Smilebox Blog

Howdy.  It’s Paul again, director of technology here at Smilebox.  Hopefully you have had a chance to read the previous installments of Inside the Box, if not, why then you should!  In my last post I discussed our “Creative and Technical Excellence” company value, the second of our seven values - the other six being “Consumer Centric,” “Family Oriented,” “Accountable,” “Transparent,” “Collaborative” and “Fun.”   This week I would like to talk about the next value on our list - “Family Oriented.”  Having three amazing daughters, this value is near and dear to my heart.

When you start a company you have an amazing opportunity to try something different.  We knew from previous experience that the closer a company’s values matched their customer’s, the better the chance to build something truly compelling.  Since we all planned to be customers of Smilebox, we asked ourselves what was really important to us in our daily lives.  Family topped the list. 

What, you may ask, does a family value mean in a corporate environment?    For us, it means that family comes first.  You can see this reflected in multiple areas of our culture.  You see it in our large group of moms who work at Smilebox part time, and play key roles in the company.  You see it when you notice our kids playing in our conference room, or running around the development table joking with the engineers.  You see it in our focus on sustainable pace, and you see it in how our teams become like family.  Here are some examples:

I’ve never worked anywhere that supports the part-time working mom as much as Smilebox.  We currently have twelve moms who work part time at Smilebox, one just returning from maternity leave.  This is a third of the company.  I think this is awesome.  We are not only supporting families by helping moms spend more time with their kids, but we also have real moms helping us define the service.  It helps us all really live the experience.

During school breaks a lot of these working moms need help with their kids when they come to  work.  So, in they come.  This Spring Break we had 9 kids running around decorating our whiteboards and leaving us signs.  The older kids helped the younger kids; we had the pinball machines banging and the xbox was popping.  It was fun watching them join the engineers in speed chess.  The energy kids exude is phenomenal.  It really brightens the day as you’ll see in Smileboxes to come.

Sustainable pace is so important, especially for a startup that plans to be around for a long time.  Not only does it help us work smarter, but it also helps us keep a healthy life balance.  I’ve three young kids at home, the youngest is nine months (watch my Smilebox below).  It is really important to me to be home as much as possible, as the kids grow up too fast.  Plus, it just helps when I can give Kristin a break.  Being a stay at home mom is the hardest job on earth.  It humbles me.  So, not only am I called to make a difference at Smilebox, but at home as well.  Sustainable pace makes that possible.

I love working at Smilebox.  It is really like a second home for me, and the people working here are like my brothers and sisters.  We have a lot of fun together, as you’ll see in my future posting on our “Fun” value.  We talk about everything, collaborate closely and work through challenges together just like a family.

As you can see, we take family seriously here at Smilebox.  Hopefully you’ll see it throughout our service. 

Do you have any stories about family in the workplace?  I’d love to hear them, so leave a comment below.  Until next time, happy Smileboxing…