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.
