When coaching job applicants, especially junior candidates, on how to find the job of their dreams, I advise that they not shy away from sharing their accomplishments. For some people, this can be hard to do. But being able to take pride in your triumphs while remaining humble and appreciative of where you can grow is key to a wonderful career and rich life.
With that in mind, I want to (not so) humbly share with you what makes OpenTable an employer of choice. When I joined OpenTable in 2014, one of the things that really struck me is how welcoming people were, more so than any organization I’ve worked with. You could feel the pride in the brand and that people genuinely liked each other.
So it was an honor to see this great place named one of Glassdoor's Best Places to Work in the U.S. At OpenTable, we believe that good work comes from happy, talented people. We believe that the best way to attract, engage, and retain good, talented people is to ensure that they are working in a stimulating, motivating environment with great people and in a place that is, quite simply, joyful. The feedback we have received from our Glassdoor reviews indicates that overwhelmingly, that we are succeeding.
So what are we doing right?
For one thing, we tend to hire people who are extremely passionate about the culinary world and technology. They may have come from a restaurant background, or simply love dining out. Working at OpenTable provides our employees opportunities to interact with some of the greatest chefs and restaurants in the world. And, they work on exciting technologies for a two-sided marketplace which is pretty cool stuff. Our employees know that every day, their work contributes to fueling great dining experiences for people around the world.
Our emphasis on company culture and development
OpenTable also has a very collaborative culture. In our offices around the globe, we have open floor plans which facilitate dialogue between co-workers, as well as cross-functionally. Our senior leaders are out there on the floor with their teams. The executive staff is highly visible and accessible. Our open environment enables employees to see how their work contributes to the overall strategic goals of the organization.
Critical to the retention of top talent is also employee development, an area we are really working on. Last year we rolled out a new performance program that strives to ensure everyone is having regular conversations with their supervisors to understand how they are performing and how they can grow in their career. We have many success stories here at OpenTable and many of our managers and senior leaders started with us in junior roles. We are always looking at how we can do even more career development for our people.
Lastly, we've built wellness programs based on the five pillars of well-being to help keep our people healthy. We have healthy snacks, a global run club, meditation practice, yoga, cooking competitions and Urban Sitter memberships for our moms & dads.
Work hard, play hard
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we are a company that likes to have fun. We have a beautiful open kitchen at our corporate headquarters where we host meet-ups, Waffle Wednesdays, Bagel Mondays and many, many happy hours. All of our offices host a variety of parties, from summer “White Parties” to Halloween costume contests and “Friendsgiving" meals. Individual teams host quarterly team buildings and many have annual off-sites. The result? We have teams of people who enjoy each other’s company and know how to work together effectively.
The entire team here at OpenTable is so excited to be recognized with this award. A lot of hard work goes into making OpenTable an amazing place to work and it’s wonderful to see how it has paid off. As we move forward in 2016, we hope that our reputation as one of the Glassdoor's Best Places to Work will continue to help us retain and attract top talent. We are proud of the accomplishment and will humbly work to see how can become even better in the next year!
