Behind a strong company culture there is always someone actively working on it. At Tutus that someone is Martina. She makes sure there is coffee, that visitors feel welcome and that the Friday fika never gets skipped.
Ask anyone at Tutus what Martina does and the answer comes quickly: everything. She is the office assistant who loves Melodifestivalen and makes sure there is coffee, that the lobby looks good, that the Friday fika is sorted and that 400 miniature ducks are strategically hidden around the office in time for Easter.
– Ask anyone at Tutus what Martina does and the answer comes quickly: everything. She is the office assistant who loves Melodifestivalen and makes sure there is coffee, that the lobby looks good, that the Friday fika is sorted and that 400 miniature ducks are strategically hidden around the office in time for Easter.
Martina is 32 and lives in Åkersberga. Outside work she is as active as she is in the office, with gardening, interiors, painting and model houses. Sitting still is not her thing.
– When I haven't been able to be creative for a while, I notice it straight away. I need to express myself and get out everything I have in my head.
It is a quality that suits the role perfectly. As office assistant she works with more or less every department: sales and marketing, finance, security and HR. No two days are the same.
– It suits me very well precisely because I like doing different things. I get to move between roles, work on purchasing and be involved in refurbishments, the kind of thing I really enjoy.
As well as looking after the lobby and purchasing, Martina staffs the switchboard and receives visitors and deliveries. So she is usually the first person you meet if you call or visit Tutus.
Background in conference work
Since Martina started at Tutus two years ago, she has been welcomed with open arms.
– You feel heard. It's hard to put your finger on what it is, but it feels as though people genuinely care here.
One thing that struck her early on was how much her background actually fed into her day-to-day work. She came from a conference venue and brought with her experience that proved valuable in the role.
– How you receive guests, lay things out, make someone feel genuinely welcome – those were things I could contribute straight away. And it showed fairly quickly.
What is she proudest of? The lobby refurbishment, without a doubt.
– It turned out so well.
As Tutus grows
As Tutus has grown, Martina's role has become steadily more important. More employees, more floors, more people who don't naturally see each other every day. That is when you need someone actively holding the culture together.
– The more of us there are, the further apart we actually end up. So it's hugely important to link all the floors together and do things as a group, says Martina.
Every Friday she sorts out fika for the whole office, a fixed point in the week where people from different departments actually meet.
Then there are the bigger set pieces: at Christmas her room turns into a Christmas window display of its own, and most recently she organised a fridge competition where staff had to guess whose fridge was whose. Halloween parties, summer parties, games and quizzes – not for the sake of it, but because a good culture is something you build together, actively.
– We still have the chance to keep everyone here connected. That's what I want to protect.
