CUSTOMER CASE
Every success starts with a strong company culture
When you step into the talent placement company, Accent, you immediately feel a positive vibe. According to the valuation expert, Nathalie Arteel, this is no coincidence: "The management is consciously focusing on a strong business culture and a strategic valuation policy. And that is paying off." We will explore here how exactly that happens and works.
A strong business culture drives innovation and ensures that your organisation is better prepared for the future. A strong culture sets you apart from your competitors, and ensures that you have happy employees and loyal customers. It also has a positive impact on your security results, your absenteeism rates, your CSR policy, etc. In short, a strong culture ensures that your people come to work with enthusiasm every day.
Building such a culture starts with a strong vision - or dream - and a set of company values, and especially with the translation of that vision and values into their actual behaviour in the workplace. But how do you tackle this? How do you connect your employees to the company values and to that dream? How do you recognise the right click in your employees' DNA? And how do you motivate and reward people to give their best every day?
The talent placement company, Accent, is a great example of this; management has been consciously working to create a positive business culture for years.
"Accent people can be recognised from afar, they are authentic and they radiate job satisfaction."
When you step into the Head Office, you can immediately feel that positive energy. You just notice from little things that everything is done with love.
Consequently, it comes as no surprise that on 23 March 2021, Accent was named as the winner of the "Great Place to Work" among companies with over 500 employees.
What is the secret of Accent?
Nathalie Arteel: "At Accent, the bar is set high. For example, new employees receive no less than 200 hours of training in their first year. As such, they are prepared to help build the dream of Accent. In addition, entrepreneurship is very strongly encouraged. One of Accent's main goals is to continue to motivate employees to give their best. In addition, Accent deliberately aims to build up a long-term relationship with its employees. Not only does this impact the customer experience, it also has a positive impact on the financial bottom line. Valuation plays a crucial role in all of this. Accent's strategy is to create as many small moments of connection as possible. Connection to the Accent dream, connection to the values of Accent, connection among the Accent people themselves, connection to Accent's goals and connection to the heart of each employee.
"When people feel truly connected, then trust grows and then their commitment increases."
How can Accent create such a culture of connection?
Nathalie Arteel: "Everything starts with their strategic valuation policy. Appreciation in the broadest sense of the word because, in many companies, appreciation is associated only with pay. This is a major pitfall and this is not the intention here. Accent wants to respond to one of the most fundamental basic needs of every human being: each of their employees has the right to be valued and encouraged on a personal level. Every employee wants to feel that he or she can contribute and help build that Accent dream.
What makes Accent so special is that they manage to build a culture where, on the one hand, people are challenged every day to perform at a high level and where, on the other hand, people actually feel well-treated. A culture where people can be themselves and grow accordingly into the best version of themselves. It is nice to see that high performance and love fit perfectly together at Accent. I don't come across companies like Accent very often."
So what does Accent do differently?
We asked Charlotte Meiresonne, the HR Manager at Accent, who is part of the driving force behind this authentic approach. She is happy to share the three key elements on which Accent is betting in order to build on that positive culture:
1. Accent people look through a positive lens
2. Accent people turn every milestone into an unforgettable moment
3. Accent rewards through experience & gamification
Accent realises that it is incredibly important to lay emphasis on a positive culture. If people come to work every day with gusto, if they feel valued, then they can grow into the best version of themselves. Then they return home in the evening with a big smile on their face. Accent believes that happy employees are also healthy employees and that this is at the root of a good CSR policy. And even though Charlotte Meiresonne realises that it is a journey of trial and error, she is determined to increase the joy in the life of every employee every day.
This text also previously appeared in ZigZagHR:
https://zigzaghr.be/elk-succes-start-bij-een-sterke-bedrijfscultuur/
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