Step behind the scenes to understand more about the core personality of Octiv as we delve into a conversation about company culture with Mark Fawzy, the leader at the helm of Octiv.
We chat about the driving forces, values and strategies that have shaped Octiv’s vibrant culture. From performance to human connection, be inspired by someone who knows that when you cultivate a thriving culture, success naturally flows.
What is company culture and what does it mean to you?
I see company culture as the core personality of a business. It’s the set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that define how the team interacts and operates. It’s about fostering an environment where employees are motivated, customers feel valued, and innovation flourishes.
Your culture is what sets you apart. As fitness businesses or software platforms, we may all do similar things, but our culture is what sets us apart. It’s the personality of the business, the way you act and the way you make people feel.
Why does culture matter?
Culture matters because it attracts like-minded people to your business, and it’s what makes them stay.
In the fitness space you might have the best looking facility with excellent equipment and the top coaches. These nice things will bring people in, but if your culture doesn’t stack up those people will leave.
“A strong culture that fosters teamwork, community and inclusivity increases engagement exponentially. Companies with a robust culture have up to a 72% higher employee engagement than those whose cultures are misaligned or need improvement.” – Builtin.com
What informs culture?
Culture is shaped by the values and personalities of the people in the business, and the strategy and goals they’re wanting to achieve.
A gym that caters to high performing, competitive athletes will have a different culture to a gym serving the everyday person looking for daily movement and stress release.
You can’t be the right fit for everyone. You attract people who resonate with your culture, so don’t try to be everything to everyone.
“Organizational culture is a powerful dynamic in your company. It cements employees’ confidence in their work, and keeps them motivated and inspired to do their best. In the wake of the Great Resignation, people want to work for an organization whose values align with their own. A recent study reports that 35% of American workers wouldn’t take a job that was a perfect fit if the organizational culture clashed with their values. Further, it found that an astounding 91% of managers consider a candidate’s alignment with the company culture carries as much or more weight than their skills and experience.” ~ Forbes.com
How can we shape culture?
Culture is not just a set of beliefs, but actions too. It’s not just what we say, it’s what we do. We can be deliberate in shaping our company culture by articulating it in detail and building processes that allow that culture to thrive and for the aligned values to manifest.
Be deliberate about shaping your culture, link it to your core purpose.
How do you see culture in action at Octiv?
At Octiv we value high performance, clear focus, excellent communication and great human connection.
High performance culture
Octiv is in a growth phase where high performance and efficiency is important. We try to foster a high performance culture by making sure to hire the right people for the right roles and clearly articulating expectations and getting buy-in and alignment on an ongoing basis.
We structure our broader team in alignment with our main goals. We want to serve customers really well and we want to grow, so we have a dedicated customer experience team and a growth team, each with laser clear objectives.
Our communication channels and meeting rhythms are thoughtfully and intentionally structured to encourage efficiency within our team.
Focus on doing YOUR best
It can be so tempting to look at competitors and allow competition to steer your behaviours. Focus on yourself, don’t worry about the competition! If you give your current clients the best service, they’ll talk about you and you’ll grow.
Transparency
As our team grew I was nervous to share financial information with them, thinking it might be a burden or stress point. But I’ve realised that people want visibility into what they’re building. Now we have a monthly update meeting where I share the numbers – cash flow, growth, revenue and more. There’s a shared vision of growth in the team.
Human connection
The thing I’m most proud of is our people, and the amazing connection between them. I also think the way we serve our clients is special.
Fostering this human connection is such an important part of our culture. We do this through clever meeting rhythms, like our Friday check in where we all communicate how our week was, what brought us joy, who we want to celebrate and what our weekend plans are. This keeps us connected to each other as the team grows globally.
We encourage a culture of feedback and kind candour, it’s how we grow and learn.
We relate to each other as humans first. Empathy and mental health are openly discussed and time off is encouraged. Show people that you care about them, not just their output.
We celebrate each other regularly. We’ve got a communication channel dedicated to small wins, and we celebrate a champ of the month – someone nominated by the team.
Quarterly, we enjoy a company day where we prioritise work (strategy), health (a workout at a client’s gym) and play (a meal together) so that we connect around our values and relax together too.
Our culture at Octiv feels special. I’m proud to work with great humans who are invested in what we are doing and what we are striving towards. It’s the balance between human connection and high performance that is our winning formula at Octiv.
Want to join the Octiv team?
If our company culture sounds like a good fit for you, check out the amazing opportunities on offer on the Octiv careers page.
How to define your own company culture and keep it thriving
Use some of Mark’s insights to shape your own company culture:
- Articulate your culture and get everyone on the same page – what is the personality of your business, your purpose and goals?
- Hire people who have personal values that resonate with the culture you want to build.
- Put the right people in the right roles. An empathetic coach will be the best person to lead your beginners’ classes, whereas someone with intensity could serve your elite athletes best.
- Establish a quick daily meeting rhythm that keeps you connected to your team and able to spot challenges as they arise. Have one weekly team-wide check in that centres on humans first.
- Celebrate your people and their small wins regularly, don’t just wait for the big moments!
- Use your tech tools! Use the Octiv platform to its full potential and strengthen your connection with your members.
How Octiv gym management platform helps you to keep your culture strong
Are you looking for tangible tools to keep your culture strong? Use the Octiv platform to its full potential and strengthen your culture with these features:
- Connect. A members’ app branded with your logo gives the members a digital connection to your facility.
- Communicate. Communicate with members with the Octiv marketing tools.
- Celebrate your members! Never miss a birthday with daily reminders.
- Tailor your classes based on attendees and use the injury tracker tool to keep members safely active.
- Engage. Use the attendance tracker to reach out and check in with members who’ve been absent.
- Simplify. Make life easy for your staff and members with the easy workout builder, booking system and calendar.