The corporate world is all about people: we need to know our clients to apply an individual approach, the top management’s expectations and our colleagues’ strong sides in order to delegate tasks efficiently and be clear on ongoing tasks and projects. But what about the environment surrounding these people? Should formal communication be welcomed, or would a we-are-family approach be better?
Showing respect towards our colleagues’ time, their needs and priorities of work-related things might indicate a strong work ethic, where team members perceive each other as professionals. A company with a clear hierarchy and communication flows has significant resources to become a strong business.
Still, there are numerous companies that clearly communicate a team-oriented approach. They share videos and pictures of their team members, let us get to know them as personalities first, professionalism is a secondary matter here. Such businesses tend to say ‘You will feel yourself alright here’ instead of saying ‘You will work alright here’.
Staying formal allows you to maintain professional etiquette, set more strict guidelines and workflows, limit the risks of conflicts, and mixing work-related issues with personal interaction. In the meantime, employees might not feel safe to share their ideas within the context. The level of trust itself might be unstable, whereas human touch is minimised.
On the other hand, feeling a part of the team would let you feel encouraged, supported and motivated to grow. Nonetheless, it involves risks of conflicts, being too empathetic and understandable, so requirements will be softened, deadlines shifted and business – prevented from an initial speed of growth.
Each way has its own pros and cons. Which option do you choose?
TRANSLIT has decided to apply a mixture – our colleagues are high-level professionals and that is clearly admitted by all the team members towards one another based on internal surveys we do in the company. We respect each other’s time, ask for professional advice, and exchange knowledge. At the same time, it is quite casual for our team to be gathering after the working day, sharing a good laugh during breaks, and enjoying small talk with one another where possible. We match as personalities, sharing the same values, and being equally interested in self-development and professional growth.
The aforementioned things that we encourage, help us stay connected remotely and from different office locations. We share trust and are ready to support whenever needed. We at TRANSLIT have a true team of professionals, but, most importantly, of great people.
