By Barb Paszyn

Our internal engine, called Spirit 32 (S32), has been around since 2013. It has helped shape the culture at SW&A through many informational sessions and celebrations. In light of this month’s theme of gratitude, I’d like to thank SW&A for creating and nurturing S32 – so here are 10 truly deserved Thank Yous.

Thank You #1

Thank you for creating this resource that considers everyone’s well-being and what’s important to each of us at SW&A. S32 was developed as an initiative to help our SW&A Team with their personal and professional lives and, years later, it continues to be nurtured.

Thank You #2

Thank you for considering everyone’s opinion when creating S32 sessions. Every year SW&A holds an audit of the informational sessions that have been facilitated. SW&A shares this with everyone internally, and then as a group we brainstorm what we would like to learn about for the upcoming year.

Thank You #3

Thank you for letting our SW&A team explore a wide variety of topics within S32. S32 holds 5 or 6 sessions each year, large and small, that teach everyone about themselves and their personal and professional lives. From ergonomics to polarity thinking, almost any topic that will help us be better people is in scope.

Thank You #4

Thank you for inviting experts to share their knowledge with us. Every year S32 brings in experts on topics such as mindfulness and office yoga. It always helps to get outside perspective especially since we aren’t experts in everything.

Thank You #5

Thank you for letting our SW&A Team develop their presentation and facilitation skills through S32 sessions. Some of these sessions are facilitated by SW&A members to allow them to develop skills that could be used in their client-based life. I’ve definitely benefited from this.

Thank You #6

Thank you for introducing mindfulness to SW&A. This has become a common theme and practice throughout SW&A, and many of us have benefited from these sessions and overall mindset – personally and professionally.

Thank You #7

Thank you for entering our team into award competitions that showcase how great SW&A is as an employer. This initiative was led by SW&A’s Engagement Team, and this year we won three awards: Two from the Great Place to Work Institute including Best Workplace for Celebrating Success  and Best Workplace in the Small Business category, as well as Employee Recommended Workplace, and we were a finalist for the Venngo Award of Excellence for Financial, Physical, & Mental Wellness!

Thank You #8

Thank you for congratulating and surprising everyone at SW&A on our Great Place to Work and Employee Recommended Workplace awards – making it a team accomplishment – through cake and laughter. Every time we won an award, the Engagement Team through S32 made sure to celebrate with every single SW&A member and ensured everyone knew it was their contribution that made these awards possible.

Thank You #9

Thank you for the snack centre that fuels us. This one is particularly important to me. The snack centre is replenished frequently and improved yearly to provide what we need for a healthy break.

Thank You #10

Thank you for keeping SW&A in line with our purpose and beliefs. The Engagement Team through S32 initiatives commissions a yearly tracking study that checks SW&A’s pulse and uses this to continuously improve the S32 program and our culture. After all – there’s always room for improvement!

S32 is an integral part of SW&A’s culture where many of us can learn about ourselves through facilitated sessions – thank you for contributing to this.

How does your company keep its culture enriched and employees professionally and personally satisfied? Feel free to share your thoughts, and what makes you grateful.