IBEX

The “Purfcect” Environment
By Getty Stewart
Head of the Home Range

At IBEX we often look to other great companies like West Jet, Pike Place or Reflections Dental Centre for inspiration and ideas for creating a great environment. Sometimes, however, we’re inspired by things that have nothing to do with business, but reflect the spirit and attitude we’d like to create.

On a recent plane trip, I was reminded about that spirit and attitude by a man sitting beside me, holding a most peculiar looking hat in his lap. It looked like a sun hat covered in paper mache painted in a rainbow of colours with the word “Purfcect” on it. Every now and then, I noticed him looking at his hat and smiling, as if recalling a fond memory. When I finally couldn’t stand it any longer, I asked him about his hat.

His eyes lit up as he chuckled and explained that it was a souvenir from his annual All Families Reunion. Andy introduced himself and went on to explain how every year the families of his childhood neighbourhood would hold a reunion in some part of the country. The word “Purfcect” was this year’s theme, based on a secret language of those neighbourhood families. Apparently the word “purfcect” was what little Joanie (now 32) used to say instead of perfect. He smiled as he told me it was also the best way to describe this year’s reunion.

I was blown away by his story. Can you even imagine the dedication, commitment and connection those families share? That’s the type of spirit we want to create at IBEX.

I thought about some of the fun elements Andy had mentioned – a unique hat, a secret language and an annual ritual. At IBEX, we have plenty of these. We have our mascot – IBEE the IBEX. We have a secret language we use to describe ourselves and our teams – Alpine Crew (payroll specialists), Grumpy Goats (senior management team), Head of the Herd (president), etc. We also have rituals like our Thursday iBBQ, daily Herddles, and our annual Clean Your Green Campaign. These elements certainly add a lot of fun, camaraderie and playfulness to our workplace, but we are all aware that these are add-ons. Simply creating a corporate slogan, t-shirt or annual picnic is not the way to start building a great workplace. There’s a lot of work needed before these fun elements have true meaning.

The building blocks are what Andy didn’t mention, the shared values, shared commitment, common experiences, communication and common interests of the people involved. These are the elements that united his group and laid the groundwork. While these elements are a little more challenging, at IBEX, we’re trying our best to ensure we’re always talking about the type of culture we want to create, our values and what we ultimately want to achieve. Through things like profit sharing and open book management, staff stay up to date on what’s happening and see the difference they’re making.

And finally, in further discussion, Andy mentioned, Linda – the one who kept it going year after year. She’s the one who took the lead and ensured ongoing communication with everyone. Again, Andy chuckled as he described how Linda never actually did the event planning, but somehow always managed to get someone to “volunteer” for the task. Clearly, a leader with the vision, the determination, the ability to motivate and the persistence to make it all happen is a key ingredient. Darryl, Head of the Heard, is our leader. His dogged determination and passion for creating a world class, employee owned payroll business keeps all of us focused on the big picture.

Leadership, shared values, common experiences and ongoing communication followed by unique and fun rituals sound like a great start to creating a “purfcect” environment.

January 21, 2009