Almost 90 percent of job seekers say a company’s culture is of at least relative importance to them in their job search, according to research by Jobvite. And around 50 percent of job seekers view a company’s culture as “very important,” with 15 percent of respondents saying they have even turned down job offers because of it.
“Company culture” is more than a buzzword or a list of adjectives used to vaguely describe an office environment. It’s the foundation for what makes team members want to come to work every day. Culture defines how team members interact while collaborating in conference rooms or catching up at the coffee machine. It’s what helps lead to the success of a business: If teams are having a great time at work, it shows in their output.
The following Boston tech teams know the importance of being intentional in creating their company cultures. Some of the ways they ensure theirs are worth rallying around? A focus on continuously learning from peers, being kind and embracing a love of music.
What they do: iZotope provides software, hardware, apps and plug-ins aimed at making the lives of audio professionals — musicians, music producers and audio post engineers — a little easier. Audiophiles can use the company’s solutions that span functions like recording, mixing, broadcast and sound design.
One thing that would surprise people about iZotope: There are two Emmys in the office. “We are the first company in history to earn two Emmys for the same product,” Sound Designer Rachel Alix said. “Our audio repair suite, RX, won its first Emmy in 2013, and it won again in 2019. It’s pretty cool to contribute to winning any award, but getting to hold two Emmys is extra cool.”
One trait all team members share: Being a fan first, not only of music, but also of the product they produce. “Everyone in sound design is a musician outside of their iZotope jobs,” Alix said. “Most of us were users and admirers of iZotope’s products before working here, and we use iZotope software for our personal music projects almost every day. I think this gives us all the unique ability to look at and work on our products from a user’s perspective.”
What they do: Tamr’s team of machine learning experts unify structured and semi-structured datasets for companies in manufacturing, government, oil and gas and other industries. Its solutions like data migration and spend classification have been used to help the likes of Toyota, Thomson Reuters and The Department of Homeland Security.
One thing that would surprise people about Tamr: The team’s dedication to the company’s success. “People are committed to the work they do, which is not something measured just in the number of hours spent working,” said Software Engineer Son Ngo. “I sense the commitment through the spontaneous conversations I have with employees about how we can build and improve our product to solve the various problems that our customers face. These conversations can happen anywhere, anytime: in the kitchen, during lunch or even when we are socializing outside of work.”
One trait all team members share: Intellectual curiosity. “I have been a part of many long discussions about technical topics that started as a relatively simple question,” Ngo said. “People ask questions to not only get things done, but also to learn how other areas of the business are approaching their work. We have an environment where we all can learn new things every day.”
What they do: As an infrastructure management service, Datadog helps companies’ DevOps teams monitor and optimize their hybrid cloud environments. The platform provides end-to-end visibility across dynamic infrastructures with over 200 turn-key integrations, deployable across the entire DevOps stack.
One thing that would surprise people about Datadog: The company’s size and scale. “People are usually surprised when they hear we have around 1,500 global employees and more than 225 team members in Boston,” VP of Commercial Sales Shaunt Voskanian said. “But I love that we’ve been able to combine the mentality of a scrappy startup with the resources and reach of a global, public business.”
One trait all team members share: Kindness. “When you’re working hard to scale a company, you want to spend that time surrounded by people who lift you up and treat you with respect,” Voskanian said. “You also want that for your customers. So, for those that hope to join us, fitting in is simple: Be nice.”
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