Contemporary for the win!
Which would you choose? A place like Google or any other dull and boring corporate environment for the next eight hours of your workday? It is no secret that younger employees nowadays love to be in an office that screams laidback, cool and aesthetically pleasing.
In today’s era, many companies take advantage of their brand and position their corporate culture, as is what it is and they expect their employees to adapt to it. Unfortunately, such an approach does nothing to engage you, be productive or make you feel like you never want to leave. It could only drive you or future employees away from such culture especially now when the culture is slowly changing to a more work-life balance, and there is no denying most of us do feel the same way, right?
I remembered the first time I went for a tour at Mindvalley some time ago and when I entered their office on the 29th floor in Menara UOA, Bangsar, I was speechless. The first thing that came to my head was, “is this another Google-esque company I’m about to see?” But oh boy. How wrong I was. It was more than just Google. Almost the same concept but different in its own way of being more of a hip contemporary setup. Think of it like Google with Melbourne hipster joints settings; at least that is how I would describe the differences.
As I was exploring all three floors of Mindvalley, I started to think, how can such an organisation with over 230 people from 46+ nations with at least a quarter of them based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, come together to create a brand that screams young, vibrant and fun at the same time? Well, blimey. The answers were right in front of me the whole time!
Think unique. Operate unique. The oh-so-much desired a unique identity and image can do wonders, did you know that? When you and your employees understand and embrace the distinct ways you create value for customers, how different your brand is from your competitors and the unique personality of your company in expressing itself, you can achieve a clear, strong and distinctive brand-led culture.
Culture-changing employee experiences. Give your employees and company the real reason to believe in your value and journey and by journey means by creating culture-changing employee experiences so that your employees can experience the culture that you are planning including brand engagement. Treat your employees with the same respect and humility as your customers but if you don’t, then well, best of luck in the long run.
Build your brand from the inside out. Use your very own unique culture to differentiate and define your brand. Your uniqueness will make others remember for whom you are and that very much distinguishes you from the rest – even your employees will appreciate you.
Don’t instruct your culture. You can’t force your employees to adapt and work in a certain way – you hire them for their own uniqueness and specialities. Set up an environment through employee experience and cultivate the certain culture that you want from there. Be a pioneer. Champion it. That’s the idea.
On a final note, brands like Mindvalley started and cultivated from the inside and that is how they became their very own unique brand – culture can actually be the determiner in you delivering your brand promise and that is how easy Mindvalley attracts the younger workforce to join them. It is their brand promise.
Word.
