Company

Epic empowerment makes Asana a top Glassdoor company to work for

Editor’s note (December 6, 2017): This post has been updated from the original to reflect Asana being named a top-ten Glassdoor 2017 Best Place to Work.

We have some exciting news to share: Asana has been named one of Glassdoor’s top 10 2017 Best Places to Work according to the just-released Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards. This expands on our original August announcement of Asana being named by Battery Ventures and Glassdoor as the #1 company on the 50 Highest Rated Private Cloud Computing Companies to Work For list. Glassdoor, the jobs and recruiting marketplace, partnered with Battery Ventures to compile that list of companies over the summer.

We’re honored and humbled to be in the top ranks of the list. It’s especially meaningful because it reflects our deep commitment to the idea of fast growth and mindful business. At Asana, we fundamentally believe that investing in creating a great culture is the best way to build a successful business. And that means investing in a what some people have called “epic empowerment.”

This investment isn’t monetary; it’s the time and effort that goes into creating, maintaining, and evolving our internal operating system—from how we make decisions to the people programs we offer—to not only drive long-term engagement and satisfaction in a growing company of now more than 200, but ultimately, business results.

With these recent announcements from Glassdoor, I want to reflect on some components of the operating system that make Asana so unique and special—as well as a great place to work.

We distribute responsibility

The backbone of how we work together day in and day out is our unique AoR (Areas of Responsibility) system. It’s our way of intentionally distributing responsibilities across the team, instead of centralizing it with managers. This creates a level of clarity, accountability, and opportunity for personal growth that’s uncommon in companies with more traditional management hierarchies.

It’s only when Asanas feel empowered and trusted to do great things that they’re able to help our customers to do the same.

The AoR system is by no means perfect and can feel uncomfortable at times, but we wholeheartedly embrace it because it empowers every Asana to make decisions around the work they own, and to trust the AoR owners of other areas. While command-and-control environments may lead to short-term results, we believe epic empowerment through the AoR system is how you drive deep and long-lasting engagement and long-term business success. It’s only when Asanas feel empowered and trusted to do great things that they’re able to help our customers to do the same.

We’re real with each other

One of our company commitments is to “be real with yourself and others.” It means we encourage Asanas to bring their whole selves to work. Because while we don’t always agree on everything, we believe that communicating direct feedback and approaching conflict with curiosity and openness makes us better teammates.

To build and sustain this culture of mindfulness, we offer every new hire the opportunity to attend a Conscious Leadership Group workshop. It provides a common framework and language for us to acknowledge and express our emotions while fostering empathy for each other. By bringing our whole selves to work—and feeling our feelings all the way through, even on the job—we’re able to sustain a culture of mindfulness and create a diverse and inclusive workplace.

We focus on the whole self

Culture is too often misdefined as perks and benefits. And for many great companies competing for talent (especially in tech), there’s pressure to offer an ever-growing number of perks that emphasize convenience. But we believe that culture is what connects business goals, values, and people. So while they pride themselves on world-class perks and benefits, we’re focused on nourishing the whole self.

In other words, we invest in programs that enable everyone to learn and grow in all directions, both professionally and personally. This includes everything from our culinary program, which (literally) feeds and keeps us energized with nutritionally-balanced meals, to our coaching program available to all Asanas, not just senior leaders.

Fostering balance in the workplace is how we’re able to nurture a happy and healthy team, not just today, but for the long run.

Most importantly, we take work-life balance seriously by encouraging mindfulness and flexibility. As Dustin wrote last year, “we can all do better at being productive individuals while not simultaneously running ourselves empty.” Fostering balance in the workplace is how we’re able to nurture a happy and healthy team, not just today, but for the long run.

Let’s do great things together

We couldn’t be more thrilled about our top ranking because when you’re focused on the long term, proof points like this are incredibly encouraging and validating. And we still have so much work ahead of us. So if you’d like to join us in epic empowerment, we’d love to talk to you.

Want to learn more from our own employees who work here at Asana? Check out Asana’s company reviews on Glassdoor.

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