Jon Rovello
Think about the last company event you regret going to – it was probably planned top-down, based on old team-bonding formats, and scheduled with no input from you or anyone on your team. Worst of all: it was probably mandatory, with everyone in your company – regardless of their job, their personality, or their work-schedule – forced to drop everything they were doing and go have “fun”.
I’ve been through this before countless times, so when I joined Datadog to lead operations at the company’s Boston office, I decided that I would never hold an event like this – ever. Why? Because events like this defeat the purpose of holding events, which is to build a strong, welcoming, and nourishing company culture. Nobody likes to be forced into having fun, and nobody wants to feel like something was planned for them without any input on what they actually like.
Employees just won’t be in their element at a company if the culture doesn’t make them feel at ease.
So I came to Datadog with a motto: in order to succeed, you need to feel comfortable.
But how do you make people feel comfortable? It’s not just about the perks of #startuplife such as catered lunches, stocked kitchens, and flexible schedules. All those things can help make employees feel comfortable, but they won’t do it alone. To make your employees feel truly comfortable, you’ve got to build a culture with them, so that the culture reflects their diverse needs, backgrounds, and lifestyles.
One of the first things I did when I joined Datadog was start a “Culture Club”, that's comprised of two representatives from each team in the office. Together we brainstorm, plan, and organize events, meals, and office initiatives, so that our culture comes from employees up, not from management down. Almost everything we do starts with this group, which means that everything we do reflects the true feelings of the office. If the Culture Club members aren’t into it, then we won’t do it, plain and simple.
Here’s an example: at Datadog, each office has an event at the end of each month to celebrate the team’s recent achievements. This past December, the Culture Club wanted to plan something spectacular to tide everyone over until the company-wide Holiday party in early January. We sat down and hashed out what would be best based on what we knew about our office and our colleagues:
Most of our office likes a good party, but not exclusively, so we wanted an environment with activities for those who abstain.
Many of us like to dress up for special occasions, so we needed to find a venue that matched our style.
We had thrown plenty of events at the usual-suspects for office outings, but the Culture Club was adamant that this event take us somewhere out of the ordinary.
The result? We rented out the entire New England Aquarium and threw a big party! The team put on their best outfits, took in the nautical sights, and, if they were so inclined, drank and danced the night away. Like all of our events, attendance was optional, but ninety-seven employees out of our one-hundred-and-five person office attended.
But the main point is that for everything that comes out of the Culture Club’s idea-chamber, a simple rule always applies: no event or perk is mandatory. Nothing is forced on our employees. If you’re not into a happy hour, or if you need to be home at 6pm for family dinner, that’s no problem!
So when thinking about your own company’s culture, remember this: comfort comes first and foremost, because no employee will feel comfortable taking part in something that they’d rather avoid.
