Growing isn't easy. When Tektit first started to hire new employees, important projects got canceled. In the end, this made the team even stronger.
Tektit’s company culture as well as all our consulting services are based on the same foundation: the Tektit value system, which is reflected in the mode we operate and the way we communicate.
Based on our framework of values, principles and actual outputs the team members write short stories from their daily business that help us reflect on what we have learned. These value stories we want to share to a bigger audience now. They might inspire others to think about their own values and how they want to work. Join us on our journey and tell us which values come to your mind while reading the story - let us know in the comments.
Value story (III): Trust in our concept
In April 2021 three new joiners started with a lot of motivation into their new job at Tektit. Everything seemed to be perfect: a warm welcome by the team, the possibility to shape the company and interesting projects on the horizon.
Unfortunately, one after another projects got canceled. One because of bankruptcy of the potential client, one had a serious security breach and the last one was postponed to the next year due to budgeting.
To make matters worse, the holiday season started and Tektit drifted into a severe summer slump. Just two months after the company doubled its size, we found ourselves in an absurd situation that we had no client to work with and our jobs were at risk because of the financial pressure put on the company.
Right after the projects got canceled, we shared all the information regarding the current situation with each other. It was quite obvious to us that this was a threatening situation for the company: without a new project starting or drastic cost reductions, Tektit would’ve gone bankrupt within the next four weeks.
The immediate solution was to increase the effort into sales. But as this only pays into account some time later, we still had to reduce costs instantly.
The only way of doing that was to go into “Kurzarbeit” (= short-time work). Within hours after recognizing the severity, we all decided to stand together and do what needs to be done in order to save the company. The legal requirements were met, the paperwork was done and by the end of the week all employees were on short-time work, knowing that our founders will do everything they can to keep Tektit alive. Eventually the first new project was signed by the end of the month and all of us could go back to work within 6 weeks after the crisis started.
The decisive approach to handling this crisis taught us a lot about ourselves, Tektit and the environment we want to work in. Being honest and transparent was an essential part of avoiding bankruptcy. Furthermore it couldn’t have been done without the trust we have in each other and the faith we have in the idea of Tektit.
At the end of 2022 there are even eleven of us and we are working on several projects. We are completely convinced that whatever might come our way, we will be able to get through it. In that summer of 2021, we changed our own perception from “we are working for Tektit” to “we are Tektitans”.