By Eric Strickler, Senior Marketing Manager
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."
--Steve Jobs
In a seamlessly ending stream of articles and studies, thought-leaders are providing employee engagement insights for enabling an organization’s workforce to do ‘great work.’ It is with these insights that companies are hoping to alter their strategies to attract and retain “top talent;” to be a desirable employer in the eyes of the growing millennial and post-millennial workers. To become one of these organizations, like Amazon or Salesforce or Tesla, companies must embrace the desires of today’s workforce: a collaborative and inclusive environment, a flexible schedule for a better work/life balance, and an empowering environment allowing them to be impactful in both business and the wider world around them. Achieving these goals means ultimately focusing on culture.
As a Millennial, I very much relate to the aforementioned desires (in a recent study by Pew Research, Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 - 1996). I graduated from college in 2007, and like most recent college graduates, knowing what I wanted to do for a living was fluid. It took transitioning to three new organizations, and three different cultures, before landing with a company that spent significant time developing an environment that would eventually support my realized passion for marketing. I was able to combine abilities in business development with a love of data and operational efficiencies and (albeit limited) creative prowess as a Brand Manager. It is here where I truly recognized what it meant for an organizational culture to break down barriers to success for its employees.
I eventually left for a new opportunity to further grow my abilities in building a digital marketing organization and accepted a role as Digital Marketing Operations Manager for an emerging company. But, due to unforeseen challenges of the new organization, I was left searching for a new role after six months. The eventual time off allowed for a precise focus on what I both wanted and needed from a new role and organization. I constructed a list of desired achievements, how best to attain, and what was needed of this company to become successful. As you can expect, my millennial tendencies took control. I desired a committed focus to a culture that emphasized the mutual success of both employees and the organization as a whole. After all, “...a company is only as good as its people...” (Kathryn Minshew, The Muse). Leveraging this list during my job search allowed for me to zero-in on an employer that could align their desired success with mine. After many conversations, it became clear that one organization was committed to its people: Onebridge (formerly SmartIT).
My first interaction with Onebridge was a social media message from their Director of Engagement. We did not know each other, but she recently read a social media post about my search for a new role. After multiple correspondences, including a phone call, I made my way to the Onebridge office to meet in-person. I should mention that I was unaware of a potential opportunity, but I felt it important to network regardless (I found out in our meeting that there was indeed an opportunity at-hand). We had a tremendous interaction and it was then when I first understood the dedication to a growth-focused and empowering culture.
Onebridge, under the guidance of several internal employee focus groups, is improving employee and customer engagement. It is leveraging focus groups consisting of its intelligent employees to gain the right perspective, as defined by these groups, to improve how it grows an environment that enables and supports mutual success. Onebridge is dedicated to providing its employees with a collaborative and inclusive work environment, one with direct access to leadership and peers alike. It supports and administers programs where employees can participate in positively impacting their communities through donations of goods, time, and/or money. Onebridge also advocates for a flexible work environment, allowing for employees to work where needed, be that remotely or in one of its three office locations around the Midwest. It is because of the dedication to its employees that, for the fourth straight year, Onebridge has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
When it eventually came to choosing between two job offers, I happily accepted the opportunity to become Onebridge’s new Marketing leader. It was an easy choice, one that is continually reinforced every day as I interact with the many fantastic, intelligent, and energetic employees and partners. I am able to do great work, and because of this, I love what I do each and every day.
