Pri Tailor, who is based in our London office, is Croud’s Office and HR Administrator. We spent five minutes with Pri, getting a glimpse into her role at Croud, the ways in which culture is placed at the heart of the company, and everything in between.
What is a typical day for you?
I love my sleep, so I have my routine down to a T. My alarm goes off early, I’ll snooze once – twice if I’m feeling courageous! Then I’ll get ready and make my way into the office early. I don’t eat breakfast until I get into work, but the first thing before anything else is always a tea. Following this, I will do my usual walk around the office to make sure everything is the way it should be.
In terms of the structure and responsibilities, my days can really vary! Even with a list of things to do, my day could literally turn upside down if something comes up that I need to attend to. From office management to tech support, event planning and general day-to-day HR stuff, there are so many levels to my role. This means each day is completely different and I could be doing anything and everything – even being the office agony aunt at times!
What do you enjoy most about your role?
One of the main things I enjoy is being able to play a part in creating an enjoyable environment for people to work in. However, planning events is definitely the most enjoyable part of my role.
When it comes to the smaller internal events and initiatives, I’m lucky to get free reign on the planning process, but getting to work alongside the Global Head of Events on bigger events like the Christmas and Summer All Hands is something I really look forward to. Planning these events takes us such a long time, but seeing everyone enjoy themselves definitely makes all the hard work worthwhile and is hands down the best part of my job.
How would you describe Croud’s culture?
Like family.
I could never work in a company that didn’t champion its people and I think Croud’s values put people at the heart. Whether someone has a baby, gets engaged, is promoted, or even if Croud welcomes a new client or an award, these achievements are always collectively celebrated within the team. Recognition is highly valued and everyone enjoys encouraging their peers, which is why it feels more like a family than a business.
Furthermore, as a business Croud focuses on empowering the people who work within the company. That includes making sure there are enough snacks and beers in the fridge, having stylish offices, hosting regular company socials, and most importantly, putting a real focus on mental wellbeing within the workplace.
There are four Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) in the London office, and at least one in each of Croud’s offices around the world. We hold global bi-monthly mindfulness sessions run by a qualified practitioner and as a company, we provide a contribution towards any form of physical exercise a team member adopts, whether that’s a gym membership, yoga or even kickboxing.
As Office and HR Administrator, how do you think you impact the culture at Croud?
I think the small things are key. As I have a strong influence in how the office is run, I’ve been able to instil many sustainability initiatives, such as ensuring we bulk-buy all our cleaning supplies (which are of course all eco-friendly), recycling religiously, and we even have compost for our coffee and tea waste. In 2019 we were awarded the silver award by First Mile Easy Recycling for our efforts so far. I recently read an article that air-conditioning can reduce the level of oxygen in the atmosphere, so I have increased the number of plants in the office to help purify the air and make it little more inviting.
Beyond this, I think it’s about ensuring that the atmosphere in the office is enjoyable for everyone. I like to think I can sense the mood of the office and in doing so, I can do little things to help raise the atmosphere. Whether that’s sharing a fruit platter in the kitchen, putting on lively music during a rainstorm or offering around some wine and beer early on a Friday afternoon, having an oversight on the office environment is quite important to the culture.
You’re an MHFA, what does that mean?
MHFA stands for Mental Health First Aider. It is an initiative I was introduced to by St John’s Ambulance, who run one-day workshops. Initially I was interested in joining the training because of my experience studying Psychology at university, but I learnt a lot more than I expected to, making the experience very inspiring and eye-opening. Once I became qualified it was not long before others within the company wanted to get involved too, and now we have at least one MHFA in every office across the globe!
I think as an MHFA the most important thing is to provide a place where people can talk. One of the key things raised within the training is that most people who are struggling with their wellbeing at work don’t report it because they think it will have an impact on their career. So to make it feel less daunting, I always encourage the team to put a coffee in my calendar for an informal chat or come by my desk, even if it’s just to vent.
As well as listening, I think it’s important to be observant. Being situated at the front desk means I can see everyone walking into the office first thing in the morning. I’d like to think, especially following the training I’ve received, that I’ll be able to notice if something is up or if someone is having a bad day, By doing so, I can go the extra mile to try and cheer them up.
So for me, it’s about being a confidant and support to the team, ensuring I can provide my peers with someone to talk to if they need it, without the added pressure of feeling like it’s a formal process.
What app or piece of technology could you not do your job without?
Whilst the app I mostly use is Google Tasks, I’m definitely more old fashioned. You just don’t get the same satisfaction from clicking a box that you do from manually crossing something off your list – the paper is always recycled of course.
What do you think the future of Croud looks like?
When I joined just over two years ago, the very first event I helped plan was a Croud retreat, with just under 60 people attending. Since then, events have become bigger, more elaborate and more exciting. For example our most recent Summer All Hands, which happened last month, included just over 130 people. It definitely shows how rapidly Croud is growing!
There’s always a higher bar to meet every year, and much like this, I think Croud as a company continues to raise the bar for themselves as a business and what they can provide for their teams. Because of this, Croud will continue to evolve at speed, bringing something new on a daily basis, whether that’s new tech, new team members, Croudies, clients or partners.
Croud strives to put everyone within the business first. The social and sustainability initiatives, which have only expanded as we’ve grown, are all very close to Luke and Ben’s hearts, so I don’t think they’d ever want that to change within the business, no matter how big we grow.
An interesting fact about yourself?
Whilst I’m known for my love of baking, I hate cake, and my favourite baked good is the ‘Compost Cookie‘ from MilkBar – a cookie topped with pretzels and crisps – very very controversial.
To find out more about Croud, or to find out about joining the team, get in touch.
