Organisational Culture series - Part 3 Our approach to work and work culture

This text is part of a mini series called ‘Organisational Culture’. It is primarily aimed at people that are exploring our website and want to get an understanding of what kind of things we value at RUNOGAMES. If you are interested in joining us, feel free to check out our careers page.

In order to be successful we must take exceptional caution about the kind of work environment we create, because, as studies show, our performance, perceptions, attitudes are shaped by our environment (insert link here).

This is crucial to note if you are considering to apply. We are not a corporation or a big company. Even when we will become a large company, our approach to work and work culture shall not change.

We don’t have bureaucracies. Every position is multi variant and not one dimensional. You will not be another cog in the machine but an individual that has the creative freedom and space to express their ideas and contribute to development of awesome products (yes, even if you do something completely unrelated to product development and design, like database maintenance) on top of your core job responsibilities.

Communication is open and free. We do not hide facts and figures from each other and attempt to take advantage over one another - this is not a political institution. We are all on the same team, working on the same goals, supporting each other and growing stronger together. Whatever it is you need to say, do so without hesitation, because communication is vitally important to aid accurate decision making.

We execute fast and pivot when necessary, iterating all the time, even for the fun of it, because there is a never ending supply of ideas to try out and implement. Regarding rate of execution, it must be rapid. In simple terms, we work hard and fast with a maniacal sense of urgency. Please refrain from applying if you do not feel that you will be ready to fit into our work environment.

We focus mostly on our work instead of what the competition. Then, that depends on how do you define competition? Our goal is to carve out new, blue ocean markets by being an innovative company (insert link on blue oceans). This does not mean we will ignore other companies that operate in similar fields as us entirely, it’s just that the majority of our energy will go into focusing on internal, rather than external activities.

It’s worth re-emphasising the commentary on ‘maniacal sense of urgency’. In order for RUNOGAMES to succeed and make outsized returns, one of the keys is speed. We want to move extremely fast and grow at healthy rates consistently. Hence, this won’t be the typical 9-5 work environment.

If you join us, you will receive a competitive salary that ensures you are getting what you are worth, provided you produce the equivalent of valuable output in your specific domain.

But, our culture is that everyone goes above and beyond. Instead of excellent, go for extraordinary. We are building a team of people with this kind of growth mindset that believe in themselves and in the work they do.

This is essential because our people are what makes the Company and if this is not done correctly than we won’t be able to grow into a successful business.

Everyone has clear KPIs which you need to consistently hit, without any slack, because there is no room for laziness or procrastination. Please refrain from applying if you prefer a slower pace of work. We are looking for the complete opposite.

A short but important point. Quick not mean bad. We expect everyone to come in ready to go and produce everything to the highest standard at a fast pace.

For any so called work place conflicts, if they arise in the first place, sort them out like adults, these are a waste of time and must not have any impact on the quantity and quality of your work output. There are many large corporations where this type of internal politics is the norm but we do not have any of that here.

You must be a continuous learner and strive for constant self improvement as an individual. It is important that you develop personally so that you get more from your work than just your monthly salary. It may be inspiration, meaningful connections, or even bravery to go out and start your own business when you feel that you are ready to take the next step in your life.

Failure is welcomed if it is fast and related to striving for maximim efficiency and creativity. We do not punish ideas or new methods of trying, on the contrary, we welcome them and encourage every single team member to be innovative and bold. This kind of “positive” failure process will speed up your rate of learning and allow you to grow as an individual at a faster than average rate.

The kind of failure that will not be tolerated is purposefully lazy failure, where you do not try, fail to apply yourself to work and / or simply do not care enough for the work that you do. It will be very unlikely that a person with such attitude will join the Company in the first place because they won’t pass admissions test but this does not make people invincible to performing poorly once they join, if not right away, then sometime after work. Therefore, it is essential that you are active in the operations of the Company.

Next, hours will be standard, what we want to see is your output within the hours that you get. The more correct output generated, the better.

We win together and learn from mistakes together, support each other. United, we are strong. Divided, we are weak.

You should support your team mates and assist them with their work if you can. this creates a positive environment between us and makes our bonds stronger. everyone knows that others have their back no matter what.

You must be an aggressive problem solver, without waiting around to be told what to do when it comes to daily tasks that are part of your job requirement.

Despite our intensity, we are sustainable because you work hard, play hard, with the latter stage allowing you to recharge your batteries and be ready to go again.

We expect everyone to take care of their own health. This includes healthy eating and some form of exercise. This lifestyle will boost your performance at work too, on top of benefiting you personally.