How Piktochart Creates A Culture That Sticks
It’s 7 AM in Penang, Malaysia, a tropical island that’s also one of the most developed states in the country, famous for its cultural heritage and colonial historic charm. The sun is almost rising as the alarm clock goes off for Marta Olszewska.
During a quick trip to Australia as part of her duties as Head of Marketing at Piktochart, she discovered the power of waking up early. After a refreshing morning dip in the pool, she grabs some coffee and leaves her apartment in route to the Piktochart Headquarters.
Although May is part of the rainy season in Penang, the sun is out, and all signs point to a warm, beautiful day. Marta arrives at the office around 9 AM with a smile, and she greets her fellow Piktocharters who are already there. Today is the day when Chao Ng, Piktochart’s CTO, will present the HOPEFUL values to the rest of the team.
The HOPEFUL Values
Marta, Ai Ching Goh (our CEO), and Chao are nervous, but in a good way. The leadership team has been working for weeks on encapsulating Piktochart’s values and translating the company’s spirit into words. It’s the invisible fabric that threads a meaningful environment and gives us all a sense of purpose that goes beyond our instrumental work goals.
H stands for humble, the ability to accept feedback, reflect, and admit to mistakes.
O means open up, voice out concerns, be honest, and always default to transparency.
P is for passionate. You should love your area of work and share the mission and vision of the company.
E stands for effectiveness, and getting things done, not only at work but in your personal life as well.
F means people shouldn’t be serious all the time. Fun, positivity, and work-life balance are important to us.
U suggests a strong focus on the user. People should be heavily user-focused, put themselves in the users’ shoes, and take their needs into consideration when making decisions. Everyone should understand our main user personas thoroughly.
L symbolizes love, which is the virtue that binds all other aspects together in perfect unity.
However, that’s only part of what culture at Piktochart is. How we translate those values to our day to day life is what really matters.
What Glues Everything Together: Trust
Perhaps the most important thing given to every person that comes to work at Piktochart is trust. We trust a person’s expertise and their gut feeling, and we give her or him freedom to be creative, to implement his or her ideas, and to make things happen. We don’t hand hold people through the process, but we do offer support, give constant feedback, and carry each other if needed.
“The culture here is very unique. I’ve worked in a corporate as well as small company environment before, but I’ve never encountered this kind of culture. Trust, love, freedom and humility are the things I value the most,” said Marta.
“Because of this exceptional environment and the fact I love my job, it’s so easy for me to wake up and come to work every morning. I go there as if I was going to a friend’s gathering where I’m valued, appreciated, and welcome. Happy people work at Piktochart, and you can feel it when you walk into our office. We are passionate about the product and about what we do, and it really shows”.
Everyone trusts and respects each other. Every newcomer is welcomed with open arms and feels at home after a few days.
Why People Stick Around in Piktochart
Being part of the creation
We are given the freedom and the opportunity to work on the projects that matter to us. This makes many of us feel like we’re making an impact on how the product evolves and the way we choose to serve our users.
See Mei, our Head of Design and Piktochart’s first non-founder employee put it like this: “There’s a great variety of tasks, and we continue to learn. There’s also a flexibility on the design level of selecting what partnerships to develop and what design to come up with that would best answer our users’ needs. I love the flexibility of being able to choose.”
Choosing our comfort zone
As we mentioned earlier, work-life balance lies at the heart of Piktochart’s culture. And despite having an awesome office that each one of us loves working from, we also have generous work-from-home policies for those whose homes are not in Penang or if we feel like we need to step out of the familiar and go travel the world. We are allowed to work remotely from anywhere, be it a beach, another city, or home, as long as we stay productive and bring results.
Together in good and bad
At Piktochart, we acknowledge that we are all human beings that have feelings and emotions beyond work responsibilities. We are aware that life has its ups and downs, both professionally and personally. At rough times, we offer each other a network of support that is unique, and once again, represents that people’s lives matter so much more than achieving numbers.
“What I value the most is the support of my colleagues in hard times. It makes me feel hopeful as I’m not alone.” said Albert, our Head of Front-End Development.
Not being afraid to fail
Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. “We recognize it at Piktochart and believe in testing, trying things out, and moving on if something doesn’t go as we expected,” said Aun Zhen, our Head of Customer Delight.
“Everyone is encouraged not to be afraid to make mistakes. It makes me want to express myself and try things that I believe are good for the company,” added Albert.
It’s All About The Details
Culture is not about values you put on a Powerpoint presentation. It’s about all the small things we do as a company, how the team interacts on a daily basis, and what makes us stand out from the rest. It’s about the character a company develops over time.
“I think culture comes down to these details. It’s what we do every day, how we interact, and how we feel in each other’s company”, explained Marta.
Sharing the love and cultivating generosity
First and foremost, we interact within a culture of sharing. Each new hire is asked to make and decorate their own cup which we then hang on a thin rope with all the other cups. Everyone is free to share their love by putting small messages of appreciation into other people’s cups.
“Also, the last newbie gives the latest newbie a ‘Welcome Kit’, which is a symbolic gift, a tiny token, some stationery to get them started and some other cool stuff”, added Ai Ching.
“Something I really love is this unplanned thing we started doing. People usually bring stuff from trips: weird sweets and snacks they find in other countries. The weirder a taste the snacks have, the better! Sometimes colleagues (especially See Mei) leave tiny gifts for each other. It’s really touching!” explained Marta.
Culture of transparency and teamwork
Team collaboration is extremely important to us. “Brainstorming and teamwork are always encouraged”, explained Ching. Every Monday, we have an MMM (Monday Morning Meeting). Each time, a different member of our team presents. We showcase our metrics and progress, give updates on our user research, talk about upcoming activities and each project owner updates the others about their project status.
Throughout the day, we communicate via Slack and Google Hangouts for different teams/projects, where we discuss things and share fun stuff and have our daily dose of laughter (the #pun-dits channel is a personal favorite).
In addition to the mostly business-first Slack team, we also have a company WhatsApp chat where we update each other, share photos and fall into random conversations. It gets really funny sometimes.
Tuesdays are our no-meeting-quiet days when we “get wired” and get things done. “It’s not compulsory and depends on an individual preference. Some love it as they feel it’s really time-efficient. After all, it’s just a day in complete silence,” added See Mei.
Being a driver, not a passenger
At Piktochart, we believe in the flat organization structure. In practice, it means everyone gets to present their point of view and is encouraged to take initiatives that lead to projects that have impact on our product development.
“Everyone can become a manager for an upcoming project from our Kanban board. Once a new project comes up, we all vote for the best candidates,” said See Mei. This ensures everyone has an equal opportunity to make a real change.
Investing time in team bonding and friendships
What brings us to the office with smiles on our faces every day is the fact we get to see our friends. We spend time together not only at the office but after working hours as well. Each team has a monthly budget dedicated to team activities that help cultivate our relationships.
“This brings teamwork to the next level. We get to truly know each other on a more personal level and create real friendships,” said See Mei. “Just last week, our front-end team coded from a co-working space, designers flew to a neighboring island called Langkawi in search for inspiration, and our marketing team enjoyed an afternoon dip in a seaside resort,” she said.
Injecting fun into our everyday activities
What makes our people healthy and happy is that life at Piktochart is not all about work. We do fun stuff together and learn from and about each other every day. Every Wednesday, 2 members of the team present on a fun and interesting topic of their choice. The topics range from fun facts about cats, the history of the universe, how to cook healthy, or how to be more productive. After the presentations, everyone has lunch together as a team. We also have monthly company activities including going to the movies, foosball tournaments, Escape Room, karaoke, dinners, and much more.
“Sometimes people take it to the next level by going to island escapades!” said Ching. The awesomeness doesn’t end there. We have a bean bag meeting room where people relax in a more laid-back and less conformist atmosphere. It’s not unusual to see musical instruments lying around the office for a spontaneous jam session every now and then.
But what many of us enjoy the most is our annual company trip. This past August, we spent a week together as a team in the island paradise of the Maldives. We spent time snorkeling, laying by the pool, trying to paddle board, and dining and laughing together. It’s the non-formal time together that helps strengthen bonds and relationships. This, in turn, makes us a more cohesive family that works hard for each other.
Culture comes from within
“I think you cannot inject values which are not there to start with. They are created from the spirit of every individual in the early stages of company’s existence,” said Albert.
“For me, it all starts with inspiring leaders. Ai Ching has been a mentor that many of us look up to, and she is the heart of this company who managed to create an unparalleled atmosphere. We all take lessons from her and each other and help each other become even better people. Why would I want to work anywhere else? I’m so happy,” said Marta.
For more tips on startup culture, along with some advice on how visual storytelling can improve your skills as a designer, marketer, and educator, check out our blog at http://piktochart.com/blog.
