A Ping-Pong Table Is Not Enough: Culture and Engagement in the Workplace

Daan De Wever, CEO of Dstny Group, spoke at ETION on March 10 about corporate culture and happy employees. “ In full ‘ customer intimacy 2.0 ’ period we organized a number of meetings and sessions with the employees with Dstny. When I read the report afterwards, I was surprised to find that the employees had never mentioned customers. It was only about themselves. How they were unable to deliver a good service due to lack of the right tools and a lame organization. For them it felt like they had to work in survival mode. That opened my eyes ”, says Daan De Wever, CEO and co-founder of Dstny.

After a period of rapid growth and continuous efforts to develop a professional HR policy, the time had come to slow down. It was time to re-energize and restore the foundation together with the employees. “ It is ultimately impossible to take good care of the customers if the employees feel that they do not have the means to do their job ”, says Daan De Wever.

So he followed the opposite path: first take care of the employees and only then for the customers. From the start-up, the company already had a good and dynamic atmosphere within a very flat structure. On that basis, conversations and meetings were then organized in view of the expectations of the employees.

Then Dstny developed a new CORE approach. CORE is a acronym that stands for commitment, ownership, respect and empowerment. That is now central to the operation of Dstny. From this center, the employees then work towards customers on five themes: incredibly satisfied customers, reliable brand, innovative technology, custom cloud solution and automatic customer interaction. “ And all employees can see for themselves how they can achieve this from the question: at what point do I deliver added value and can I accelerate the flywheel? ”

“ Those funds come to us to make money and they do. But they should know that the company comes first for us. ”

An important component in this approach is the flat structure and the fast decision lines. It is about an open transparent feedback culture in which the CEO and other managers are closely involved. “ In this way, our employees are also given the opportunity and the assignment to take care of their professional well-being. This way they can really commit themselves to themselves and to the customers. That really goes a bit further than creating a nice atmosphere. Putting a ping pong table in the common room is really not enough ”, says Daan De Wever.

Dstny further substantiates this approach with a regular survey of all employees based on Warr's vitamin model, in which a series of themes are discussed. Dstny employees complete this questionnaire at least every quarter, so that the organization can keep its finger on the pulse. “ But I note that many employees and myself regularly take that list by the hand. If something does not feel right, you will soon end up with one of the themes from our survey. This helps to make the problem negotiable with colleagues and the team leader. That way we can also tackle it together. But I do think that the employees themselves have a great responsibility in this. ”

Ultimately, this approach has a major effect on services to customers. “ When I still meet customers from the very beginning, they regularly tell me how much they appreciate that they still see the same attitude among our employees, as if we are still a small company. Our people still want to help customers as best as possible. It is good to hear that. ”

Dstny gets a very good reputation in that area. The company is constantly looking for new employees with often a technical profile. “ I notice that people come to us because they have already heard about the specific atmosphere and the corporate culture. ”

“ I notice that people come to us because they have already heard about the specific atmosphere and the corporate culture. ”

This also includes people leaving. “ It often happens that I hear employees tell about how they want to realize their dream. For example, I recently encouraged our best sales manager to go all out. She is now in the wine trade, a sector she knows well from her family. You shouldn't stop people. They just have to pursue their ideals and realize their dreams. ” Daan De Wever points out that employees can always come back if they have worked elsewhere. “ And that happens regularly. The door is open. ”

Dstny's CEO has also learned a lot in those eleven years since its inception. Not least in its relationship with external investors. The third external financial party has just come on board with Apax Partners from Paris. “ Those funds come to us to make money and they do. But they should know that the company comes first for us. We make agreements about this from the start. I notice that as a management team you still have a lot of power to determine the way of working together. Such a fund does not just come to us either: they really want us to stay at the wheel to run the company. Then it must also accept our conditions: we will not accept a number of things. Ultimately, that is never a problem. Such an investor wants a certain return, and he also gets it with us. We get our grades ”, says Daan De Wever.

Text: Peter Ooms I photo: Debby Termonia