It’s fairly well-known that tech companies design office spaces with their employees’ wellness in mind — see: stocked kitchens, communal spaces, recreational games, etc.
What might be flying under the radar, however, is how companies are also building spaces and adding features that directly reflect who they are as a company. We connected with three from Austin tech to weigh in on the most unique aspects of their office and how they represent their values.
Restaurant management platform Restaurant365’s Arboretum office hosts an open sales floor that sparks collaboration, competition and community. At the center of it sits something that Regional Sales Manager Victor Lopez described as a small yet influential part of their culture. Here’s what he meant.
What's the most unique part of your office?
Outside of the awesome, hardworking people that work at R365 and our amazing open sales floor, one of the most unique parts of R365 is our sales gong. It sits on a high tabletop in the center of the sales floor, above the aisles facing the sales team. Once a sale closes, the sales rep hits the gong and the crowd goes wild with a flurry of high fives and applause. My first day walking into the doors of R365, I had to ask what it was for and once I learned what it was, I was anxious to earn the right to hit it!
No matter the deal size, we celebrate every win as a team, as a unit, and, more importantly, as a family.”
How does this reflect the culture of your company?
The gong is a small but important part of the culture we have at R365. It’s to make sure you’re recognized for your contribution in front of the entire company. No matter the deal size, we celebrate every win as a team, as a unit, and, more importantly, as a family. The hitting of the gong reminds us of our hard work, our goals and our overall mission. The gong also motivates us. As happy as you are for the person hitting the gong, nothing makes you want to hit it more than seeing someone win. It makes you want to win. Winning breeds winning.
Brian Ferguson, WP Engine’s senior director of talent acquisition, shared how their open office layout and communal spaces inspire their team to live out their core values daily. A new fully-stocked coffee bar definitely helps, too.
What's the most unique part of your office?
We have a very open, transparent culture and it's reflected throughout our office layout. We have a great atrium in the middle of our building where employees can have one-on-one meetings or just hang out. We also have a fantastic new coffee bar fully stocked with a variety of coffees and teas, and it's become one of the best places to meet other employees and network. We have fully-stocked snack areas on all three floors of our office where team members like to hang out, and we also have open areas with couches and chairs for relaxing or getting some focused work done.
We have a very open, transparent culture and it's reflected throughout our office layout.”
How does this reflect the culture of your company?
We have a set of core values that we live every day and embody in our relationships with customers and other employees. Those values are: do the right thing, customer inspired, where the best get better, built to last, aspiring to lead, and committed to give back. Our open, friendly office spaces reflect those values and provides the best workplace environment for our employees so they can then help our customers continue to grow their businesses online.
Located in the Sixth Street Historic District in downtown Austin, Proof’s office has a stunning outdoor patio, open floor plan as well as a golf simulator. While this is all great, AZ Moyer, Proof’s head of finance and operations, said what really shows what Proof is about is their “customer-obsessed post.”
What's the most unique part of your office?
The most unique part of our office is what we refer to as the “customer-obsessed post.” The post isn’t anything crazy— it’s a white post with photos of all of our customers on it and a big blue button on top. Every time you hit the big blue button, the monitor above the post ticks up by one, showing how many times we’ve collectively “re-committed to our customers.” The post is a sign of our commitment to think of our customers every time we walk through the doors and solve problems for them. It’s similar to how the Clemson University football team touches a rock every time they walk out on the field, or how Notre Dame players touch their “Play Like A Champion Today” sign before a big showdown. It’s a sign of dedication to both your team and the mission every time you walk into our office.
Our most important core value is ‘be customer obsessed,’ and we try to live it out every day.”
How does this reflect the culture of your company?
Our post reflects the culture of Proof. Our most important core value is “be customer obsessed,” and we try to live it out every day. We thrive on fast feedback and rely on customers to provide it. Most companies have sales and marketing teams that talk to customers. At Proof, everyone is expected to talk to customers. Our CEO, senior back-end engineer, and most recent intern have the same expectation when it comes to talking to customers. A few ways that this plays out at Proof is through customer power hours and user tests. Every team member is part of a team that handles customer support for at least one hour per week. We also conduct weekly user tests so that we can get our products in the hands of current customers and potential customers to get rapid feedback to iterate on. This is important to us because we know that our customers hold the key to our success and we need to be extremely close to them to figure out new ways to make their experience more delightful.
