If you visit Blender’s Airborne Road HQ, you’ll notice the company culture immediately. Not just from the team’s warm welcome, but also because the business’ core values are proudly and vividly on display, as a mural over the main stairwell.
For 15 years, Blender has been part-nering with “business and product owners on awesome journeys” to help them design and develop new products that deliver positive impact and successful commercial outcomes. Co-founders Ollie McDermott and Ben Thomsen studied industrial design together at Massey University Albany.
The business has been based in North Harbour from day one, with culture always being a cornerstone. In fact, the company name is an expression of this. “We’re all about the right blend of ingredients. We recognise that each of us brings our own experiences, strengths and talents, which, when partnered with great clients, are a recipe for success,” says Ollie.
For Blender, culture is not static; it evolves as the business and its people evolve. “Culture is people! That means it should come from the team, not be imposed upon them.” Regularly, and always when new staff come on board, the team collectively discusses the business’ values, working to define, understand and live by them.
Blender harnesses the benefits of some “big company” tactics. Twice-yearly staff engagement and skills development surveys capture vital data and ensure that everyone has a voice. The team has also enhanced the usual SMART goal-setting method into its own 90-day framework to convert plans into tangible results. Everyone has input – ensuring greater cohesion, productivity and accountability – and is encouraged to speak up. “From research, we came to believe that purely top-down strategies produced an unresponsive and disenfranchised culture. Whereas purely bottom-up strategies seemed to be reactive and ineffective. So, we use a blend of both, which works well for us.”
At the end of every 90-day cycle, the team reviews the overall plan and resets for the next phase. The finer details are always evolving and discussed every week. “We especially want to know if someone is feeling out of their depth or needs extra support. At that point, the workload can be apportioned appropriately.”
Over the years, Blender has won numerous design awards, and in 2020, was a finalist in the Westpac Business Awards Excellence in Innovation category. There’s an acknowledgement of the role of culture here too. “Innovation at Blender is multi-faceted. It’s in several parts of our process that work in tandem to deliver outstanding results for clients.” Maximising and sustaining this process innovation for further growth means combining systems with culture. In other words, to foster a culture of systematic innovation requires every team member – regardless of job title – to feel engaged and valued. Part of this is to acknowledge that staff have a life outside of work and be flex-ible around this. Open communication and respect are crucial too.
Nor is culture confined to the internal team; it’s also a significant element of Blender’s client qualification process. “It wouldn’t be an enjoyable or productive partnership for anyone if the wrong personalities were involved. It’s really important that our values are well aligned,” Ollie explains. Blender’s clients include some exciting, well-known Kiwi businesses, such as Huski® and Fast-mount, and fellow BNH members Sealegs International and Teknique. “We work with some incredible people. We love solving their technical challenges and helping them to grow their business. Their success is our success. Turns out, amazing things can be achieved when experts collaborate!”
Please check Business North Harbour’s FYI Magazine for more success stories.
