As we’ve posted about many times here at ROI·DNA, one of the things we really strive to cultivate is a good company culture. It seems like a lot of companies preach it nowadays, but to actually make a conscious effort to do it on a consistent basis is another story.
We certainly work hard and the occasional long day or tight deadline is much more enjoyable because we prioritize creating a happy, laid back and very social culture. We pay special attention to ensuring that ROIers always have a chance to speak freely and really get to know each other, whether through in-office activities or planning time to hang out and have fun together outside of work. Because at the end of the day, we spend a lot of time with the people we work with, and how awesome is it to be able to really, genuinely like them?!
HR Mgr, Ashley Morrow, catching up with our “Qloud” Dev team while on a family vacation in Slovenia!
Here at ROI·DNA, we have on-site happy hours every other week (not to mention the other impromptu ones), where we switch off who hosts so that employees can choose a theme and share some of their favorite food or drinks with the rest of the staff. We also have “DNA Dining Days,” a.k.a. DDD’s once a month where we eat lunch together and a few members of a team share a project they’ve been working on with the rest of the staff. Additionally, we open these up to include anyone that has an interest or passion they want to share with the team (we’ve had one on how to screen print and another on the history of DJ’ing).
We also have events about two or three times a year where we get the whole team together and take an entire day off to learn something new, hang out, and let loose! In December, the whole team took a Friday off for a day filled with fun and new experiences. Our day started with a catered brunch and then we went to the Tech Shop in San Francisco where our employees got to take classes like stick welding, screen printing, and laser cutting. From there the crew moved on to some bowling at Yerba Buena Bowling Center, then sushi and cocktails at John Colin’s. When the majority of our staff wanted to keep the party going, we quickly threw in one more completely unplanned activity – taking over the mic at Pandora karaoke! For our next company off-site, coming up this month, we’ll take a party bus to learn some archery, eat lunch at the Surf Spot in Pacifica, then check out Winter’s Tavern for a poker tournament, darts and some Giant Jenga.
Outside of all that, our team doesn’t need a designated day to hang out and get social. It’s an atypical day at lunch when there’s an empty spot at our communal lunch table, and we can normally be found sitting together sharing what’s happening in our day and talking about what new food truck is making an appearance at the G Food Lounge near our office.
Like many companies do, we strive to achieve a work/life balance. However, as many of us spend a lot of time at work, we ROIers think that a work/life integration might be more realistic. Bring your dog to work, eat some pancakes at one of our Friday Morning Breakfasts, come and run with us alongside the ROI·DNA running club at lunch, invite your significant other or best friend to one of our happy hours, or come to one of our newly instituted ROI·DNA Yoga Tuesdays. Love what you do and do it well, but don’t let it stop you from being the awesome person you are outside of coding, designing, or driving that SEM campaign.
Some companies talk about company culture. And others actually live it. Oh, and by the way, we’re hiring! Check out our open positions.
