We invite our families and our clients to come in, too,” which allows them to grow, but still carry on some of their early traditions together. “All of us get in there and it's a little hectic. We cooked almost every day in there, and it has carried over into how we operate today,” says Ben.Įvery Friday, the Sparkbox team takes the time out of their day to cook lunch together. “It had a full kitchen, and we used that kitchen like crazy. When Sparkbox was founded, they were in a loft apartment, which they converted into their office. “It’s a simple thing that encourages our people to and disconnect and get away for a longer period of time.” In return, Sparkbox is better equipped to plan around that employee’s time off. That’s why Sparkbox has implemented a “vacation bonus,” a policy where if an employee takes 5 days off, and gives a month notice, Sparkbox will add $500 to that team member’s paycheck to help cover the cost of the vacation. We want them to come back ready to work,” says Ben. “When people take a vacation, we want them to go away and we want them to get rested, recharged and we want them to disconnect. It costs almost nothing to do, but the impact is huge.” “They know that we were thinking about them. It may be something as simple as pizza being delivered, but the significant other finds relief in having a meal taken care of while their partner is out of town, explains Ben. Many times when someone is traveling, a team member will reach out to the traveling team members’ spouse or partner and set up dinner for that person. They use the time for casual conversation and to communicate their appreciation.ĭesigning business travel with family in mind. We want them to know we recognize what we ask of our people, and how that has an impact at home and in their other relationships.”īen and Rob have designed “significant other dinners” where they schedule dinner with employees and their significant others. “We want to let family members and loved ones know how much we value our team members’ time with us. Sparkbox has dozens of ways they show they care and respect for team members as “whole people.” A few other customs include: We're looking for ways to try and help our people get better at all their roles-better at being moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends-all of those things.” “We know that all the things that we ask from an individual from 9 to 5 to do, have an impact on their significant other, their friends, their family, and their kids. This setup gives employees time to dedicate towards bettering themselves, helping colleagues and giving back to their community. For example, Sparkbox’s business model is based on a 32 hour-work week. “We try to recognize that when we hire somebody, we're hiring an entire human,” says Ben. “These investments may not make them better designers or developers directly, but these experiences and opportunities help them understand the context in which they're doing their work.” This kind of unique cross-training allows people to build empathy and have greater strategic perspective. The aim is to give employees experience in an area of operations that they might not normally get a chance to work on. “We’re thinking about them as individuals, and all of the things that are not necessarily related to the skillset that we've hired them for,” explains Ben.Įmployees participate in what’s called the “Threshold of Empathy,” a program that highlights all the areas employees can gain exposure and experience in. “That's been important for us, and we're trying to find ways to encourage our employees to take care of themselves in that sort of physical way as well.” “It's been almost two years now, and my business partner and I still work out with one another,” says Ben. That’s why Sparkbox provides access to personal training, life coaching, and has a wellness budget that goes towards “anything that's going to help people get stronger, sleep better, or eat better.” Having someone help us figure out how to move in the gym was a big deal.”īen wanted his employees to have the same access to improving their nutrition, exercise and sleep. “I had never consistently worked out, and didn't even know what to do in the gym before using our personal trainer. Since then, they have made strides in improving their overall health and wellness, the result of which has been positive for them personally and professionally. Nearly two years ago, Ben and his business partner, Rob Harr, started using a trainer together to improve their eating, sleeping and exercise habits.
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