Why company culture is important

The agency world often creates tough work environments—long hours, tight deadlines and employee burnout. But at Shattles, we’ve always believed there’s a better way. Sure, we measure our success in part by the numbers, but we believe it’s equally important to support our team with a strong company culture.

As Director of Culture and Business, a big part of my job is creating a work environment where employees feel comfortable bringing their full selves to work. It’s one of our core values, but it’s also crucial to a small business like ours when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent. Many people reevaluated what’s important to them during the pandemic, and a thoughtful culture can support values that go beyond salaries and stock options.

Here are five areas where Shattles Communications has focused to create a company with strong culture:

1) Embracing flexibility

Just this week, my four-year-old son’s summer camp was cancelled due to a COVID-19 exposure. While this requires some extra juggling on my part, our flexible schedule means it doesn’t bring my work to a standstill. Our whole team collaborates to flex around personal needs and goals—whether that’s preschool drop-off, a family emergency, or a pottery class to spark creativity. There’s room to set your own schedule each week and make changes when the unexpected arises.

2) Providing stability

Agencies are known for shrinking and growing with their project lists, but we focus on stability for our team members, their families and even goals outside work. We’ve had three Shattles Communications babies born already and two more are on the way! Not to mention home purchases and remodels, dream trips and creative hobbies. We focus on providing competitive salaries and benefits for our whole team—and making strategic decisions for the long-term health of the company.

3) Supporting health

Health and dental insurance are a must, but we know true wellness requires even more. We’ve gone a step further with company wellness and office safety purchase programs. These put team members in charge of the decision-making, giving each person an overall budget and general parameters. We’ve reimbursed people for everything from new hiking boots and personal training sessions to standing desks and kneeling chairs. It’s how we support individual needs and goals.

4) Encouraging connection

Every day is show and tell at Shattles Communications. We’re constantly sharing pictures and stories of pets, vacations and life moments. Toddlers playing the drums, driveway roller hockey teams and scenic vistas of everywhere from Montana to Alaska. This eagerness to share shows how comfortable our team feels both with each other and bringing their full selves to work. It also helps create strong ties that help us tackle tough business challenges alongside our clients.

5) Having fun

Creative teams need time to recharge and find inspiration. That’s why we focus on schedules that support work-life balance and carve out time to have fun together as a team. We’ve learned how to make West African Shrimp Fried Rice at a group cooking class, toasted over a virtual tea party during the height of the pandemic, picnicked outside together and tried out amazing local restaurants for our annual holiday dinner. We laugh and learn together often.

3 key company culture elements

A thriving business is a business that performs for its team. Here are three questions I ask when assessing how we support our team.

• Are we supporting our team in being fully themselves?

  One way we support preferences and differences among our team is with a fully remote work environment. We have folks working in different parts of the country and from spaces as varied as a garage-turned-studio to a sunny, plant-filled home office. From the art on the wall to the cat, dog or chicken nearby, each person’s office is completely their own. We believe this supports the creation of outstanding work every day.

• Are we recognizing the whole person?

  We’re writers, designers, strategists and business leaders, but we’re also poets, rowers, hikers, musicians and potters. We’re aunts, daughters, fathers, mothers and loving pet owners. We don’t expect any of this to be hidden, and we’re big on small, impactful gestures—whether that’s congratulatory flowers or jumping in to lighten the workload.

• How does our business model and culture affect our teammates?

  The best way to find out? Ask. We’ve created policies and an environment where feedback is welcome—whether that’s with your manager or a co-worker. We want everyone to know their voices are important and heard. Checking in with team members by phone or with a one-on-one lunch to see how things are going is a regular occurrence.

We’re constantly working to create a company culture where every team member finds pride and ownership—and the space to be themselves. It’s an ongoing project, but one we believe is critical to our company values and finding true success.