Turnkey Consulting an IT security company that was founded in the UK in 2004 and Like many organisations, as it grows it faces the challenge of retaining its culture in a way that is relevant and meaningful to its expanding team, many of whom spend extended periods working away from the office at client sites.
During an office redesign the idea for a wall mural was born, and artist Vic Lee commissioned. Everyone was asked to contribute stories that they felt summed up Turnkey’s heart and soul, from how it works with its clients, to more irreverent anecdotes. These included: The early days of the company, when limited budgets led to guerrilla marketing at a major industry conference where the sponsor’s homepage displayed in the email booths was replaced by the Turnkey Consulting website. Tales of wardrobe malfunctions, from attending a client meeting in odd shoes to necessity dictating the purchase of a new suit en-route to a customer pitch. Social anecdotes, such as the trumpet enthusiast blagging his way on stage to play with the band at an awards ceremony.
The artist incorporated these and more into the design, along with his own interpretations (which included the ‘Heroes’ moniker, generated from client feedback about Turnkey being saviours and enhancers of online security). ‘Turnkey Towers’, itself a reference by a member of staff that the office ‘wasn’t exactly Trump Towers’, now has a permanent and visible reminder of what makes it tick. They are the Gatekeepers of SAP and The Gurus of GRC, who Knuckle Down and Get On With It and Respect Value All. At the same time, they are individuals, who realise that a sense of humour is essential.
Richard Hunt, founder and managing director at Turnkey explains: “Our day-to-day activities revolve round handling business-critical issues for clients, many of whom are global corporates. We think it’s important to balance this by retaining a light-hearted element to working life when possible – it is this glue that helps to bind the team together. The wall mural is a real-life reflection of who we are as an organisation and recognises that company culture is defined by people and their shared experiences, rather than words buried in the corporate handbook.”
