Growth… Not at the expense of culture

At Bicycle London, culture is at the heart of everything we do. And I mean everything! It’s our prize possession and not something we use as a gimmick to attract talent by presenting a fun, laid-back working environment on the surface, but in reality, it’s marred with ambiguity and distrust underneath.

Culture should be intrinsic to any organisation. Yes, it attracts talent. Yes, it minimises attrition, but what corporate accountants should take note of most of all, is that culture correlates directly with people's performance - affecting the bottom line and will either make or break an organisation.

No amount of pay, training, or neck massages are going to keep someone in a company if it has a bad culture. Trust is the foundation here. You won’t get it right every time, but if you’re transparent and honest when you make mistakes, or when the proverbial hits the fan, you’ll build a loyal and hardworking team that will proactively roll up their sleeves and get stuck in whenever you face challenges.

That’s why, as we grow, maintaining our unique culture is not just a priority—it’s our mission. Growth is exciting, but it can also challenge the values and foundations that make us who we are. That’s why we’re committed to nurturing and evolving our culture while staying true to our purpose.

We thrive on our values - Drive, Balance and Freedom. And although they are bike-themed – doh! of course they are - the characteristics and qualities that define them, enable the Peloton (our workforce) to translate them easily into their day to day interactions with our clients, partners and colleagues.

To give just one example, Drive is underpinned by the qualities of perseverance, growth mindset, accountability and curiosity. Each quality is subsequently supported by its own characteristic, to further explain what we expect. For perseverance, we ask people to ‘possess a strong sense of purpose and to be willing to put in the necessary effort and hard work to succeed”. Both Balance and Freedom have their own qualities and characteristics. The premise here being that we keep people focused on the agency’s Acceptable Behaviours right from the hiring stage.

Our hiring process, for example, allows us to quickly differentiate between someone who is likely to flourish in the Peloton and someone who won’t. It’s not cliquey, but we have a standard and a behavioural minimum and we know it when we see it.

All new team members undergo a 90/180-day onboarding process that immerses them in our values, our purpose and any job-related tasks they need to get up to speed with. From day one, we want our new starters to feel like they’re not just joining a company; they’re joining a community.

Professional Personas are so last century. Gone are the Mad Men days when you left your true self at home and brought your automaton to the office. As belonging is a way of life in today’s working world, we encourage our people to do just that.  At our weekly company meeting, we take turns to tell our Whakapapa (fa-ka-papa), the Māori term for togetherness and belonging. People tell their life story. Past Whakapapas by our senior leaders tell of mental health challenges, drug addiction, homelessness, and bereavement to name a few. And hearing how sincere their senior predecessors have been, it permits the team to say as much, or as little, as they are willing to go with impunity, as it’s said in a safe, compassionate environment. Even the more introverted personalities find it to be cathartic and appreciate how initiatives like this connect us on a different level to any other place they’ve worked at.

At Bicycle London, growth isn’t about changing who we are—it’s about amplifying it. By staying grounded in our values and continuously nurturing our culture, we’re building a future where our identity thrives alongside our purpose. As we pedal forward to success (pardon the pun), we’re proud to develop an employer brand that carries the heart of Bicycle London with us, no matter how far we go.