From Mental Health to Midday Weights – The Variety of Ways to Improve Company Culture

Culture Crush Business Podcast

Have you ever wanted to hear from a company that was really crushing it with their company culture? Did you ever want to just listen in on the things that they were doing to improve their company culture? Well now is your chance.

We brought James Christensen from Gateway Bank and Tierra Terry with the Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest together to hear about the various things they are doing to try and improve their company culture.

From putting a gym in the office and providing time for employees to take a break during the work day, to bringing in a specialist to work on a resilience strategy with the company. The list goes on with the variety of things that Gateway Bank and the BBB are implementing.

The company culture does not just come from space that is built in the office and programs that are implemented. It comes from the leadership. Culture comes from the leaders that really do allow the staff the opportunity to come talk to them. It comes from the leadership that is open and raw about their own struggles and journeys. It comes from the leadership being willing and open to new ideas and change. If the leadership is not open, authentic, and raw, then the rest of the work that is implemented is pointless.

This is a great episode to listen in on if you are looking to hear how leaders open up to their employees to set the tone for the company. Listen in to hear the variety of ways to implement change in the workplace such as; flexible work schedules, maternal support, catered lunches, gym space, life guides, resilience strategy, mental health support, and more. It starts with the leadership and then continues on from there. Take a listen and learn from Gateway Bank.

Gateway Bank is the only community bank in Mesa, Arizona. Gateway represents a return to how banking used to be, where the staff knew everyone by name and treated customers like people instead of numbers in a database.

They bring this nostalgic approach into modern times and offer the best of both worlds: the fast, personal service of a local bank, plus the diverse products and services of a large bank. While Gateway’s branch is located in Mesa, they serve customers across the Valley.

With a nationwide network of fee-free ATMs, plus added conveniences like Remote Deposit for businesses, you can experience the Gateway difference no matter where you are.

James Christensen is the President of Gateway Bank, the only community bank in Mesa, Arizona. Under his leadership, Gateway has thrived through multiple economic downturns and grown to consistently be one of the strongest performing financial institutions in its peer group.

James is also very active in the local community and was named Mesa Citizen of the Year in 2023. He is a fierce advocate for small businesses, marginalized groups, and people in need. From one-on-one meetings to presentations and podcasts like this, James enjoys educating and inspiring diverse audiences to improve their financial health and overall well-being.

Connect with James on LinkedIn.

BBB Pacific Southwest proactively supports an ethical community by providing resources and education by leading experts, coworking and executive meeting space, an online incubator, access to affordable capital, and an intensive accelerator in partnership with GoDaddy.

BBB remains dedicated to helping entrepreneurs develop their businesses ethically to build stronger, more trustworthy relationships with customers. Consumers turn to BBB as a reliable source to find trustworthy businesses, and those that earn BBB Accreditation display their comittment of doing things the right way. BBB is in the business of good business.

Tierra Terry serves as BBB’s Director of Diversity & Inclusion Programming and is an advocate for community, education, and connection to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its consumer base.

She oversees the development and implementation of programs and services that promote diversity within and outside of BBB. Her efforts cultivate a supportive and inclusive work environment while leading diversity, inclusion and equity for all.

She is a past speaker for Conscious Capitalism San Diego on the Diversity & Inclusion panel and past interviewee on AZ Family, ABC15, Fox 10, and Channel 12 News, and iHeartRadio.

Based in Phoenix, she is available for community presentations and trainings on customer service, organizational development and culture, diversity, inclusion, innovation and community impact.

Follow BBB Pacific Southwest on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

As a growing company- Culture Crush Business Podcast is THE culture improvement resource that supports companies and leaders. Our Mission is to improve company cultures so people WANT to go to work. Employees and leaders should like where they work and we think this is possible.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

On this podcast: We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company. We also find the companies that offer resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the show to share their tips and tricks for growing culture.

About the Host

Kindra Maples is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for leading the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: [e-mail]