Creating Driverseat Culture Through Food

Mandatory Fun Lunch at Driverseat

Every Friday, our head office team and corporate Chauffeurs get together for Mandatory Fun Lunch – MFL (where the fun is mandatory). This has become an important tradition in our culture because it is the one time that everyone shuts down their computers and phones, to sit together and share a meal. I’m sure this has something to do with the fact that my brother and I (who co-founded Driverseat) are from a family of 12 siblings and sitting together for a meal was a sacred time. In fact, we have both embraced the importance of mealtime with our own families.

One Friday of every month, the MFL is sponsored (paid for) by the company and the meal is prepared by a department or division. This has become highly competitive, as each department tries to beat the group who went before them. We have really experienced some spectacular creations. This past Friday was no exception. The crockpots filled the office in the morning as the soup themed MFL took shape

MFL has become so popular, in fact, that other organizations have asked for the opportunity to come and join us. Vendors, clients, the Canadian Franchise Association, spouses, friends, and countless others have managed to sneak in for a bite.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast (or lunch as it were). Don’t get me wrong, we’re pretty focused on our strategy, but we put an equal amount of emphasis on our culture. I once heard someone referring to the culture of our business saying, “You need to figure out how to bottle this up and sell it.”. I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the time, but then realized how impossible that truly is, you could never replicate it. It isn’t something that is contained within a workflow or instruction set. You sometimes have trouble even explaining it.

I would define the Driverseat culture under the guise of our brand promise, which is to “Out-Care the Competition”. When we out-care other companies and other employers we arrive at this cool intersection of having a fun place to work where the expectations of efficiency and productivity are really high.

Luke Bazely is co-founder and President of Driverseat Inc., North America’s fastest growing transportation franchise, and winner of the top franchise in Canada award in 2019.