January 23, 2020

 Courtney Little

Life at Elevate workplace of the future

We are excited to announce the launch of our Elevate Workplace of the Future program. Buckle up! It’s going to be a fun ride.

What does the workplace of the future look like?

The workplace of the future is fulfilling, flexible and forward-thinking. It’s open-minded, equitable and inclusive. It’s a global community, where technology plays a vital role in bringing people together. Working remotely is on the rise, but so is the need to feel connected to one’s work, to understand the “purpose” and the bigger picture. The future workplace environment is rooted in trust and transparency, where success is shared and failures are celebrated as opportunities. It’s a world where there’s more freedom for all involved to customize their work and life, to define what “well-being” means to them, and in return, a company benefits from a heightened sense of commitment, passion, and loyalty.

Why the launch of a dedicated Elevate Workplace of the Future program?

At Elevate, we recognize that “the future is now.” It’s been a part of our DNA from the very beginning. Similar to the founders of the businesses that have joined Elevate over the years, Liam Brown, Founder, Chairman and CEO, started this company from his home (a converted garage!) in Los Angeles in 2011. He wanted to hire the best and the brightest, regardless of location–a global company from day one. He understood the power of technology, especially video-conferencing, to bring people “together,” bridging the gap between time-zones and cultures. As a result, Elevate has been able to attract the industry’s most talented people, benefiting greatly from a diverse, inclusive work culture.

As Elevate grew, doubling in size from 600 employees in 2018 to over 1200 in 2019, leadership recognized the need for a focused initiative, with dedicated resources, to ensure that the Elevate Workplace of the Future was among the best. How do we maintain the benefits of our cutting-edge business model while managing some of the challenges that are inherent in a global company? How do we create an Elevate community and a meaningful corporate culture when our colleagues live all over the world, more than 300 working remotely (including most of our leadership team!)?

To answer these questions, the “official” Elevate Workplace of the Future was born.

Elevate Workplace of the Future 

The Elevate Workplace of the Future is an initiative to ensure each of our Elevate team members feels a sense of connection and belonging in an Elevate community that is both welcoming and rewarding. Our vision is to create a culture where relationships, psychological safety, and personal fulfillment are amplifiers for high performance and delivery of exceptional customer experience. Our initial efforts are focused on 5 major cornerstones of engagement:

1. Communication – keeping our colleagues informed as to what’s going on in the business; making sure important feedback and information flows from the bottom-up and the top-down (for lack of better words!)
2. Connection – providing more opportunities for our people to connect, virtually or in-person; gatherings to learn from each other or celebrate people and their achievements or inviting people to the Elevate Virtual Coffee Shop (for example)
3. Coaching – developing manager and leadership training programs designed to bring out the best in our leaders and teams
4. Motivation – examining intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, rewards and acknowledgment as well as basic HR factors such as compensation, rewards programs, and PTO policies
5. Psychological safety – creating an environment where people are not afraid to bring their views to the table, where trust and transparency are essential and where vulnerability is encouraged, without fear of failure or repercussion

The work on these 5 pillars is intended to foster true employee engagement–a meaningful, emotional connection to our personal well-being, the people we work with and the company we work for. Engaged employees belong in an Elevate Workplace of the Future that is:

• Global – a magnificent blend of geographies and cultures, a remote workforce coupled with global facilities, supporting customers all over the world
• Tech-forward – early adopters of technical innovation to keep us connected to each other and our customers
• Equitable and inclusive – diversity as an organic outcome of how we run our business; individuals are celebrated for who they are, bringing their “whole selves” to work; different opinions are heard and valued
• Communal – we recognize we’re a small part of a bigger picture; we get involved and give back to our communities and abroad through our Reach initiative
• Aware and active – limiting our global footprint through sustainability efforts and dedication to corporate responsibility; promoting and supporting mental health awareness and wellness programs
• Innovative – we don’t shy away from risk; constantly seeking ways to improve
• Open and collaborative – feedback is actively sought by everyone; individual contribution is encouraged; communication is king
• Inspired and empowered – where we are given autonomy to make choices, the means to master something that matters and a clear understanding of our purpose to collectively work towards something meaningful
• Principled – our people contribute to the creation of the principles impacting our community, what they expect and aspire to in terms of behavior, leadership and development

One of our core values at Elevate is We Care. Our dedicated Workplace of the Future team/initiative shows we really do care. We care a lot.