The Long-Term Payback of a Positive Culture

The other day I was speaking with another principal at a very hot, high-tech PR firm here in San Francisco about hiring in the Valley and the use of recruiters. Demand for good PR pros is so high that even award-winning agencies throughout the Valley have to rely on recruiters to bring good candidates in.

Now while there’s nothing inherently bad about recruiters (though they can prove to be expensive), I’m proud to say today that BOCA has never used a recruiter.

Why?

The simple answer is, BOCA has never needed to use a recruiter.  We have built a brand and reputation around our culture that attracts PR professionals from big global agencies and hot boutiques to our front door. Dare I say it, we practically have everyone from account executives to vice presidents lined up to join the BOCA family. Now that is a nice problem to have.

As the founder of BOCA, I am very proud of BOCA’s culture. We are:

Amazing

Caring

Diligent

Fabulous

Giving

Hard-Working

Intelligent

Kind

Loving

Open

Passionate

Relentless

Savvy

Smart

And the list goes on. (Check our Facebook page to get a glimpse of our wonderful employees.)

Beyond the lovely people working at BOCA, we have a few unwritten policies that play an important role in growing our positive culture.

No Gossip. I’ve worked at many firms where the water cooler chatter is exhausting. At BOCA, our open communication about all aspects of the business and honest talk with employees means people don’t really feel the need to gossip.

Work Hard, Work Healthy. I expect our team to work and I want them to work hard for our clients. However, we recognize the importance for relaxation. We encourage mid-day workouts, walks around the block or up to the park. In fact, this holiday season the entire company got FitBit wristbands, so we encourage each other to get away from our desks and stay healthy “every step of the way.” We also urge employees to work from home on Friday – or even take a midweek day to work from home when you want to block out all the distractions and fuss of a PR office (we all know how it gets sometimes…).

No Burnout. Back to the fact that we do work hard; we also pay attention to our amazing peers and encourage time off. If we sense even a hint of burnout, we make our lovely colleague take time off – from a spot day to a full vacation. It is important to ensure our team members are taking care of themselves. If they are a happy, our clients are happy.

Work From Wherever. BOCA has a fabulous brick and mortar space. We are located in a wonderful old antiques and art gallery on Francisco Street in North Beach. That said, I’ve always encouraged a “work from wherever” policy. If someone needs the energy of a café, then please, go to a café. If someone needs the quiet of home, please, work from home. If someone has a family vacation in Hawaii, but really will work from Hawaii, go work from Hawaii. And if working at the BOCA offices makes you happy, then work from BOCA. If “working from wherever” encourages productivity, then we want our team to be able to work from wherever. The caveat is when the client is onsite or your manager really wants a group onsite meeting. But, if that’s not the case, please, go be productive from wherever.

No Abuse. Many folks in the tech industry are watching the RadiumOne news discussing CEO Gurbaksh Chahal’s guilty plea to two misdemeanor battery charges. There are no excuses for any form of abuse. Abuse – be it emotional or physical – is unacceptable. In my past personal and professional life, I’ve witnessed and experienced abuse and it is no good. We don’t tolerate abuse at BOCA, and if we see it, we eradicate it quickly.

The culture at BOCA is so important and so strong that a word-of-mouth reputation has sprouted up around us. I am proud to see this. May our culture continue to be positive and thrive.