Thinking out of the box was what I was inspired to do on Monday, March 21, during Feruni Ceramiche Tour. At 9am, Gapturions entered Feruni showroom in Petaling Jaya, to join the tour to learn about Feruni's company culture. A gorgeous, classy and refined tiles showroom/office decorated with taste welcomed us.
Feruni's CEO, Mr. CC Ngei, welcomed all the attendees to the tour. Several other companies shared this moment with us in a very friendly and casual atmosphere. Happiness and community are Feruni's watchwords and they seem to only do things full-heartedly.
We had breakfast at Feruni's Happiness Cafe, a warm and cosy place for Ferunians to have meals, drinks and snacks. What caught me by surprise, was the use of a fictional money, Feruni Ringgits, to pay for the food. Each Ferunian can earn Feruni Ringgits by participating in Feruni's activities. At Feruni, they promote commitment to one another and unity. Everything at Feruni is designed to encourage Ferunians to be united. Charity, outdoor activities, celebrations, games, all of it, encourage Ferunians to form a community to not only be better employees but also better human beings. There is no personal office in Feruni, only open space. "There is no meeting room because ideas can be shared anywhere", said Feruni's CEO.
Then, we spent an hour in the auditorium for a fun and inspiring presentation of Feruni's values and purposes by the CEO himself. Feruni has four purposes that eventually lead to delivering happiness - Cultivate talent, community, transformation and always based its business on values. This presentation has deeply changed my idea of business management. It was clearly shown to me that running a successful business does not prevent anyone from being good and doing good deeds. A successful business can still help the people around to achieve fulfilment and success, and to make them key contributors to the economy and society. This is something common that I think Feruni and Gapture share.
After the presentation, Gapturions were invited to the group tour lead by CC Ngei himself. He explained to us passionately about Feruni unique corporate culture and how it transcends the whole facility, from the gym that Ferunians can work out anytime, to the talent room in which each interview, regardless of job position, starts with a talent audition similar to "America's Got Talent" show. We also toured the game room, that comes with a pool table, a table football and a play station for the Ferunians to relax. I was completely amazed.
I was really thrilled to be given this opportunity by Gapture to experience this tour, even though I am just an AdWords Marketing Intern, who will stay with the agency for only three months. This tour enriched my knowledge on management and business. At Feruni, everything is designed to make employees happy, so that the employees can deliver customers' satisfaction. It is well known that happy employees create happy clients, Feruni got it right here!
However, Feruni didn't just stop here. CC Ngei showed us their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, a training center at the back of the showroom, that is about to open soon to anyone who wants to learn to be a professional tiler and make a living out of this profession. Feruni will be sponsoring all the training cost, while waiting for the approval of government's grant, which may or may not come true. Feruni wants to revolutionize the tile industry, by raising the bar. Yet again, helping community appears to be one of Feruni's priorities.
At the end of the inspiring tour, during lunch, Gapturions discussed ideas that we can adopt and adapt to make Gapture a better company for Gapturions and a better digital agency for our clients.
This tour opened my mind to see new things. It has enriched and transformed my perception of the corporate world. Workplace does not need to be boring and only about work. Beyond working, employees are also human beings, searching for happiness and fulfilment. There isn't a need to choose among work, happiness and fun anymore, it is possible to have it all as Feruni has shown the way!