In the first part of the interview with Pieter-Jan Van Der Burgt, office manager at OTA Insights, we already talked about their crazy ball pit and why they chose it. Now we're going to take a closer look at how they keep that culture alive when you endure major international growth.  

How do you create such a close-knit, close and, above all, motivated team?

Yes, but we also pay close attention to team fit during onboarding and hiring. That's a truly crucial element. No matter how many degrees you have, how smart you are, or how experienced you are, if we feel it won't work within the group, that that person won't enhance the atmosphere, then it simply won't work.

Yes, I can imagine that as you grow that becomes more and more difficult of course? And how do you keep such a culture alive as you grow? Because organizing something like this for 10, 20 people is completely different than for 100 people, of course?

Yes, now that we're scaling up and becoming a large company, internationally as well, we do feel that culture is under pressure. But on the one hand, you have people like me, who are also hired to manage things more efficiently. But when push comes to shove, it has to come from within the group itself. You can put out as many pizzas and chips as you want, but if no one wants to come, we're very fortunate. From the very beginning, they've had a real spirit of collaboration and caring for each other. But it has to come from within.

So if I understand correctly, the office experience is also a tool to attract people, but do you expect the profiles you attract to contribute to it?

Yes, but simply because of who they are. They don't always have to actively participate, or not everyone can be a real go-getter. You just let everyone do their thing. If they want to organize something, we have certain budgetary rules to make the arrangements. But otherwise, they have complete freedom.

We don't necessarily have an environment designed to attract people to the office, but rather one where you immediately feel at ease when you arrive. So we truly strive for that home-like feeling. You can come here to work comfortably, with colleagues you have a good relationship with. So that when you do come here for a day, you're happy to be here.

So really an office as a safe space. Because you so often hear the work-from-home culture of: "phew my boss asks to come to the office." but here it doesn't exist?

Be careful, before COVID we also had to come to the office almost every day. But that was also the rule at 95% of the companies at the time. But COVID was a crowbar in that area. And now it's like: look at it in function of your work, discuss it with your lead and if you mutually agree, go ahead.

Yes, and if you have motivated people, they will work hard anyway, wherever they are at that moment because they just like to do it and support the same goal.

If you get the trust, you give a lot of trust back because you don't want to betray it. If you feel that your boss trusts you, you will also be less likely to say "go on" when you don't feel like it. That is not the case here.

In this way, you also create people who are a poster child for your company and, of course, attract other people. All these things, do you also notice that with retention or absenteeism?

That's really fine here. Of course, if you're sick, you're sick. If you have an emergency or something you need to address. We also have a very young team, so more and more children are being involved. That flexibility is truly there.

So basically the loose and good vibes that the office exudes manifests itself in flexibility or how that people are treated.

Here, you simply get—to put it mildly—ownership of your work and time. The work has to be done, but whether you start at 6:30 AM and leave by 3 PM or arrive at 10 AM and stay until 8 PM, you're completely free. We're seeing it in the results.

But it has to be, because the bar is set high. It is also deliberately placed high here, in all areas. But in an atmosphere where it is appreciated.

Because work in 2023 is no longer just doing your job and being able to pay your invoices, but is also mainly about being part of something. Do you also notice that it is becoming a kind of community here?

Yes, they're a bunch of comrades. These are colleagues and that is work, but you still feel that everyone is hanging together. They really take care of each other. We encourage that too. If you detect that something is wrong, talk to me.

Last weekend we had a team-building session with a big campfire and boats in Ghent. And I told my boss: this isn't a company anymore, it's a youth group. You just have to make sure they have their sugar waffle and their campfire, and they're happy. When I talk about our people, I never say "my colleagues," I really talk about "my guests." And my guests deserve to be pampered.

So you also do a lot of activities outside of work?

On Sunday, we went for a walk in the Fiertel with a few people. In August, about ten of us will be doing the Dodentocht. If you can come to an activity, that's great! We encourage it. But the larger the group, the more people will be sick or have to care for their children. Oh well, next time, right?

So there are no strings attached? You can't force something like that, of course.

No, definitely not. You also have colleagues who are not extroverted or have less need for it. But that doesn't mean that they don't appreciate that there is a piece of candy when they arrive or that someone comes to ask how it is or that they come down. But everyone at their own pace.

So also people who don't need that social aspect and all those extra activities, that's perfectly okay?

The more they come, the better, because then we see 'our guests'. But if that doesn't fit, no problem. It's still about your work.

You may also often hear from other companies that if you can't come a few times due to circumstances or don't need it as much, there can be some friction.

I've said it many times before: we have an office here where there are many opinions, but very little judging. It's more like, "Oh, it's been a while since he's been to the office." They're curious, but above all, concerned. Judging is completely frowned upon here when it happens.

That's great. Because yes, different characters, extroverted and introverted, have different needs.

I can assure you, there are strong characters among them.

"In general, you just have to genuinely care about your people. If you're intrinsically like 'that's my staff, they have to work, period' you can throw a pizza party once a year, but they'll be standing there with a long face."

Do you have a recommendation for offices that are not so concerned with the design of their office or with office experience?

Hiring a good office manager. I'll answer this both generally and personally. Personally. When I started here, the position didn't exist yet. So they didn't really know what profile they were looking for. Looking back, they also say: what's become very clear to us because you started here is that if you ever leave, we need to find someone who truly puts their heart and soul into the community. It's not just one person, of course, but someone who tries to maintain that and is sincere about it.

But generally, you just have to genuinely care about your people. If you intrinsically believe, "They're my staff, and they have to work, period," then you can throw a pizza party once a year, but they'll just look at you with a long face. Here, it's more like, "When are we going to do something again?" or "Are we going to do something?" or "Gee, not this week because last week was already pretty intense."

I also recently spoke with a CEO who said that his office manager doesn't directly bring in any money, but if that person wasn't there for the team, he would have so many other problems that would ultimately impact revenue, of course.

True, the engineers are working on product, marketing, and sales. But I'll be honest: office management can vary from company to company. Here, it's more about organization. I try to help out with the other offices in Brussels and London, but that's remotely.

So how do you go about that when you internationalise?

You try to keep your community aligned. You have your branding, the same mission, team-building activities. The monthly all-hands call, when everyone dials in from everywhere. But also the bosses who consciously travel to Singapore, London, and Denver just to stay in touch with everyone. That's a very conscious effort.

I'm a huge fan of your approach. I think it's really quite exceptional, especially for a company of that magnitude.

Any boss can throw money at something for a design agency or a specific concept, but it's your soul, you have to mean it, and it has to come from within. If you don't have that, it'll never work. But I haven't encountered this very often. I've already seen that it's not the case everywhere.

I think that's super nice to end. You are perfectly at home in a very nice office. Thank you for your time and we would love to use the ball pool!