Reflection #1: Culture at SimpsonScarborough
Although I have only been working at Simpson Scarborough for four days, I already have a good sense of the culture here. Simpson Scarborough is a very small company – less than 30 employees – and the office in Alexandria is even smaller – about 20 employees, as some of the other employees work from home, across the nation. Because of its small size, Simpson Scarborough is an incredibly tight-knit organization that understands the needs of its employees. There is a delicate balance between work and play, and it seems that Simpson Scarborough has perfected this balance. All the employees I have worked with thus far take their jobs very seriously; everyone is extremely competent and seems to enjoy their work, taking pride in their finished products. Many of them have called me over to show me what they’ve been working on, and I can tell that they immerse themselves in their clients’ needs and are proud of the work they do. At the same time, the culture at Simpson Scarborough is very laid back. We are encouraged to take breaks – there are jigsaw puzzles to “de-stress,” a Wii in the conference room, and even a ping-pong table, where weekly tournaments take place. (I lost in the first round this week.) It is clear that the company values its employees and makes sure that everyone is happy in the place that they are working.
In terms of learning all of this, the other interns and I were basically thrust into the company’s culture. After a very brief orientation, we were immediately given assignments to work on. As interns, we are expected to be able to assist people with various tasks in the market research process. This kind of responsibility for interns reflects what I think is one of Simpson Scarborough’s main values: trust in and value of its employees. Everyone is expected to do their work effectively and in a timely manner. The work is also incredibly collaborative, with account executives often helping each other with their various projects. Because the work can be tedious, collaboration is essential for finding small mistakes and tweaking research strategies. I believe that this need for collaboration goes hand-in-hand with the small, laid back environment that the leaders at Simpson Scarborough have cultivated. Because everyone is comfortable with each other and not competitive, collaboration can happen more naturally.
Sounds like a really engaging environment in which to work. So there was a brief introduction to the organization, but the primary way in which new employees are oriented is through ‘hands-on’ work with actual assignments; baptism by fire so to speak. So given the tedious, perhaps detail-oriented, nature of the work – collaboration enables the company to make certain that all bases are covered, no mistakes are made, etc. Will be interesting, as you get further along, to observe if there are strengths or weaknesses related to the laid-back environment.