Last week we launched our first ever round of quarterly Cape Awards! These awards are designed to bring our values to life and recognise those living and working in alignment with our Cape Values.

To determine the winners of this quarter's awards, we ran a company-wide survey to canvas nominations and collect examples of how people live out our values every day. We then revealed the winners at our first ever Cape Day - with people joining the live stream from our HQ in Manly from all around Australia, the UK, and India.

Cape Day was all about reviewing the previous quarter’s highlights, reiterating our OKRs for this quarter, and celebrating individual recognition for living the values. (Check out a snap from our Manly HQ on Cape Day below!)

Want to know more about the winners? Let's take a closer look at each Cape value, what it means to bring them to life, and which one of our team members stole the show this quarter. (We also had an MVP award… scroll down to see who took it out!)

Value: Simpler is smarter

What does this value mean?

Business is hard. Paying for it shouldn’t be. We find ways to simplify everything we do, so we can get more done and do it more efficiently.

How does someone bring this value to life?

Less is more

1. They use plain English in day-to-day communication
2. They don't make things more complicated than they need to be
3. They speak directly to the points that need to be addressed in the relevant forums and take other points offline
4. They stay focused on key priorities and don't get distracted by new and shiny objects, projects, and initiatives
5. They keep meetings focused to clear points and agenda items

Think about the audience

1. They communicate in a way that is clear, concise, and considers the audience and their backgrounds, environment, and understanding
2. They use the appropriate channels to communicate. Whether that is slack, trello, picking up the phone, or utilising video calls and face-to-face interactions
3. They explain acronyms, sayings, and analogies

Who brought this value to life the most this quarter?

Sohan Dahya! Soh is our VP of Finance and here’s what one of our team had to say about how he lives the Simpler is smarter value:

I have nominated Soh for the Simpler is Smarter award because everything that he has been tasked with, he has accepted with grace & nailed out of the ballpark. Some prime examples would be the launch of our new employment software, learning the payroll system so quickly, calling out and challenging when acronyms are being used and just asking the right questions at the right time. He's a fantastic asset to have at the business.

Well done, Soh!

Value: Actions need ownership

What does this value mean?

We own our decisions every day and we aren’t afraid to fail. Failure is how we grow. It moves us forwards and keeps us ahead of the curve.

How does someone bring this value to life?

They don’t leave things up to guesswork

• Actions and priorities are outlined in terms of who, what, and when
• Actions are accompanied by a clear brief and set expectations
• They ensure that there is always the opportunity to ask questions and clarify actions and ownership
• They run meetings with clear agendas and actions

They speak up

• If deadlines, priorities, or realities shift, we raise and ensure all stakeholders are across the changes
• We don't overcommit or set unrealistic expectations
• We empower people to clarify and challenge actions

Who brought this value to life the most this quarter?

Andrew Fanner! Andrew is our CPMO, and here’s what one of our team had to say about how he lives the Actions need ownership value:

Andrew has a long list of competing priorities across Product, Marketing, and company-wide leadership agendas. But he sticks to the agreed channels of communication and follows through on everything he says he will.

Value: Visible for all

What does this value mean?

We’re open, transparent and inclusive. And we always will be. We’re proud of our innovations and want to share them with the rest of the world.

How does someone bring this value to life?

You didn’t have to be there

• They don't rely on people having to be in the same place at the same time to be able to share knowledge, information, and experiences. They work in a way that ensures these moments are captured, shared, and replicated virtually
• They clearly document and store information  
• They share what they are working on in a daily standup channel to replicate a business-wide forum
• They read and review the daily standup channel to consider how they could help and provide value elsewhere in the business
• They celebrate the wins; big and small and ensure they are visible to the company through shoutouts, recognition, and saying 'thank you'

They celebrate and shine a light on teachable moments

• They appreciate that we won't always get it right. For this reason, they raise mistakes, lessons, and learnings to share across the business
• They share learnings, knowledge, and best practice with other members of the team
• They appreciate that you can't learn what you think you already know

They keep each other updated

• They share release notes with the business
• They keep stories and boards up to date
• They use technology to support visibility, e.g. tagging people in stories, CC-ing people in emails, using the correct slack channels for different topics
• They update others on their availability, location, and changes in plans (e.g. running late for a meeting)

Who brought this value to life the most this quarter?

Tanya Ward! Tanya is our CFO & COO, and here’s what one of our team had to say about how she lives the Visible for all value:

Tanya is Cape. She is an incredible asset and person to the business. She shares all her learnings, is a payments card GURU, is not afraid to flex and adapt and just gets it right. She is an inspiration to many in the business and embraces her learnings! Being visible for all, Tanya is always readily available to meet stakeholders, and puts the needs of Cape first. Sometimes a little too much! But it's her dedication that is so inspiring.

Value: Empathy over ego

What does this value mean?

It’s not about us, it’s about them. We empower people to go big and go far. And we always see things from their point of view.

How does someone bring this value to life?

They take listening to a new level

• They listen to listen, not to answer
• They ask questions and learn from others
• They don't speak over people, ever
• They invite others to offer their ideas and feedback in open forums

Culture add, not fit is the way

• They celebrate diversity of thought, experience, and background
• They host inclusive events to cater to the likes and backgrounds of everyone

They know that we will never have the full story

• They communicate to learn from each other
• They understand that things are never as they appear at the surface level
• They meet each other with compassion and kindness in all moments
• They work to understand the varied experiences of our remote teams
• They know that there is a human heart behind the slack name, email address, and story
• They are open to giving and receiving feedback in a psychologically safe way

Who brought this value to life the most this quarter?

Velauther Vijayaruban (Vijay)! Vijay is a Lead Engineer at Cape, and here’s what one of our team had to say about how he lives the Empathy over ego value:

He is a great listener whenever you need to clarify anything, constantly communicating with kindness and compassion.

The MVP award

The MVP award is for someone who has lived all the Cape Values - going above and beyond to step up and serve all individuals and teams at Cape!

Drum roll, please…

It’s a TIE!

We couldn't split Sven von Sperl and Alanna Symes, so we awarded a joint MVP this quarter! Sven (Risk) and Alanna (Product) are both critical cogs in how Cape operates and have gone above and beyond to live out the values this quarter. Here's what the team had to say about how they live the values:

Sven is the ONE, like NEO from the MATRIX. They call him SvenBot3000 for a reason. He's the epitome of getting things done and holding all those around him accountable. He is the first to speak in meetings and is not afraid to challenge the status quo. Great Job Sven!

Alanna personifies quality over quantity. In communication, attitude and behaviour she's always looking for the simplest ways to add value to the team.

It’s a wrap

That’s it for the first instalment of the Cape Value Awards. Congrats to all of this quarter’s winners!

• Simpler is smarter: Sohan Dahya
• Actions need ownership: Andrew Fanner
• Visible for all: Tanya Ward
• Empathy over ego: Velauther Vijayaruban
• MVP: Sven von Sperl and Alanna Symes