supports an open and innovative culture. We’re always looking for ways to improve.