The 7 C’s: How Maven Wave Is Going All in on Company Culture

The term “corporate culture” isn’t a new addition to business vernacular. In fact, conversations surrounding workplace culture in the US started happening as early as the 1960s with more and more companies acknowledging the impact of organizational culture on workers — both at the office and after hours.

Four decades later, industry disruptors like Google spear-headed a “cultural revolution” in the corporate arena. Suddenly, office cubicles were replaced with open-seating arrangements that were meant to foster collaboration. Spartan decor was swapped for creative and aesthetically pleasing workspaces with the goal of employees enjoying their time spent at the office. Benefits promoting wellness and self-care (e.g., yoga classes; gym access; on-site massage therapists and physical therapists) became normalized. More and more, companies created their own culture teams to cultivate and nourish their existing culture.

Culture Amid COVID-19

Then, the unexpected happened: the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing many teams to go fully remote for the first time ever. Suddenly, organizations weren’t just scrambling to shift day-to-day work to an at-home setup: they were also pressured to keep employees engaged, safe, and connected to one another — and Maven Wave was certainly no exception. And with so many culture initiatives previously relying on in-person activities, the pressure was on.

Today, fostering a great company culture is more important than ever. 2021 heralded the so-called “Great Resignation,” with 11.5 million people in the US quitting their jobs between April and June, and that trend has continued into the new year across all industries. The cause? The answer to that is varied and many, but most reasons for employees handing in their resignation can be boiled down to two consistent themes: a lack of support and little fulfillment.

So, with all that said, what can companies do to support their people and help them succeed in this brave new world? Well, that’s the exact question Mavens were asked last year, which led to the creation of the 7 C’s.

The Seven C’s

In short, the 7 C’s are the core pillars of Maven Wave’s unique and vibrant culture. Every employee-focused initiative is carried out to meet one or more of these guiding principles and, ultimately, ensure Maven Wave remains an incredible place to work. These seven principles are as follows:

Culture

Culture is the overarching workstream that pulls everything together, and the efforts and talents of every Maven contribute to this ideal. With culture, our goal is to create a “transparent, inclusive, and collaborative work environment for Mavens to work with cutting-edge technology.”

Communication

One of the biggest challenges companies face as a result of remote and hybrid work models is fostering collaboration and effective communication. For us, facilitating transparent, energizing, and strategic communications has become critically important, and in an effort to create that dialogue, we’ve kickstarted initiatives such as:

• employee group chats that focus on different social communities or niche interests
• revamping our internal employee resource platform to make it more accessible
• consistent communications (e.g., newsletters, leadership updates, quarterly all-hands meetings)
• internal events

Community

Since 2020, Maven Wave’s headcount has grown from 300 employees to well over 900 across the globe. Naturally, with so many new Mavens spread out worldwide, engaging and connecting our people and the communities where we live and work has required some effort. For that reason, we’ve kicked off initiatives such as:

• regional events and happy hours
• community outreach programs
• regional group chats that connect employees both locally and nationally

Career

The “Career” pillar is all about ensuring employees have everything they need to achieve an attainable and rewarding career path. After all, a great culture is one that sets teams up for success today and tomorrow. Career initiatives include our upcoming mentorship program as well as providing career tracks within the organization.

Compelling Work

Something we pride ourselves on is the incredible level of talent and creativity within Maven Wave, and we think it’s critically important to provide Mavens with opportunities to think outside of the box and flex that creative muscle. For that reason, our “Compelling Work” principle seeks to ensure employees are continually given new opportunities to be creative and drive innovative business solutions. A recent example of this is our innovation challenge, where eight cross-departmental teams created an innovative business solution and competed against one another for the top three spots (more on this to come!).

Complete Rewards

Let’s face it: Creativity, career pathing, and communication are great, but they’ll mean very little if an employee feels undervalued. To ensure Maven Wave remains a competitive employer, we’ve prioritized a review of our organization’s total rewards — including market compensation, benefits, wellness, and recognition to attract, retain, and motivate our X-Factor talent. As part of this core value, we kicked off our annual mid-year compensation reviews in 2021 to ensure we’re in alignment with the current market.

Common Vision

A mere two months prior to the pandemic, Maven Wave joined forces with France-based IT consulting company Atos. And if keeping remote teams engaged and collaborative is tough, things get even more challenging when you throw multiple time zones into the mix. So, our final core value focuses on ensuring Mavens feel involved and a part of the broader Atos organization.

At Maven Wave, we believe an amazing company culture that values the entire individual (not just the work they do) is a key element to success — on both the business end and the employee’s end. If you’re interested in learning more about our team, check out our Careers page for more details on working at Maven Wave and to view our current openings.