Create a great workplace - Military Careers, Second Careers - Army Times

Create a great workplace

David Jaffe, chief operations officer at Pulse 220, a Southfield, Mich., company that sells so-called “experiences” to its customers, knows a thing or two about building a great company culture. Here are five of his favorite ways to make a workplace great:

Have fun

Work hard and play hard. Doing fun things with co-workers even when you’re super busy at work helps build camaraderie. Jaffe touts the company’s Pop Culture Olympics, an ongoing competition that entails splitting the staff into two groups and having an all-out battle in the company’s lounge.

“We also start team meetings with a random question that has nothing to do with work, such as what superhero would you be and why,” Jaffe said. “This helps us learn a lot about people.”

Establish rules to work and live by

At Pulse 220, those rules are profitability, balance, pride, passion, commitment and experience.

“We hire by these values, we live by them and make activities out of them,” Jaffe said.

Hire the right people

“We spend an incredible amount of time and effort recruiting,” he said. “People are buying us and not a product. It is imperative to us that we have people who love what they’re doing and are passionate about it.”

Have a cool environment

Focus on the physical environment. Have open spaces and not just cubicles with walls you can’t see over. Have a lounge for creative brainstorming. Customize your work space.

Train staffers

Pulse 220 offers training it calls Pulse 220 University, which covers things that are job-related and practical, such as how to be a better presenter and communicate effectively.