Austin, TX-based OutboundEngine was founded in 2012 with the simple goal of making marketing easier and more accessible, especially for small businesses. Since its founding, OE has grown and grown and continues to provide its great service all over the country. The company has seen so much success because they pair a great product (automated marketing) with a notably fun and inclusive culture that great people want to be a part of. Because the company is having success, there is a boatload of room to grow with them.
Jaclyn Thompson, a Senior Customer Success Representative with OutboundEngine, said, "OutboundEngine has provided me a space to grow my career in an environment that is challenging and encouraging. When I come into work each day, I know I will be greeted by a group of people just as excited about being here as I am."
Diving Into the Values at OutboundEngine
The Engine that Drives OE Forward
OutboundEngine is guided by 5 main company values. Those are:
The People at OutboundEngine
The Enginites
Recruiter Ana Bora said that OutboundEngine goes above and beyond when it comes time to bring new people into the company. They look for highly-motivated people from the get-go because they love to promote from within. OutboundEngine is growing quickly, so new opportunities are bound to arise.
"We invest a lot of time, effort and resources into building our teams. In fact, most of our senior managers are real-life examples of when preparation meets opportunity and have benefitted from moving up in the company," Ana said.
She also painted a little picture of what the prototypical OE employee is like. She said that the two main traits present in all of their employees are ownership and dedication. "You can expect to be surrounded by a lot of like-minded people in terms of personality and work ethic. Overall, I like to describe OutboundEngine as a place that's dynamic, diverse and inviting."
The Culture at OutboundEngine
What a Great Culture Sounds Like
OE takes time to celebrate and recognize successes, no matter how small. They have daily stand-ups to recognize those who are exceeding expectations and they host monthly award ceremonies.
"We'll set off team theme songs when reps walk up to ring the gong after every sale. We'll host a monthly awards ceremony, roast-style, which means, the better you do, the more you get joked on for the entire floor to enjoy. You know you've made it here if there are recurring monthly jokes in your honor. One of the most memorable examples was during a tough summer month. After we hit goal, we surprised the entire sales floor with charter buses outside the office to drive us to the BSR Cable wakeboarding park in Waco. We spent the day enjoying each other's company in the water, cooking out, and of course, trying our best to throw down amateur flips off a gigantic water slide," Director of Sales, Logan Creque said.
Music is big at the OE office. When they moved into their current locations, the company had some really nice speakers installed across the entire office. Each different department gets to decide what they listen to in their area. There are collaborative Spotify playlists as well as plenty of user-curated ones to get through the day.
The company also hosts private concerts in its office, something you really don't see every day. "To date, we have had seven concerts that have featured 11 different bands," Tom Sloss said. Sloss is OE's SVP of Finance. "Every startup has happy hours, ping pong tables and bean bag chairs. How many have private concerts on their break room stage with a club level sound system. How cool is that?"
At OE, the music serves more of a purpose than just entertainment. It allows employees to open up a little, and have to make decisions that they otherwise may not be making. Amanda Johnson, OE's Marketing Manager, said, "We all feel more empowered to influence our work environment, and it helps us practice compromise. Plus, it's a lot of fun to learn more about your coworkers via their taste in music -- sometimes, they surprise you."
Diversity at OutboundEngine
Becoming Part of the Tribe
A few years ago, OE employees got together and thought up a way that the company could improve on the way it embraced diversity. Out of these conversations came Tribe, the company's first employee diversity program. The Tribe initiative focuses on three main groups: Women, People of Color, and LGBTQ+. The group plans monthly meetings where employees of all backgrounds can come together and learn more about their co-workers' experiences and celebrate differences.
The original idea for the group was a Women Equality group, but after the early success, it was evident to the company that it was something employees were really passionate about. They said that they were amazed at the employee involvement, even from those who didn't fall under any of the diverse groups. OE is a group of open-minded, supportive people, which makes for a great work environment.
The Benefits at OutboundEngine
Inbound Great Perks and Benefits
Some of the things you will get to be apart of and have access to through OE are an extended holiday break, company-provided lunches, happy hours, intramural sports leagues, free on-site gym with wellness room and showers. Some other great benefits and perks are:
Sticking with their employee growth mentality, OE has a part of their operating budget set aside solely for employee development. They have a specialized leadership development course for employees that was created by OE. It is a quarter-long program that is intentionally small to provide a lot of opportunities for one-on-one mentorship. The Senior Manager of Training, Jimmy Miller, said, "Additionally, we have training and mentorship programs full of courses allowing employees the opportunity to learn and practice skills, and equip them to excel in their current roles and more easily transition into other departments."
