“Setting the right company culture and attitude could be the difference between a failed and successful startup.” Harness CEO Jyoti Bansal said this in a Linkedin post, and it’s a value that we at Harness truly live by every day. It’s also one reason that Harness was recognized in Inc.’s Best Workplace Awards 2022.
As a Talent Acquisition leader, I often have the privilege of advising people on their career choices. The conversation usually begins with the individual deliberating over topics like company industry, role responsibilities, size of the team, and of course, compensation. With questions about how to navigate the stressful and life-changing business of a career move, they turn to me for advice.
I always offer the same sentiment: every business has its own pros and cons, and what you need and want will ultimately depend on the company’s unique values. For me, the most important factor when considering a job is company culture and the people that culture is built upon.
What Is Culture, Exactly?
The truth is that company culture is a broad and nebulous topic, defined differently from organization to organization and person to person. Culture cannot be fully captured by listing company perks or through advertising how great a company is.
Culture includes the unwritten rules of the way people interact and the way work gets done. Culture is the sum of incremental daily interactions with the people you spend the most time with. Culture is a feeling.
Harness’ culture is guided by eight core values that were developed by our employees, and it’s brought to life by our 670 employees across the globe.
I am honored to work here for many reasons, but I am particularly impressed with the innovation around people-centric topics. During the depths of the pandemic, Harness was able to make quick decisions to shift to remote work and found unique ways to support our employees while embracing our value, “Remember the Human.'
Living By Our Values
One way we added more support for employees was by expanding our wellness benefits offerings to do more to support mental health and wellness of our people. Additionally, we implemented a TGIF-Off program as a way to encourage people to disconnect, recharge, and unplug. This unique benefit is essentially a full company shutdown in the spirit of mental wellness—all Harnessians share the same Friday off ten out of twelve months of the year.
During these long TGIF-Off weekends, our #life-at-harness slack channel explodes with pictures of employees traveling, getting outdoors, spending time with family, or catching up on household projects. People feel comfortable and inclined to share, and they feel connected to their global colleagues, despite the dispersed working environment.
With the abrupt switch to remote work, Harness, like many other companies, shifted and adapted to this new working style. We implemented new benefits and policies to support the team, but one of my favorite things about this shift is the way we were so intentional about creating spaces to make new connections and opportunities to learn about different cultures through collaborating together.
Come Join Us!
We are honored to have been selected as one of Inc.’s Best Workplaces in 2022. Harness’ employees have crafted our award-winning culture, and it’s due to our collective efforts that we can attribute the Inc. award—as well as our placement on San Francisco Business Times’ Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2022, and BuiltIn’s Best Midsize Companies to work for in the Bay Area.
If you are looking for an exciting new opportunity, we are hiring. Rest assured that the individuals behind Harness (including me!) will continue to put our all into continuously developing our world class culture, and we invite you to be a part of this awesome journey.