As monday.com opened four new offices in NYC, Chicago, Miami and Denver last year, team members noticed something taking place in each location. Employees were coming together and forming their own micro-cultures that embraced their local roots.
To ensure each location had a leader to spearhead these cultural efforts, employees from across the company took action.
“We felt like we needed somebody at each site to be there physically and drive those initiatives forward,” said Employee Experience Lead Hunter Lang.
So monday.com created its Culture Lead Program to ensure employees in each of its four U.S. office locations had equal access to exciting cultural events. Highly engaged employees were asked to apply if they were interested in becoming a culture lead — and as it turned out, many of them were.
“We got an amazing group of people who, for the past year, have been working alongside me and others to build culture at their sites,” Lang said.
Since its inception, Lang and other culture leads have worked together to cultivate camaraderie at each office location in a way that embraces monday.com’s identity while honoring the local scene. To maintain this, program members meet regularly to stay aligned on current cultural trends.
“During our meetings, we’ll often talk about major events, such as Pride Month, and we’ll brainstorm ways in which we can foster connections through that event,” Lang said.
By gathering insights and opinions from individuals from across the company, the program offers a cultural foundation upon which unique initiatives can be created. Regardless of whether you’re in Denver or NYC, the atmosphere will feel largely the same.
“You walk into any of our offices, and it’s clear that it’s monday.com,” Lang said.
ABOUT MONDAY.COM
monday.com’s platform enables teams to build their own workflows. The company’s software can be used for various tasks, such as managing projects, tracking workload capacity, collaborating with clients and defining objectives and key results.
In 2022, monday.com opened its new North American headquarters in NYC, along with new offices in Miami and Chicago. Earlier this year, the company opened its Denver office, which currently serves as a hub for the organization’s sales ventures.
The Look of Local Pride
When the Colorado Rockies’ opening day took place in April, employees at monday.com’s newly opened Denver office knew what they needed to do: Attend the game together, of course.
Ninety percent of the local team came out to celebrate, which included Alex Rainer, a consulting manager and culture lead. He believes events, such as the recent Rockies game outing, have helped bring employees from different departments together.
“It has served as a springboard for us to learn from each other more,” Rainer said.
As employees in the Denver office connect with each other, they also get to experience all that the city has to offer. Last year, team members even went skiing together.
For Jacqui McGuire, a project delivery manager and culture lead based in Chicago, team outings have made it easy for her to acclimate to hybrid work. She and her coworkers prioritize bonding time, whether that’s through a sponsored event — such as an architecture boat tour — or an impromptu Thursday evening happy hour.
“It has allowed us to be excited to return to the office and embrace spending time together,” McGuire said.
According to Lang, all of monday.com’s U.S. offices take local flavor literally. By catering lunches from local restaurants, the company gives its people a taste of the local culinary scene.
All of monday.com’s U.S. offices take local flavor literally, catering lunches from local restaurants to give its people a taste of the local culinary scene.”
Lang noted that, when the NYC office decided to celebrate Black History Month earlier this year, the team sourced food from local Black-owned businesses. Lang added that some of these vendors had personal connections with employees, highlighting how team members play an active role in building community.
“People shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and throw out ideas about fun events or anything related to the company,” she said.
SPACES THAT INSPIRE
Rainer said monday.com’s offices were designed to inspire in-person collaboration and connection. Each one offers little nooks in which team members can chat as well as spacious kitchen areas that encourage everyone to share meals together.
Yet these spaces aren’t simply for team members. Lang added that the NYC office is planning to create space in which the company’s partner organizations can work directly with employees. Team members are also encouraged to bring their friends and family to their local office to take advantage of fun features, whether that’s an arcade room or a golf putting green.
“It fosters a sense of belonging while redefining what community means, both in and outside of the workplace,” Lang said.
A Culture Rooted in Community
While events and team gatherings are key to creating camaraderie at monday.com, Rainer believes the true inception of culture lies in something deeper.
“Culture is built from knowing you’re a part of a team,” he said.
This sense of belonging exists in the smallest interactions that take place every day across the company. Rainer noted that these moments, such as sharing exciting news with a coworker, empower employees to be more vocal both internally and externally.
“It makes people more confident to speak up, share opinions and feedback and spread the good news about what we’re doing as a company,” he said.
Culture is built from knowing your part of a team. It makes people more confident to speak up, share opinions and feedback and spread good news.”
Of course, this sense of trust can only be manifested by people who are open to supporting others and building relationships. Luckily, monday.com is filled with individuals that fit this description.
“Everyone here is really driven and also really wonderful to spend time with,” McGuire said.
With a tight-knit team comes an overarching feeling of empowerment. Rainer believes this encouragement stems all the way from the top of the organization and is cultivated by honest communication.
“You usually don’t see other publicly traded companies being as transparent with initiatives and direction,” Rainer said.
Rainer added there’s a lot to be proud of at monday.com, besides outstanding financial returns. Yet for him, employees are the ones who get to see the full extent of this influence firsthand — and feel like they played a part in shaping it.
“Even though you’re at a large organization that is doing amazing things and setting records every year, you still feel you have a voice and a place to speak to your experience,” Rainer said.
At its core, monday.com is a company that truly “walks the walk” when it comes to culture. In Rainer’s mind, this authenticity sets the organization apart from others in its industry.
“We deliver on every one of our promises,” Rainer said.
