Note: This blog post was written before the global pandemic of the coronavirus imposed strict limitations on much of the world. Thus, it seems supremely apropos to share this now in light of encompassing restrictions on a large part of the global workforce. One of the greatest parts of InterWorks is our culture and how we’re able to stay connected across remote employees and multiple continents. I’m especially grateful to be a part of this work family during such a trying time.
Where in the World Are InterWorkers?
A few weeks ago during one of the InterWorks BI calls, I asked my colleagues to send me their current location (city and country). On a conference call, you only see faces in offices and sometimes in trains or at airports, so I was interested in learning more specifically where everyone was. Eventually, 58 people joined the conversation and shared their whereabouts, and I was able to visualise these responses in Tableau. This gives everybody an idea of our global reach and how unique this company culture is—where people are spread across the globe, yet they still feel like a family.
What makes a great culture in a global remote company? At InterWorks, we spend a lot of time sharing our thoughts on this topic. There are tons of pieces on our blog I’d like to guide you to. Creating a strong company culture begins with hiring the best people, and those people make up a very diverse team. One of the series featured on our blog is called How I Went from. This series allows people to tell their stories of how they arrived at InterWorks, got into tech in the first place or arrived in their current role with us. Here’s just a small peek at the variety of stories and team members we’ve got:
- How I Went from Government to InterWorks’ Weird Company Culture
- How I Went from Nonprofit Maven to InterWorks Director of Employee Experience
- How I Went from Aspiring Broadway Star to Oxford Grad Student to Content Strategist
- How I Went from Public Policy Wonk to InterWorks Analytics Consultant
- How I Went from Management Consultant and Trying to a Start a Restaurant to InterWorks Analytics Consultant
- How I Went from High School English Teacher to Content Coordinator
- How I Went from Army Brat to Digital Nomad
- How I Went from College Track Runner to Wedding Photographer to Marketing Generalist
- How I Went from Sales Support to Practice Lead
- How I Went from Mining Analyst to Analytics Consultant
- How I Went from Financial Recruiter to Account Executive
- How I Went from Beer Sales Developer to Analytics Consultant
After offering a position to a new hire, we provide a unique and thorough onboarding experience. This serves not only to acquaint an individual with our different teams, how we operate and basic systems and processes we use, but it also works toward building fast relationships among those in the same onboarding class, as well as those with whom they interact throughout the onboarding week.
Maintaining a Strong Company Culture
Once the newness of a new hire wears off, and people fall into their work routines, next comes another challenge: How do you maintain a community-focused culture when a little business based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, evolves into a small giant with a global presence? We’ve put lots of things into place to keep our team connected and to continue deepening and growing relationships, like Bev Bashes and regular company-wide yoga breaks.
Other pieces of the InterWorks puzzle? The best rule is less rules if you hire the best. We bring everybody together in person when we can, so we actually have the opportunity to meet the people behind the webcam. And we wouldn’t be who we are if we didn’t celebrate that we are a remote company comprised of digital nomads and road warriors:
- Digital Nomad: Who We Are, What We Do
- Digital Nomad: A Day in the Life
- Digital Nomad: A Year in the Life
- Digital Nomad Roundtable
- Digital Nomad: A Glimpse into the InterWorks Culture
- InterWorks Desks Around the World
- An Inside Look into a Road Warrior’s Carry-On
Our Underlying Philosophy
InterWorks is a company powered by people, but what drives us in our work? What leads us in the direction we should go, and what motivates us in our relationships with clients? Simply, we can say we strive to do the best work with the best people for the best clients. If you want to go a little deeper, these blog posts can give you a better understanding:
- InterWorks Vision and Roadmap – The Groundwork
- InterWorks Vision and Roadmap – The Client
- InterWorks Vision and Roadmap – The Environment
- InterWorks Vision and Roadmap – The Employee
Stay Connected
Hopefully, you’ve found a blog from the resources above to offer a bit of hope and comfort during these uncertain times. It can be tough to continue to cultivate strong community while being apart, but it’s not impossible. At InterWorks, we’re here for each other, and when it comes to your data and IT challenges, we’re there for you, too. Reach out if you’re looking for some support with your tech setup or need analytics help. We’d love to come alongside you and add you to the InterWorks family!
