This is a CTP of initiative: Impact Hub Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
This CTP marked the occasion that IH BH started to promote events of integration between its stakeholders in its new physical space. For these events, the owners invited the member companies, employees and sometimes people from outside IH BH who were interested in learning about the co-working space. The Sexy Salad is an event aligned with their purposes, implemented after several other changes (such as a change of physical space, business model and the reduction of its staff).
It is called Sexy Salad, according to the interviewee "due the fact that if it was called only salad, no one would come."
The Sexy Salad is a collective lunch approaching people with themes and conversations that are not common in their daily work. This approach, according to the interviewee, deepens the relationship bonds among all, which also continues beyond the event.
It is important to note that the Impact Hub Global Network makes numerous integration events like this and with the same purpose, such as happy hour, breakfasts and more.
The Sexy Salad has no fixed periodicity, it occurs when the attendees of the space have the will to run an event.
According to the interviewee: "It changed the way we work because you know the people, everyone gets to know what the other does, from the first event everyone starts to communicate much more ( ... ) here there isn't the matter of shyness anymore. After the last Sexy Salad we did a day when everyone came in costumes, it was carnival. We worked all day in costumes, which relaxed the environment”. For the interviewee, the integration event helps establish connections between people, activates the network and provides pleasant moments with the people who are working, contributing to the improvement of the organizational climate.
An interesting aspect of this event is that as the member companies commercialize very different products and services, this is also a time of communication and the opportunity for members to make sales, or for bringing together people for business.
The event was also announced on Facebook as a way to attract interest from outside the network. However, according to the interviewee, all present were invited by the group.
The Sexy Salad takes place at the headquarters of IH BH, on working days and everyone meets for a collective lunch. The idea of the event is that everyone brings food for the production of salads, and all guests wash and peel the vegetables and other ingredients and assemble the salads collectively.
Just as everyone helps in the production of food, everyone helps to tidy up the space before and after the event.
The event is produced and organized by all the IH BH Group: owners, member companies, employees and guests (of the owners, of the member companies and of the employees).
Related events are events that have been occurring over 2015/2016 that relate to a major change that IH BH was implementing.
October 2015 - Physical space change - IH BH changed the physical space as part of the implementation of a new business model.
2015 – Business model change - the business model was changed for the second time in 2015 (the first time was in 2012). The main objective of this change was to increase the profitability of IH BH, which since 2011 had low profit.
2015 – Desire to provide greater integration - All the changes put together made a desire emerge for greater integration and interaction of the group, which according to the interviewee has occurred: "I think people are getting along better, exchanging conversations, they got closer to each other."
February 2016 – Carnival in IH - Another event held only between owners, member companies and employees which occurred as a result of the integration and informality of Sexy Salad. One day during the week of the carnival, everyone came to work in costume.
February 2016 – Greater integration in the workplace -The interviewee said that since the realization of Sexy Salad the people from the group are closer and more relaxed and the working environment is better: "Here in the Hub we put together work with integration. The event made people realize that. "
"Everybody likes the interaction and nobody objected", the interviewee asserted that there was no opposition to any proposal or execution of the event. People were satisfied both with the execution, and the result, according to the interviewee.
The event was scheduled to provide integration between the groups that use and work in the physical space (members, owners and employees). It also provides some visibility to the IH BH, since it is published on Facebook and shared by many people. "We expected it to be a very good event for the new space. But I did not imagine it would be so good. We also did not think many people would come, but everyone came. I did not imagine that the interaction between the people who work here would grow so much".
The learning from this experience is related to the engagement of people in the workplace. The interviewee said that events of this kind generate interaction and knowledge among the goers of the space is healthy for the work environment and creates a pleasant place: "The learning was of union, everyone was involved, working together, even if it was only to make lunch”.
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