How Brighter Maintains a Near-Perfect Glassdoor Rating
brighter working in the kitchen

Customer Spotlight: How Brighter Maintains a 4.9 Glassdoor Rating

On a mission to use technology and consumerism to reinvent health insurance, Santa Monica-based Brighter is just as passionate about its cause as its people – and it shows. The company currently boasts a 4.9 rating on Glassdoor.

A strong focus on culture and employee engagement seems to be its secret sauce, as the company’s featured review reveals: “[The team] is the most positive and inspiring group of people I've ever been around. That empowering culture permeates throughout the company at every level.”

But what, exactly, does the company do to inspire such enthusiasm? To find out, Glassdoor caught up with Sarah Mason, Manager of Talent Acquisition at Brighter, to learn more about the day-to-day engagement activities the company uses.

Here’s a breakdown of the company’s most interesting initiatives.

The Culture Committee

Looking for fun ways to bring everyone across the company together on a regular basis, Brighter created a Culture Committee to be in charge of engagement. Made up of members of the sales team, the group brainstorms ideas to foster bonding and a positive work environment.

Currently, the committee is working on getting the company involved in a volleyball league. Past events have included karaoke and beach days (the offices are within walking distance of the Santa  Monica Pier and beach).

Brighter Speaker Series

Interns and junior members of staff don’t always have the opportunity to pick the brain of senior leaders, but when they do, it’s a great way to educate and mentor young talent. Brighter wanted to create a space for just such a knowledge transfer to happen, so the company instituted an annual speaker series.

For a few weeks each summer, department heads take turns speaking to interns and junior employees about their career path, what they do at Brighter, and general career advice. Past speakers include the CEO, CFO, SVP of Product, and VP of Engineering.

Monthly Company-wide Happy Hours

Started by Brighter’s senior leadership team as a way to help employees from different departments get to know each other, these monthly happy hours boost camaraderie and create opportunities for employees to spend time together outside the office.

Each happy hour is slightly different from the one before so things don’t get stale. The company’s last one was a family-friendly event, with games set up around the office.

Flexible PTO policy

Life happens during the workweek – sometimes you have to go to the dentist for an emergency visit or your child needs to stay home from school because they’re sick. Brighter helps its employees find the right balance by offering unlimited PTO.

Says Mason: “We believe in maintaining a healthy work/life balance and think that employee PTO is an important part of that balance.”

Perks

For many job seekers, location and perks can be a big draw. Brighter’s offices are within walking distance of Santa Monica Pier and the ocean, and employees take advantage of that on a regular basis.

Brighter also keeps its kitchen stocked with unlimited snacks and provides catered lunches twice a week. In addition, the company offers free access to an in-building gym for its employees, to help meet personal health and wellness goals.

Career development

Nurturing talent from within your company shows employees and job seekers alike that you’re dedicated to fostering development and retaining your best people. One way Brighter focuses on career development is by promoting from within.

Recent promotions have included two interns-to-hire for the engineering team, another intern-to-hire for the sales team, and promotions across departments, where employees have moved from one area of the company in support of changing interests and goals.

Looking for more culture inspiration?
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