Leading Teams has been working with PR agency, Cannings Purple in Perth for one year. In that time, Perth facilitator, Darren Harris has implemented the Performance Improvement Program with fantastic results.
“Cannings Purple started with a two day retreat. I asked all of them to bring 3 items from home to give us an insight into who they were. Right from the start they were very open and caring. I could see by the strength of their relationships they would have a great foundation to be very honest about improving performance. Improving performance as a team is what they have done very well,” said Darren.
Warrick Hazeldine, Managing Director of Cannings Purple wrote this article outlining their recent successes and the importance of workplace culture on that success.
It’s been a phenomenal week for Cannings Purple.
After winning the ‘Best Integrated Marketing and Communication Campaign’ at this year’s Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Awards, we were also recognised as the ‘2015 Australasian Consultancy of the Year’ at the Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards in Hong Kong.
I’m particularly proud of the latter. The SABRE awards are adjudicated by The Holmes Report – the accepted international authority on reporting and analysis of public relations trends and issues – with the finalists and winner decided by a panel of 30 industry experts. It’s great recognition of our success as a business offering professional services which just happens to focus on public relations.
In presenting the award to Cannings Purple, The Holmes Report highlighted our team approach as being fundamental to delivering a solid operational performance and building an exceptional corporate culture.
In the office, we call it #greatertogether: a trademark which reflects how the business is greater than the sum of its individual parts, but which also accounts for the relationships we have with clients.
After more than a decade in business, 2015 has been a defining year for us. We’ve invested heavily in our digital and design team, but with a larger staff comes a responsibility to nurture the culture of the organisation.
So the question I want to ask is this: how is your work culture contributing to the success of your business?
I’m proud to have introduced the Leading Teams model to Cannings Purple – a program which actively manages the culture of an organisation, encouraging leaders to focus on the mechanics and the dynamics of a business to encourage high performance.
Since we began focusing on culture as a key investment strand in the business, we’ve seen productivity increase and revenue grow. But I’ve also noticed an additional, intangible ‘something’ in the office which I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not the same as friendship exactly; it’s rooted in professional respect, but there’s a trust and honesty developing between colleagues which I am sure has had an effect on our improved performance.
We’re Perth’s only fully-integrated strategic communications agency, with experience and expertise spanning digital, design, government relations, investor relations and corporate communications; having a culture which effectively brings together all our people from each part of the business is vital.
Clearly there has been a benefit to our business by focusing on culture in the workplace. Awards and recognition are physical representations of that success, but really they just confirm the quality of work we’re doing for clients and partners.
Of course, it’s no secret that culture is an important part of the mix for any successful business, but I was wondering how many people actively invest in it, and what success you’ve had?
