From observing bees, we discovered how similar they resemble business organizations
We have adopted a hive!
In Smartpeg we have decided to support the non-profit project for the professional reintegration of the social cooperative i Ciliegi Selvatici, because bees are essential for maintaining the health of the ecosystem: they allow the pollination and consequently the formation of fruits, guaranteeing the presence of different plant species.
The decision to adopt a hive immediately produced a positive effect among the collaborators of Smartpeg.
The strength of the Vision and the Values that unite us and that belong to us is vibrated between the happiness and the amazement of this magnificent surprise that the President of Smartpeg, Gianni Cicogna, gave us through this gesture.
From observing these precious bees, we discovered how much they resemble business organizations and us at Smartpeg! Thinking, in fact, of their surprising industriousness and efficiency, the parallelism between the social behavior of bees and the world of companies came immediately, based on three aspects:
- organization and division of roles;
- communication and knowledge of processes;
- corporate climate and team development.
Do you also find similarities between your organization and that of bees?
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Now let’s see the elements that allowed us to see bees from a business perspective.
1. Organization and division of roles
Inside the hive, everything is perfectly organized and synchronized.
The bees work together with the aim of creating common wellbeing and are the architects of an extraordinary coordination work, in which each of them plays a well-defined role.
As in corporate organizations, there is also a well-defined organization chart in the hive, there are various types of bees based on the task, role and function that must be performed:
- queen bee,
- worker,
- explorer,
- forager,
- sweeper,
- nurse,
- guardian,
- drones.
Each bee, depending on seniority, plays a role that does not involve the prevarication of one over the other, but there is a general cooperation, so the work of each is essential for the survival of all the others.
We at Smartpeg are very similar to our hive: we have adopted a circular organization chart and we cooperate by cultivating healthy ambition for the continuous professional and personal growth of people and our agency.
The bees carry out their duties and are committed to the achievement of objectives. First of all, the welfare of the honeycomb and the survival of the hive.
People in Smartpeg perform their duties and strive to achieve their goals. The primary one is aimed at every single member of the team:
Develop your talents, always.
2. Communication and knowledge of processes
Bees communicate with each other through signals, such as dances.
Their social activities are regulated by sophisticated systems of communication and integration both of a chemical type, mediated by pheromones, and of a symbolic type, such as the language of dance. Nobel laureate Karl Von Frisch pointed out that worker bees are not predominantly devoted to work while his pupil Martin Lindauer , in 1952, stated that: ” The bee spends most of its time in rest ”.
“If anyone believes that this is why we need to review our views on the industriousness of bees, they are mistaken because among bees, laziness also plays an important social function. The bees that idle in the hive are part of the reserve teams and are used in critical moments, as manpower available for everything according to the needs of the family and in particular for the regulation of the temperature of the nest and the collection of food “.
When a bee finds a source of food, she goes back to the hive and starts a particular dance. This dance serves to communicate the distance and the location of the pollen to be collected.
If communication were not effective in their organization, the survival of the entire hive would be at risk. It is therefore essential for the proper functioning of the organization, both for bees and for humans, to be able to communicate, that is, to relate. From the Latin “putting in common” , also in companies it represents the fundamental process that allows to transmit information and its effectiveness is measured in the feedback, or in listening to the words and in the observation of the so-called non-verbal language :
- facial expressions,
- tone of voice,
- posture,
- gestural expressiveness.
Communication mediates every business activity to ensure the achievement of the objectives .
3. Corporate climate and team development
In the organizational culture of our company, everything starts from the entrepreneur who, like the queen bee, is a charismatic leader at the service of the team .
The queen bee is very cooperative and in fact spends all day launching chemical and symbolic stimuli. Each hive connects its entire survival to the life of the queen bee which, in turn, would not be able to last long without the support of its worker bees.
The introduction of new professional figures, the growth of the group, the production of stimuli, the our Vision and Values, serve to create a sense of belonging in the community.
The smells emanating from the queen are a symptom of the hive’s well-being or malaise and all the workers are very attentive to this.
The entrepreneur , like the queen bee, stimulates in people productivity but also well-being.
Find out, too, if you have the key characteristics of an effective organization by completing the Smart Test which evaluates the functioning of the work team.