Here’s a question for you: how great is company’s culture? At ChewingRice, we put culture first and it’s central to what we do. And whilst not every company does this, it’s clear to us that most businesses would benefit from such an approach. Culture is, quite simply, central to the success of brands and organisations who want to do amazing work. It’s the secret sauce, so to speak, that separates the big boys from those who are doing just okay. 

So, what do we mean by culture?  Clearly we’re not swanning around gazing at paintings or listening to classical music all day. Far from it. Culture is, in fact, all the things that make your company a great place to work. It’s not the work you do, so to speak, but the manner in which you do it. And it’s something of an art form in itself. 

Culture has come a long way in recent years. These days it’s far more than simply strewing a few bean bags across the floor and offering perks like gym membership to your employees. It’s something of a science that can encompass any of the following: 

• The atmosphere you create at your workplace 

• The people you employ, why you employ them and their mindset

• The way your teams collaborate and share knowledge 

• The way new ideas are received and nurtured 

• Your attitude to work life balance 

At ChewingRice, we take culture very seriously. Apart from the fact that we bring together expertise from all over the world, we’re also from vastly different disciplines like design, social media, copywriting, and animation. So it’s essential that we create a cohesive culture and that we have things in common. What could we possibly have in common? For a start, we’re a heart-centred organisation where everyone is brimming with passion for what they do. Driven by a love for all things digital, we’re a collective for a reason: so that we can pick the projects that really speak to us. Once we agree on a project, we adore coming together to solve often complex problems for our clients, usually with something so beautiful and simple that people are bowled over by the result (if we do say so ourselves). ChewingRice culture involves: 

Functioning as a collective with a flat hierarchy: whilst Lisa is the principle director, we all have an equal stake when it comes to expressing our opinions and collaborating. That’s a refreshing change from most agencies where stuffy hierarchies and bureaucracy often get in the way of truly creative work. 

Creating our own working environments: rather than being chained to our desks, we’re working from a cafe, a cool new co-working space, or a comfy home office. Picking and choosing the environments in which we work makes us happy and, more importantly, allows for true creativity to unfold. 

Communicating in real-time: we’ve said goodbye to snail mail, and to mountains of needless emails. Instead we communicate rapidly and easily with frictionless software like Slack and Zoom. Google Docs is our best friend, because we can comment and share our thoughts in one easy place, and so can our clients. Other tools we love include InVision, GatherContent, DropBox and MailChimp. 

Saving the earth’s resources: working remotely allows us to save on the enormous amounts of fuel and electricity it takes to run the average office. We also don’t need to jump in our cars and do a lengthy commute, meaning we’ve lowered our carbon footprints. With the current climate emergency, there’s never been a better time to follow suit. 

Being inclusive: we have a high proportion of female members in the collective along with people from all backgrounds and ethnicities. Diversity is at the heart of what we do, and how we work. And we’re proud to say we’ve helped several companies to do the same with our Inclusive Innovation program. 

There you have it: ChewingRice’s culture in a nutshell. It may not include splashing cash on free donuts, beanbags or gym memberships, but it does include all the elements of a happy, healthy and flourishing collective who thrive when given the freedom to create. And that’s something you can’t put a price on.

Want to know more about working with ChewingRice, or collaborating on a project? Get in touch here.