What does a feel-good ambassador/manager do?
The answer is quite simple: keep our colleagues in a good mood in order to maximise our individual and collective motivation, commitment, and productivity. To achieve this, you need to focus on your colleagues as people, spend time with them, listen to them, and make sure they feel comfortable so they feel valued above all. It is important that the group has complete trust in each person’s role, for which he/she has been chosen by the team.
The best way to maintain a positive working environment is via good cheer and laughter. To this end, we organise events and activities during which we can have a good time and enjoy each other’s company. Basically, we look for any excuse to leave behind our work environment and spend an afternoon together to get to know each other better on a personal level. This helps to create a great work atmosphere full of smiles so that working becomes a more enjoyable experience for everyone.
What organizational changes have you noticed since your beginning in this journey?
The most significant changes have been the improvements in the working environment and the trust gained between us. As a consequence of these changes, we have noticed an increase in the number of people working on-site in the office rather than from home. But that is not all, our colleagues have started to propose new initiatives and activities they would like to do as a team and they have become involved in carrying them out.
Finally, I would like to mention our Smile Project, which was implemented to improve the daily lives of Novatec employees.
What is the Smile Project about?
The Smile Project is a Novatec initiative that was started some years ago by which any employee can propose ideas to enhance our everyday well-being. Team members vote on these proposals and they are subsequently carried out in order of the vote’s results. We have an annual budget for these initiatives and thanks to Smile, we have obtained a great deal of gadgets that we use every day, such as ultra-wide screens, coffee machines and health insurance among others.
What would you recommend to companies which are not investing in the well-being of their people?
Nowadays, in the IT sector it is all too common to see workmates coming and going looking for new challenges. With all the inconveniences that high turnover entails, a great strategy to counteract this trend is to invest time and resources in helping colleagues find their place and feel at ease. Without a doubt, the best way to retain top talent is by ensuring they feel good about themselves at work and they feel like a valuable part of the company.
Which part of your role do you enjoy the most?
I love being able to help improve the mood of my teammates, but above all, seeing how the group is happy, relaxed, having fun and more cohesive. But before finishing, I must add that organising an afternoon of videogames and board games accompanied by drinks and homemade pizzas never fails to lift the spirits in our office.
