A glimpse at Columbus' modern-day lifestyle tapestry

When anyone thinks about the Columbus Communications Group, operators of Flow, the first thing that comes to mind is the country's largest cable and Internet provider.

However, for many employees, the company is the employer of choice, with many describing it as their "home away from home". According to the vice-president of organisational development at Columbus Communications, Makeba Bennett-Easy, her main task is to bridge the gap between management and staff.

Walking through their corporate office, one might notice a certain pep in the step of each employee. Bennett and her team are partly responsible for these happy helpers and zealous workaholics, and the corporate bigwig was generous in giving a behind-the-curtains look at the modern tapestry that is the Columbus lifestyle.

Responsible for "internal marketing" as she puts it, Bennett-Easy and her team bear the task of making the employees at Columbus feel just as satisfied and 'special' as their customers. The popular Jamaican saying, 'dance ah yaad before you go abroad', is quite true as it relates to the Flow family in creating an environment that is both friendly and easy to work in. Bennett's first order of business when she joined the Columbus team in 2010 was to breathe some life into the company's staff meetings. They can now boast an attendance rating of over 300 employees, up from 38 in 2010.

RELAXING ENVIRONMENT

The relaxing environment that Flow employees boast about did not occur by coincidence. It took a deliberate effort - and special tactics such as bolstering internal communications creatively, making sure employees are well adjusted, and creating an easy 'flowing' work environment. Applying and integrating its own business solutions to develop the over 600 employees at the company, Columbus' internal network is kept au courant with digital databases, company photo galleries,and other online utilities. These methods have helped to keep company information flowing smoothly while facilitating seamless collaboration between employees, regardless
of their geographical location.

Fostering a sense of
family and community, the communications giant uses its intranet as a
tool to keep its employees connected to each other, as each person has
his/her profile complete with photos and contact particulars on the
integrated network. "Gone are the days when employees have little or no
idea of whom they're speaking to, as the profiles now have personalised
emails and telephone numbers," explains Bennett-Easy. Through the
intranet, employees will also learn about job opportunities (within the
company), promotions, learning and development opportunities, and
discounts available to them. They can also share their perspectives,
concerns and suggestions with management and other staff members by
logging into an 'Idea Forum', Flow's version of an internal chat
room.

Another way in which the Columbus lifestyle
probably sets itself apart from the wider corporate culture is in the
way that employees are reprimanded. Bennett-Easy has found that a more
tactful approach to setting policy offenders on the correct path is
through encouragement. For instance, those who seem to be at odds with
the company's dress codes are encouraged to participate in a small
fashion showcase highlighting what is appropriate work attire and what
is never acceptable. Image consultants are even brought in to offer
their expertise. As she puts it simply, "We treat employees the way they
deserve to be treated."

New employees are literally
welcomed with open arms, and utmost importance is given to ensuring that
they transition smoothly into the workforce. Newly appointed director
of communications, Gail Abrahams, confessed that she was hesitant when
she visited the office on her first day. "I was greeted with a lot of
hugs and smiles from the basement where I parked, leading right up into
the office. That wasn't something that I was used to, coming from a much
more conservative background," she shared. Joanna Simpson tells us that
the open-door policy is something that also plays a major role in the
staff morale. "You never get the feeling that you can't approach
someone," she said.

Employees speak freely to their
superiors with everyone being on a first-name basis to ensure open lines
of communication with little or no judgement. According to Joanna
Simpson, senior marketing executive, "Flow is very interesting, both in
terms of interaction and approach to projects. People are free to be
themselves, regardless of where they fall in the hierarchy, which makes
it much easier to share ideas and open up." She went on, "It's a
build-you-up kind of environment. There's a strong support team where
people can pick you up, and there's a level of camaraderie that comes
through when there are various promotions that are organised," she
said.

EMPHASIS ON RESPECT

Employees
are always encouraged to communicate with superiors and the typical
element of fear with which staffers regard higher-ups is removed and
emphasis is placed instead on respect.

In addition to
its enhanced workplace communications tools, Columbus/Flow also has in
place a Rewards and Recognition system where employees nominate their
co-workers for rewards, based on outstanding performance. According to
financial analyst Sharon Martillier, "The culture at 
Flow is what constitutes the most relaxed atmosphere in the workplace"

She continued: ."It's really an
innovative and relaxing culture to work in because, unlike other places
you don't have to be too dressy and there are many other initiatives that are put in place to bring out our talents. we work very hard, but we do so in a relaxing environment," she ended.

HOLISTIC
APPROACH

Columbus takes a holistic approach to employee
satisfaction, and this includes promoting wellness. The company recently
hosted a weight-loss competition to kick-start its health-and-wellness
initiative. A wellness fair was also hosted at Hope Gardens and was open
to the employees and their family. The Flow MoBay City Run and the Flow
Tuff Warrior Challenge were also two initiatives that were geared
towards wellness, team-building and character development. Over 500
participants completed the Flow Tuff Warrior Challenge.

However, at the
end of the day, all 22 members of the team were the largest team to
cross the finish line together, as one unit. According to Flow's
security manager and Flow Tuff Warrior team captain, Nigel Gordon, "The
team was prepared physically and psychologically leading up to the Flow
Tuff Warrior Challenge. The physical preparation involved both aerobics
and anaerobic exercises and augmented into the programme was
psychological training," he said. On the day of the challenge, even
though members were at varying levels of fitness and endurance, all team
members motivated and pushed each other throughout the day to ensure
that they started as a team and ended as a team - crossing the finishing
line together.

FOCAL POINT

The
focal point at the centre of all these initiatives is the deep-seated
involvement of employees. When asked about the characteristics of a
Columbus employee, one employee stated, "happy, fun, relaxed, engaging,
creative, team-oriented and hard-working."

The company
also has its infamous dress-up days where staff members are encouraged
to dress according to themes. During Halloween, staff members can be
seen parading in the office dressed in some of the most ghoulish
costumes, and then there are dancehall days, culture day, retro days and
the weekly casual Fridays. Pop into their corporate offices on any
random day, and you just might see your favourite superhero parading the
hallways.

At the end of the year, the company engages
one-on-one with employees to create personal development plans and
chart a course for their growth within Columbus. They take their
business seriously, but the work environment is purposely relaxed,
flexible, and fun. So the next time you are greeted with a smile at a
Flow location, it should lend to its sincerity that they are probably
having a great time doing their job, which is a rich testament to the
company's one per cent employee turnover rate for the past four
years.

Think that your company is your home
away from home? Would you like to see your company splashed all over the
pages of the
Outlook? Send
us an email to lifestyle@gleanerjm.com
explaining why your workplace is your home
away from
home.

Contributed
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