Talk, Listen, Change: Maintaining Culture in a Growing Organisation

Michelle has previously spoken at the Happy workplace Conference in 2017 and has reflected on what they've done in the years since for this talk. Talk, Listen, Change has grown five times bigger in that time, going from a turnover of 1 million to a turnover of 5 million. With a team of 145 staff members and 70 volunteers, working across the country, they wanted to ensure that their culture was still prevalent.

Michelle stated: "We want everybody in the organisation to feel aligned with what we do, whatever their role is. So, it doesn't matter if you're our finance officer, it doesn't matter if you're working in our domestic abuse prevention team, if you're one of our board, you should feel that real alignment with our mission."

Having a straight forward and well defined mission is something Michelle felt strong about, ensuring that you have the right people for the job. Over the last few years, they've focused on defining their organisational values. 

Talk, Listen, Change aims to have their values first, even in the recruiting stage, and ensure that there is transparency so that people can feel safe contacting this charity. Their company also has groups for hobbies, like Book Club and Dungeons and Dragons, to help strengthen friendships within the team. 

Looking towards the future of Talk, Listen, Change, in their two-year growth plan, Michelle plans on untilizing AI to develop relationships across their organisation and investing in internal comms. The accessibility of their organisation is on the forefront of their minds.

This video really dives deep in how far the company has come in the last seven years and what they are implementing for the future.

What you will learn in this video:

• Best practices when trying to create and maintain a culture, starting at recruitment
• Ways to knit friendships and help productivity positively within a company.
• Importance around having clear values and mission statements
• Ensuring that your volunteers are well looked after and celebrated.
• Challenges that organisations in the Charity Sector face

Related resources:

• Can You Use Happy Manifesto Principles in a Charity? - In this video, Michelle talks about leading the charity through a period of growth and transformation.
• Nigel Paine: Why a Positive Culture is the Key Ingredient of Success - Nigel talks about the hallmarks of a happy workplace and how to create a positive culture.
• Successful Recruitment and Induction - This leadership course can help with recruiting people you feel will better help your company.

Next Conference: 2025 Happy Workplaces Conference

Our Happy Workplaces Conference is our biggest event of the year, and we'd love for you to join us on Thursday 12th June!

This year's event will be held in London, venue TBC. We may also offer a hybrid option for people to join us online simultaneously — do let us know if you are interested in joining online and we can add you to the waiting list.

As always, our next conference will be filled with interaction, discussion and space for reflection.

Book now and get our special half-price Early Bird rate — just use discount code Happy2025.

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