Routine is an inevitable default setting. We take comfort in the known and embracing what’s expected when the world around us is consistently changing without warning. However, there’s a fine line between routine and repetition. If you don’t shake things up both personally and professionally, motivation will fade.
Below, we caught up with 10 local (hiring!) companies where every day brings something new to the table. Whether your passion within tech lies in international affairs, real estate, music or recruiting, employees at these organizations say they lift up one another up and embrace change with open arms.
PHMG is a marketing tech and music company in Chicago. It provides audio branding services to more than 36,000 clients in 39 countries worldwide.
Promoting from within: “There are plenty of reasons I choose to continue working at PHMG, but I’d say the biggest three are the variety, the progression opportunities and the earning potential,” Porter said.
“No two days are the same within my role, and I know my time in the office will never be boring. When I look around, everyone who manages their teams has been promoted from within – and my consistent performance has afforded me the same opportunities. Running my own team has been one of my most fulfilling and entertaining experiences to date, and it’s incredibly rewarding when they succeed.”
Building leaders for the future: “While I’ve been successful as a salesperson, I think my skills as a manager and mentor will prove even more valuable to the company long-term. I’ve looked forward to building my own team for a while, and have recently been given the opportunity to mentor classes of new recruits too. I’m very excited to show what I can bring to the table, and help fuel PHMG’s future growth by training the top performers of the future.”
Maven Wave was built to help large organizations implement new digital tools, out-of-the-box solutions and cloud technology.
Welcoming with open arms: “The cultural aspect of the company drew me in right away,” Tyler said. “Obviously starting any job during a pandemic would be stressful, but Maven Wave made onboarding extremely easy and comfortable, and made me feel like part of the team from day one. The strong and collaborative nature of the team dynamic was present during my interview process and has carried through during my days as a testament to the X-Factor involved in hiring talent.”
Company future in one word: “Simple: it is growth. Our relationships are growing beyond our traditional relationship with Google, which allows us to be involved in a wider range of opportunities and enterprises. At the same time, our existing relationship with Google has also strengthened in parallel, allowing us to have greater synergy in our solution offerings. The partnerships across all the hyper-scalers are critical to success in the future, and Maven Wave is well-positioned in that manner. On a work front, I am excited about the opportunity to grow our retail practice and look forward to the challenges that will bring.”
Envoy Global is a global immigration service provider that offers a proprietary management platform designed to help companies hire and manage an international workforce.
Building a career on internal support: “Being with Envoy for eight years, I am constantly learning something new, whether it’s staying informed about changing topics in the immigration space or learning about our emerging immigration technology,” Moran said. “Every day brings new opportunities. Since our industry is constantly changing, it pushes me to sharpen my skill set and not rely on what has worked in the past.
“I’ve stayed with Envoy throughout my career because the company cares about my success not only as a contributor but as a woman in sales. To me, working at Envoy isn’t just a job – it has given me a career that I am passionate about. We make a difference for the companies and sponsored employees we work with, and I like knowing that I contribute to that change.”
Branching outward for growth: “Growing with Envoy over the years has been extremely rewarding. To compare where we once were to where we are at now is unimaginable. According to Envoy’s 2021 immigration trends report, ‘82 percent of employers expect their foreign national headcount to increase or stay the same in the next year.’ As the economy begins to recover from the pandemic, I am excited to be part of an organization that will help companies as they look to foreign talent.”
Valkre is a SaaS company focused on sales and marketing in the business-to-business (B2B) market. They offer two complementary software solutions: account planning and solution playbooks.
Crucial camaraderie: “After working with both large and small companies over the years, I have really found a home with Valkre,” Schay said. “They have always put work culture first. From Friday beer gardens to company ski trips, there is an emphasis on being a team where everyone has a voice. This enables us to come together and make the best product available.”
On the horizon: “Broadly, we are focusing on continuous innovation that fills the needs of our customers and the industry, whether it’s through our calculators, API tools or our data-rich dashboards to promote accelerated growth, learning and organization. Specifically, I get excited about solving the next challenge or making a good idea better. For example, we are developing a new interface to organize and track a company’s connections and prospects in order to make users’ workdays easier.”
Founded in 2010, Spark Hire’s video interviewing platform aims to make the interviewing process simpler. Job candidates record themselves answering predetermined questions and their software allows for recruiters to view their answers to find the highest quality candidates. Its features include one-way and live interviews, post-interview evaluation tools and analytics.
Team-first culture: “One of many reasons I took the sales development role at Spark Hire is the team-first culture displayed across the organization,” Aldridge said. “As a newcomer to sales, I had a desire to be part of a company that was innovative and thriving while providing a culture that fostered growth.”
“The leadership team is committed to enacting Spark Hire’s core values, and has displayed willingness to put a premium on relationship building. I felt very comfortable and confident that Spark Hire was a place I could grow as both a sales professional and person, given this team-oriented atmosphere.”
Rolling with the tide: “Spark Hire is uniquely positioned to thrive as the world has moved toward favoring remote hiring and interviewing processes. Video has become essential in the way that we communicate and do business. Due to this transition, Spark Hire is extremely well-positioned to give companies a hiring advantage by allowing teams to ‘meet’ more candidates in a streamlined manner.”
“In addition, I love the flexibility and uniqueness Spark Hire provides to candidates. They can record answers to interview questions on their own time and then separate themselves from the pack with these video submissions. This gives them an opportunity to shine brighter than with just a mere resume submission alone.”
Rise Buildings is a technology company that provides an all-in-one solution for the real estate industry by improving staff efficiency, elevating occupant experience and increasing net operating income.
Right place, right time: “I wanted to be a part of an organization that was disrupting an industry and changing the status quo,” Clifford said. “Fortunately, I uncovered an opportunity that was doing exactly that across two industries: real estate and technology.
“After meeting the co-founders of Rise, I realized they had built a company that was product-driven, not marketing-driven. It wasn’t long before the fear of risk associated with joining an early-stage startup was far outweighed by the fear of the opportunity cost of not joining Rise. We’ve created an incredible company that’s doing exactly what we set out to accomplish.”
Building on feedback: “When I think about the future of Rise Buildings – and in light of recent news, the newly formed partnership between Rise and VTS – I get incredibly excited about what’s in store for the future. Our company DNA is built around the drive to continuously and perpetually innovate by constantly listening to our customer feedback, improving our product set, and continuing to solve key problems for our customers and the industry alike. Nothing excites me more than the opportunity to grow our customer base and help real estate professionals solve their pain points using intuitive, functional technology solutions.”
E-commerce company Catch Co. creates a simplified buying process for every type of fisherman, from recreational casters to professional anglers. The company has an online store featuring a variety of fishing gear, as well as a monthly subscription service for a curated box of mystery fishing gear.
What keeps employees around for the long haul: “Customers and culture. We are laser-focused on our customer experience – not just with our products, but with our industry,” Robinson said. “Fishing is a hobby industry and is meant to be fun! Regardless of whether or not you fish during your time off, it’s incredibly powerful to be part of a team and company that is working to bring fun to its customers.
“On the culture side, our core values truly reflect in our culture and vice versa. Everyone at this company is driven to excel, passionate about the work they do, and down to celebrate our wins. Co-workers may join the Catch Co. family because of the professional opportunities and growth development, but they stay because of the culture and community.”
Sharpening skill sets: “The company-wide growth at Catch Co. has always been exciting to me because it has allowed me to learn and develop professionally. Each new project I work on or product we launch gives me a chance to expand my skill set and hone my existing expertise. Our growth trajectory means plenty of opportunities to step up and take ownership over new ideas or refine an existing process. For example, setting up new products with our partners has given me the chance to learn about things like retail supply chain, global trade numbers, and even HTML formatting.”
Dina is a Chicago-based startup that helps healthcare providers deliver better care to patients in their homes. The platform enables smooth facility-to-home transitions, stronger communication, real-time updates and services ranging from meal delivery to home-based caregivers.
Making a difference: “I met the Dina team around three and half years ago while getting to know the tech scene in Chicago,” Woyner said. “I was looking for an opportunity to work on something that mattered with a team that had the passion and ability to deliver. There is so much opportunity for our company and products as the industry invests deeper into helping people age and receive care on their terms.”
“I have stayed at Dina for a couple of key reasons: the amazing team and the opportunity for impact. Since joining the company, I am consistently impressed by the talent we continue to add to our fast-growing team and the energy we collectively have around accelerating healthcare’s transition to the home. The opportunities to lead are readily available and we are given the bandwidth to execute.”
Expanding company impact: “Dina is carving a path towards market leadership in the home-based care space. We regularly hear stories from our end users – care coordinators, nurses and social workers – regarding their ability to engage patients and members in a whole new way, improving care in the home, and in some cases saving lives. We genuinely get excited about these stories! As we continue to expand our footprint and amplify our message, we expect to achieve even more purposeful and powerful results. Our potential is unlimited.”
Healthtech company bswift helps employers choose a benefits administration partner that is tailored to their respective needs. Backed by Aetna and CVS Health, the company aims to simplify the administration of healthcare, reduce costs and connect consumers to the resources they need.
Lifting each other up: “I have stayed at bswift thanks to the opportunities for growth and the people I work with,” Starrenburg said. “Not only are there opportunities for advancement and promotion, but there are so many opportunities to grow my soft skills and focus on areas that are important to me. When I wanted to work on public speaking skills, I was able to get involved in leading new hire trainings. When I wanted to work on my mentoring skills, my manager helped me find formal trainings and coaching opportunities.”
“Teamwork is at our core. There is always someone who is willing and able to help when you need it. The many wonderful people I have worked with have been my mentors when I am working toward a promotion, technical experts when I am struggling with a new area of the software, and even my cheerleaders.”
Growing together: “Our clients are getting bigger and more complex, and bswift has not missed a beat in keeping up with the ever-changing benefits climate. As a part of the client services team, I work directly with clients and help them find the solution to best fit their needs. And if that solution doesn’t exist, I partner with all of the different teams across bswift to help create a solution.”
“I also have the pleasure of helping in the recruiting and training our next generation of bswifters. As our book of business continues to grow, hiring and training top talent is extremely important to our success.”
Mobile banking platform Chime provides users with bank accounts, debit cards and ATM access. Unlike most big banks, the company doesn’t charge fees. Instead, it makes money each time a customer uses their credit or debit card.
Customer-first state of mind: “I was really looking for a socially conscious, mission-driven fintech company, and Chime was the perfect fit,” Bahniuk said. “The biggest thing that sold me was how each Chime product benefits the customer first. The incentives between growing the business and improving our member’s financial lives are very aligned, which is pretty unique for a company in the fintech space.”
Internal empowerment: “User growth is always exciting, but I’m also very encouraged by the number of smart people we are hiring. It seems like every day five new people start to work on interesting problems. Specifically, with my engineering work, I love how empowered I feel to identify and tackle new problem areas while also fitting this work into the long-term objectives of the company.”
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC
