Decision Making at Happy

Happy is a democratic workplace, with decisions made across all levels by the company as a whole or by the individuals that will be impacted. New ideas by team members are implemented using Pre-Approval. Find out more about the decision-making process and Pre-Approval below. Our people are involved in all decisions, large and small. Everyone in the company is asked to vote on decisions that involve the company finances, such as whether Happy should keep its training centre. Happy’s founder and Chief Happiness Officer, Henry Stewart, decided to make no decisions, inspired by leadership guru David Marquet and a large British retailer. Happy has an open and transparent policy when it comes to the company finances. There are staff meetings several times per year and sessions at our staff training days to discuss these, as well as monthly updates from each department and the company as a whole. “Coming from working within a large banking and financial organisation I was astonished at how open and transparent Happy is when it comes to anything financial. The senior management team regularly share content in detail about Happy’s financial affairs, including what’s in the bank account. Henry is completely honest when it comes to decisions on how to reward staff, including how much we think should be put in the pot. This is something I’ve never experienced before in any organisation I’ve worked for. ” Decisions that do not affect the whole organisation are made through Pre-Approval. When finding a solution to a problem at Happy, staff will speak to key members of the company to create aims and guidelines. Whatever they decide to do, as long as it’s within the guidelines, they can go ahead and do it. Some of the things that people at Happy have changed with Pre-Approval are Happy’s website, the pricing for our IT training courses, Happy’s organisation chart, and automated emails to clients. “I was quite new to my role when I noticed our automated ‘joining instructions’ emails were not very professional. Through my work with our clients, I realised that improvement was needed because vital information was being missed. Even though this wasn’t in my job description, I wanted to make it better. I mentioned it to my M&M and she just said ‘yes - improve it, go for it, you are pre-approved’. I feel like pre-approval motivates and gives you energy; it really does make you feel very free.” Henry took inspiration from David Marquet, a leadership expert and former commander of the nuclear-powered submarine, USS Santa Fe. After consciously stopping from making decisions for a year, Happy saw a 26% increase in sales and a move from loss to profit. Visit our Careers page to view our current vacancies. Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to hear when we are looking for a new member of the team. Does this sound like a company you’d be proud to work for? Currently we have no vacancies – please sign up for the Jobs list so you’re the first to hear when we are next recruiting for members of the team. (We will only contact you regarding jobs. You will not receive any other emails (unless you have already signed up elsewhere). Join us at Happy's HQ on Wednesday 20th May for an inspiring day full of practical ideas you can implement immediately. Learn how to create custom apps to streamline your processes and save valuable time with Power Apps, with no experience required. Outline the 10 core principles for a happy workplace. It has since helped thousands of leaders build trust-driven, empowered teams. Thank you for signing up to our newsletter! Please check your inbox to confirm your subscription, and look out for some free gifts in your inbox over the next few days. In the meantime, have you got your free copy of our founder's book, The Happy Manifesto, yet? We've received your message and will get back to you soon. In the meantime, you may find this of interest: The Happy Manifesto features ten core principles for creating happier, more engaging places to work. We offer all of Henry's books as free downloads.