OUR JOURNEY OF BUILDING A PROPER TEAM

Until recently, DROP Structures was just a few friends with a passion for building beautiful, functional designs. Back then, our team was small, straightforward and simple.

But, over the past two years, as we’ve tripled our production and skipped from new shop to new shop, we’ve had to grow quickly and invite others along for the ride.

As fun as that was, it was also a dangerous time. All the growth required new people, and without the right hiring practices, we knew DROP Structures could lose the culture we worked so hard to build. So, in the middle of that change, we decided that we needed to hire differently, so DROP Structures would remain a place of creativity, fun and camaraderie.

Designing a company

Just like each of our designs, the first question we asked ourselves when we began refining our hiring process was, “what is our purpose?”

Of course, we build and deliver prefab structures to anywhere in North America, but that’s not our purpose. In fact, if you visit us at the shop on a weekday, you’ll see our purpose written on the shirts of the people who work here:

Love yourself

Then

Love others

Then

Build cool shit

That’s who we are. That’s what we do and why we do it.

And, that’s the core we design the company around, from the structures we build, to the culture we foster.

Refining our hiring process

In the beginning, the last element was mostly focussed outwards, on our clients and on designing a structure that would enhance their lives. But, with an ever-expanding team, we knew we had to maintain that focus internally. Because, if that passion for creation (for ‘cool shit’) wasn’t enshrined in the way we bring people on board, we’d lose it somewhere along the way, ending up as yet another company where employees clock in and clock out.

Where’s the fun – the life – in that?

That’s why we’ve stayed committed to designing an innovative way forward beyond the traditional resume -> interview -> hire process.

Instead, we focus on a more holistic method that helps us gather a team that not only does their job, but is enthusiastic about what they do and ready to love the people around them.

“You can shovel shit, but if you’re doing it with good people it’s a great job.”

— RYAN ABERNATHY

The DROP Structures interview process

Our first step to putting together a great team is an interview process that opens the door to the right people – even if that means taking on someone who needs a little extra training.

As we’ve grown and hired further and further outside our own circle, we’ve developed an interview process designed to not only find employees who will excel at their job, but also excel within the team and within our culture.

To do that, we hire new employees based on three key elements – elements that aren’t simply about how much money they can make the company. And then, we invite our whole team to sit in on part of the process, so they can meet, interact with, and ask questions of potential new hires.

Function

Just like every other company out there, we need employees who are able to do their job. However, we believe that too often companies get hung up on the function of their employees without going any further.

So, while we are always looking for people who are trained and able to do the job we need them to do, we try not to flatten each job-seeker down to a list of skills. After all, there is a lot of training we can do, and much that a good mentor can teach.

Instead, we always seek to balance the function of each new employee with how they can add to our team.

Atmosphere

No one wants to spend ⅓ of every workday counting down hours in a soulless grey pit of despair just so they can go home with a loaf of bread in hand. 

Just that sentence sows seeds of despair in our hearts. But beyond making our lives unpleasant, a terrible workplace atmosphere saps creativity along with the spark that makes our employees come alive at work. In turn, that makes it hard to be excited about what we get to do with and for our clients.

So, with each new hire, we want to make sure that they will contribute to the positive atmosphere within the shop as well as the construction of each DROP Structure. This way, we can craft an atmosphere, just as you can inside a Mono, that is uplifting, creative and innovative.

Cohesion

Every work day, around noon, our whole team, from the people wielding nail guns to those wielding phones and staplers, meet upstairs to enjoy lunch together. Sometimes lunch is a quiet affair, sometimes it’s raucous, but it’s always, always pleasant.

That moment of sanity in the middle of days that can quickly spiral out of control is an essential touchstone that binds together the construction workers with the office staff. Without it, it’s too easy for the salesmen and office staff to gradually drift away from the construction workers, leading to friction between what is promised and what can be delivered.

That’s why it’s essential to consider each new employee as part of a cohesive whole. 

Maintaining our team culture

Hiring is just the beginning. 

It’s vital that we continue investing the same effort into maintaining our team as it is to create the team. This starts with those team lunches where we can all touch base and maintain strong connections between everyone on our team.

We build on that with team experiences, from paintballing or hockey games – even manicures – that help build into our team atmosphere. But, we don’t rely on these special circumstances to maintain a positive atmosphere in the shop and office. After all, shooting each other with paintballs for an afternoon will only maintain camaraderie for a little while.

Most of the joy of working with good people isn’t in the exceptions, but in the simple, everyday interactions we have throughout the day. Our team is built in those kind moments, in the Tik Tok dances and creative insights that happen naturally. And maintaining that atmosphere, cohesion and, yes, function in the team is integral to keeping the freedom to create those moments.

Why a good team is intrinsic to who we are

Selfishly, we work hard to build and maintain a good team because it makes our lives better when we don’t dread heading into work.

But, just as importantly, we believe that our team shines through in our work. When we are positive and playful, we’re able to boost creativity and offer that same experience to our clients.

And that, at least we believe, is why our customers come to us. Because we know how to have fun.