Pure’s engaging internal communications strategy has been featured as a case study example of best practice by international intranet software organisation, Jostle.

Jostle interviewed Gill Buchanan, director and founder at Pure, to discuss the challenges of maintaining a people-focussed culture in a growing organisation, and looked at how the innovative roll out of a company-wide intranet has successfully encouraged consistent and engaging internal communications.

Pure was originally founded in Cambridge in 2002. From the outset the directors wanted to differentiate the organisation from the performance-based culture associated with many recruitment companies. They set out with the intention of always keeping people as their priority and have consistently worked hard to maintain to this founding ethos.

Gill explained: “If people are happy at work, enjoy what they’re doing and feel rewarded and engaged, that energy will come out when they’re talking to their candidates and when they’re talking to their clients. That feeling is reflected in increased sales and in the further opportunities that we gain to work with new clients.”

As the company grew, opening further offices in Ipswich, Chelmsford and Norwich, it became more challenging to ensure everyone always felt in the loop. The results of Pure’s own staff surveys reflected this, and the directors showed they were listening and responding to their people’s needs by introducing the company intranet system in 2013.

The intranet has become a core element of Pure’s internal communications strategy, which is central to the company’s continued focus on employee engagement. It encourages team work, keeps everyone updated and helps new team members to become familiar with the organisation’s values. It provides the opportunity for everyone at each of Pure’s four locations to actively participate and engage with one another, even while physically separated. It has helped to create a sense of belonging and pride among the Pure team by highlighting successes and recognising individual contributions. This has enhanced Pure’s own employer brand, helping it to recruit and retain talented people. As a result, it has maintained an incredibly low staff turnover rate of less than 5 per cent within an industry which typically sees turnover rates of more than 50 per cent.

Pure has also been presented with two Jostle awards for its inspiring approach. The first award recognised the company’s commitment to building a vibrant culture, the second award celebrated its demonstrated track record of organisational transformation.

To read the full case study and success story, visit the Jostle website.