TBE AWARDS
Thrings Meets... Charlie Moss
Designing the Dream Team: Inside Interaction’ s Award-Winning Culture
Ramona Derbyshire, Head of Business Growth at Thrings solicitors, headline sponsors of TBE Awards, had the pleasure of meeting some of the region’ s most dynamic businesses. One standout was Interaction, winner of the 2024 Dream Team Award, recognised for its vibrant culture and commitment to creating inspiring workspaces.
In this interview, Ramona catches up with Charlie Moss, Relationships and New Accounts Manager at Interaction, to talk about what makes their team tick, the impact of the win, and how they’ re continuing to shake up the world of workplace design.
For those unfamiliar with Interaction, can you tell us more about what the company does and what sets it apart in the world of workplace design? In short, we’ re here to banish boring offices. We believe everyone deserves a great place to work from, and we know the impact a thoughtfully-designed office can have, so we design and build bespoke beautiful, flexible workspaces. In terms of what sets us apart, we’ re a certified B Corp, which is unusual in our sector, but we also have incredibly talented designers, ridiculously high standards for ourselves and prioritise delighted clients and great long-term relationships above everything else.
How did it feel to win the Dream Team Award at the inaugural TBE Awards 2024? What has been the impact? Winning the award felt brilliant, both on the night and afterwards. We suspected we had a great team, but it was nice to have that validated! In terms of impact, the main thing for me was an avalanche of texts from people who’ d seen me pulling my ill-thought-out“ finger gun” pose on the cover of The Business Exchange in all sorts of places.
In your view, what makes the Interaction team so special? Every company believes their people are what makes them special- and somehow they’ re all correct. We put a lot of thought, effort and care into creating a safe, inclusive, dynamic workplace culture where everyone feels they can contribute, question and progress. Our people care about delivering great work-but they care about each other just as much.
What do you believe are the key ingredients for building a true‘ dream team’? A shared purpose and a culture built on trust, transparency and recognition are a great start.
Can you share how you’ ve cultivated the team culture at Interaction? What values or practices have been most important? We’ re big on rituals, each with a different place and purpose- from Interaction Time every month, where we give business updates( and answer every anonymous question submitted), to our Party In The Park, our book club, our wine nights … the list goes on. We also put a lot of thought into the recruitment and onboarding process, making people feel welcome and empowered before they even start with us.
What advice would you give to businesses or individuals considering entering the TBE Awards? Just enter. It could be you getting recognised in Kwik Fit next year! Also, the process itself is valuable: it makes you reflect on your achievements and articulate what makes your team exceptional. The awards also provide brilliant networking opportunities and shine a spotlight on the fantastic talent in the South West.
What exciting projects or initiatives have you been working on since the win? We’ ve been continuing to create amazing spaces all over the UK, for our co-working clients, landlords and large businesses. The co-working space is a really exciting space to be involved in. We’ ve just wrapped at an incredible project with XandWhy, working with other Bath businesses to create a best-in-class coworking / member space at the iconic Arding & Hobbs building in Clapham.
What are your plans or priorities for the coming months at Interaction? We’ re currently growing, and have just welcomed 10 new starters, so we’ re busy onboarding them( so they can collect this year’ s award).
Thrings is headline sponsor of TBE Awards and category sponsor of the Flying the Flag for the South West Award. This year’ s competition is open until Tuesday 30th September 2025.
Awards Night will be one of the biggest dates in the South West business calendar and one not to miss. Get your tickets and find out more at: www. tbeawards. co. uk
20 www. tbeswindonandwilts. co. uk