What do some of the most well-known companies today (Pinterest, Yelp, Box, POPSUGAR, Asana, MailChimp) have in common? They all care immensely about their brand experience. What else do they have in common? They all use a service called Envoy to extend that brand experience to their front desk, creating a warm, delightful and quick check-in process for visitors.
Envoy is a visitor registration platform that’s been a game-changer for how guests are greeted in workplaces around the world. As part of the sign-in process, they automate badge-printing, host notifications and signing of NDAs and other legal agreements. Founded in 2013, Envoy now serves 6 million visitors in over 50 different countries.
As we learned recently, the small team of 37 people was able to inspire team motivation through high morale and fast growth, thanks, in part, to their favorite productivity tool. Here’s how they use I Done This.
Easy Knowledge Transfer
A few weeks ago when CEO Larry Gadea spoke with a potential client, he threw it on the done list to alert the whole team. But he also included some fun facts he learned, like the client’s love for pizza. Later that week, the sales team had a meeting with the client and were able to use these personal details to close a deal.
Larry first learned about I Done This a few years back when he did some consulting work at Shopify. He immediately saw how fun the tool could be, so he brought it back to Envoy. The staff wasn’t receptive at first, but when they saw how Larry was using it, everyone else quickly caught on and got on board. Although the use of I Done This isn’t mandatory, most of the Envoy team uses it to share information and learn the goings-on in the company.
When putting together client profiles or sending over reports, it’s only the most pertinent information that gets communicated across teams. But Envoy uses I Done This much more socially. Marketing manager Rosie Fan can learn about the business interests of a potential client, but also learn that one of the developers does a killer Elvis impersonation. The team is united in this easy non-disruptive channel of communication that revs up team motivation. Larry calls it their internal Twitter.
An Opportunity to Take Initiative
In the early days, Envoy was a team of just five people. The team was excited to be a part of something so early and was eager to get involved in as many projects as possible to help get Envoy off the ground. At first, this meant a lot of meetings where the staff had to decide who’s tackling what problem. Once they started using I Done This, however, it became much easier to join projects as they developed.
Whenever a team member saw someone working on a goal they could help with, they’d just comment on it and offer some help. I Done This provided an opportunity for Envoy employees to take initiative in the early days—a necessary function of any fast-growing startup.
Unsurprisingly, this trend became embedded in the company culture. Even though the team has grown to seven times its original staff, and roles have become much more specialized, people are still willing to jump in and lend a helping hand.
A Thumbs Up Goes A Long Way For Team Motivation
When we asked the Envoy team about their favorite I Done This feature, we got an answer we weren’t expecting: the thumbs up. Whenever Larry approves of work that someone on his staff did—which happens on a daily basis— he gives it a thumbs up. It’s become his unofficial stamp of approval, and it makes the staff feel like their hard work is being noticed and appreciated.
Envoy’s emphasis on appreciation hit close to home for us at I Done This. We first developed the tool because we felt strongly that celebrating small wins was more motivating than working towards lofty, impossible goals. That’s how we came up with the “done list.”
But studies have shown that another way to celebrate accomplishments is through moments of recognition. In fact, recognition for your employees is more motivating than monetary benefits. Employees feel like their work is constantly being valued and are therefore intrinsically motivated to continue putting forth their best effort.
Communication Meets Team Motivation
I Done This is used by hundreds of teams as a tool that facilitates transparency and communication. But Envoy has found a way to use it to showcase their company’s personality. They communicate important information, share jokes, and support each other, all through I Done This. We couldn’t think of a better use for our beloved software tool.
Join great companies like Box, Pinterest, GoPro, and Yelp in using Envoy to sign in your visitors. Try it out free for 14 days.
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