What #ThisisSolver Means, a Spotlight on the Solver Culture
This article takes a closer look at the company culture at Solver.
In this article, I’ll be covering Solver’s culture, both internally and externally – and how that has changed the way I view work and my work ethic. In America, we work an average of 40-47 hours per week. According to Investopedia, “corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions.” Corporate culture has arguably always been important, but it’s only become so popular, almost a “buzzword” in the past decade, maybe because of the start-up phenomenon. Culture is often a prime factor in long-term organizational success. Also, a culture’s success depends on an organization’s business market, strategies and workforce.
I remember the first day I started at Solver. Like most people who are new to a job, I was shy and barely spoke to anyone unless I needed to communicate with my team. In my personal life, you could call me an extroverted introvert. I’m sure that some of you can relate. Everyone expects an introvert to be reclusive and shy, and we definitely can be, but extroverted introverts like to get out there too. When we’re “on,” we are friendly and sociable, and when we’re “off,” we like to recharge at home and enjoy the solitude.
Solver has an annual company trip following our user conference, Focus. When I first started, Matt Felzke, our fellow blogger and also my manager at the time, asked if I wanted to attend the annual company trip that everyone at the company raved about. I said “no” countless times and made some kind of an excuse because the idea of being around 40+ coworkers who I barely knew for not just one day, but three FULL days gave me anxiety.
As the conference got closer, I also grew closer to my department and got to know some partners who would visit our office in Los Angeles. My team not only pushes me to work harder and challenges me in my career, but they also push me to be stronger physically by making me do sets of push-ups every other day – not your average teamwork, right? It cracks me up thinking what visitors must think when they see us drop to the floor and do push-ups. During this time, I spent a lot of time learning about Solver’s history and the vision behind Solver that came from our CEO Nils Rasmussen. We all know that without Nils, there wouldn’t be a Solver. He’s a big dreamer and a wealth of knowledge and the leadership team gives us the tools and instructions to get us there.
There is something really captivating about being surrounded by people who dream big and work hard while having fun. It teaches you something, and it makes you want to work harder. Every department here has shaped our culture today and thanks to our IT team, even with our technology that we use internally to stay connected as we work as a team to serve our customers, who are number one to all of us. If you’re curious to know what this looks like, customers, partners and even prospects get front row seats to our company culture during our annual Focus user conference. You’ll see events, sessions, trainings, and food (had to include this because we all love food, and our Focus committee actually sets aside time to drive to the conference site and choose the best meals for our customers and partners) thoroughly planned for you to have the best time while equipping you with BI360 skills and staying connected. When you’re spending the majority of your time with your coworkers, there is bound to be a bond especially after experiencing a successful conference.
Forbes lists three key benefits of strong culture that align with the idea of corporate culture today, and they are Identity, Retention, and Image.
Identity: Corporate culture contributes to the values and identity of your organization. At Solver, we foster six values that embody what Solver means to us. The values are: Happy Team, Happy Customer; Ask Me Anything; Be Resourceful and Curious; Do The Right Thing; Walk The Talk; and Starts With Me. These six values are pretty straightforward and truly are what Solver embodies. You can almost say they are somewhat of a signpost especially when we are unsure of how to deal with certain situations. We can go back to our values to help guide us toward the right direction.
Of course, we have a lot to learn in areas which we still have growing to do, but I’m embracing it all.
Retention: A powerful company culture attracts talent and retains that talent. For instance, when people feel like they belong to a group or a company, they are more likely to stay in the company long-term. This typically means a lower turnover rate, fewer new hires (unless the company is growing), and chemistry among your teammates. Sure, this doesn’t mean everything will be easy-peasy because culture is always changing, and you are not always going to be surrounded by people who are complementary to you, but there is pleasure and beauty that come from collaborating and working together with people who come from different backgrounds, with different personalities to make things happen.
Image: Company culture has a huge part in your brand image. If you have a fun-loving corporate environment and you treat your employees well, your customers will see that, too.
Solver makes an effort to stay professionally excellent, but stay true to the fun character that has always come naturally to this company culture. In other words, we work hard and play hard. If you have any suggestions or would like to see what we’re up to, search #ThisIsSolver on our social media platforms.
