values

The new year has a way of making people introspective, evaluating who they are and what they stand for. It affords the chance to release things that don’t serve you anymore, and welcome in new ideas and new paths forward. Our company is no different. When Alludo recently underwent an ambitious, sweeping rebrand, we weren’t only reimagining how we show up in the world. (Though that’s a big part of it.) We also seized the opportunity to reimagine the entire future of work.

Like we said, ambitious.

We’re dismantling generations of notions about what work ‘should’ look and feel like. We knew that, during our rebrand, we wanted to establish values that could both represent us and be an authentic reflection of how we envision the future of work for the world. (The word ‘authentic’ is some serious foreshadowing here.)

As we settle into this new year, we want to share them with you.

A feel for our values

This is not your ‘corporate values’ of the past, when every company had the same posters with cats clinging to branches and the word PERSISTENCE across the bottom. Flashbacks, anyone?

These had to be very true to us, our purpose, and our mission. We’ve been fortunate to have a major uptick in job applications to Alludo since our rebrand, and we want applicants to really feel these values from their first moment they lay eyes on a job description all the way through the hiring and onboarding process, and of course while they’re here.

There was a lot of internal discussion. We had to both honor our 35+ year legacy and capture where we’re going next. They had to be specific enough to be unique to us, but applicable to knowledge workers everywhere.

We even discussed the word ‘values’ and whether that’s really what we were talking about. Were they values or promises? Were they requirements? A code of conduct? Were they aspirational or a mirror of who we are?

The alignment of values and beliefs

Ultimately, we landed on work better/live better beliefs. You might see beliefs and values used interchangeably in our content, and that’s okay. We think what you believe in and what you value should be in alignment.

Working better and living better is exactly what we’re focused on as we build the future of work. So, these beliefs are both authentic to who we are and a set of guideposts to aim us forward, because we know there is still work to do.

Okay, we’ve built things up enough. Without further ado, here are Alludo’s work better/live better beliefs:

• Unapologetic Authenticity is the root of performance. We bring our whole selves to work, embracing our identity, our struggles, our unique abilities, our bad days, and our bad*ss days. We care about what we do and we care about each other and our ideas. We champion diverse perspectives and backgrounds because we know it drives better decision making – and better results. We insist on inclusion because we know it makes our teams more productive. We foster true belonging that’s rooted in respect, not simply acceptance. We act with humility, honesty, integrity, and candor. ​

• Grit is more valuable than perfection. We are courageous. We build guardrails and take risks within those guardrails. We occasionally fall flat on our faces, and then we brush ourselves off and learn. We find the testable hypothesis. We would rather fail than stagnate. We do not settle for the status quo. We know we cannot grow by standing still. We persevere through challenges, celebrate strengths, and are open about vulnerabilities.  ​

• Simplicity is essential. We operate in a complex industry with complex challenges, but we don’t overcomplicate. We focus. We strive for fast, effective action. We practice restraint and fight for clarity. We empower people to do their jobs and then we get the heck out of their way. We understand that the simplest path is often the best one, and we don’t conflate complexity with competence. ​

• Curiosity unleashes innovation. We are shameless geeks and voracious learners who are always striving to ask better questions. We’re the kids who wouldn’t keep their hands down in class. We know that curiosity leads to innovation. When we test the boundaries, we can truly see how far we can go. We think performance exists at the intersection of creativity and data. We seek the right data to unleash more questions and refine the path forward. Curiosity also fosters stronger relationships based on reciprocal interest and vulnerability, and we’re all for it. ​

• Accountability lets us go further, faster. We are each accountable for our own work and our own path. Sometimes the opportunity is seized instead of granted. None of us are above any work that needs to be done. We roll up our sleeves and pitch in. We value stepping into the arena, not commenting from the cheap seats. We work hard but with our head up, so we can navigate deftly around the obstacles. We believe that working harder means working smarter, and also knowing when to take a nap. We advocate for the better path. We share successes and own areas of opportunity. We seek solutions instead of excuses.  ​

• True Freedom means working better and living better. We embrace physical freedom, working in the space and style that suits us best. We relish the opportunity to enhance our own lives and the lives of our customers, inviting them to take up space and create freely and more productively in all they do. We embrace psychological freedom, feeling safe to share opinions, take risks, speak up, and challenge others. Flexibility is a buzzword that people often ask for. We believe that what they’re truly seeking is freedom. Freedom unleashes true potential, true possibility, and true passion for what you spend your life doing. We spend a huge percentage of our time at work. Let’s make it work better.​

Whether you’re a potential candidate, an employee, a customer, or a partner, or someone simply stopping by, we hope these resonate with you.

Read more about our valueshere.

Interested in applying, or know someone who’d be a great fit? Visit our Careers & Culturepage.

Each year, Alludo gives employees a number of days off for volunteering. The company doesn’t tell people what cause they should support or how they should spend that time, and that’s what makes it so awesome. People get to reflect their values and leverage their skills in myriad ways.

We loved seeing the stories and photos pour in of employees’ volunteer time. For some people, this was an opportunity they hadn’t had before, and they embraced it. Others volunteer regularly, and Alludo’s program is a chance to spend work hours giving back.

Many of the stories touched our hearts and gave us inspiration.  Here are a couple of highlights:

Meet Douglas

Douglas King works in professional services at Alludo, and has been doing volunteer work for more than two decades. He says that in most volunteer jobs, you go out and help people. “But in ours, we go out and really hope people don’t need our help! But if they do, we’re there 100%.” Why does Douglas hope he’s not needed? Because he volunteers for St. John’s Ambulance (SJA) Canada, an organization with a long history both in Canada and internationally. When there’s a crisis, Douglas and his team show up.

Douglas has volunteered with SJA Federal District (Ottawa Ontario Canada) since before he started with Alludo, holding several roles in the organization over the years, while always performing first aid/medical first response.

For Douglas and his team, this is no casual volunteer gig. The standard of training is at the level of a firefighter: Medical First Responder with Basic Life Support CPR, as well as some mental health training.

“We also have a therapy dog unit here in Ottawa, which is a whole other level of awesome!” says Douglas. He used his first Alludo volunteer day to help provide medical coverage for Prince Charles’s visit to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stables.

Douglas has received several awards through SJA and was inducted into the prestigious Order of St. John as a serving member in 2018.

Meet Birgit

Birgit Burkard is an EMEA Order Management Operations Specialist at Alludo. Since 2019, Birgit has used her photography talents for perhaps the most meaningful gift imaginable. She volunteers with Dein Sternenkind Stiftung (Your Angel Baby), an organization that supports families who have lost their babies or know they won’t survive. “We often take the first and, sadly, last photos of the baby,” says Birgit. Dein Sternenkind Stiftung has 750 volunteer photographers across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

When Birgit was approached to become a volunteer photographer for the organization, she says she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do it because of the emotions involved in the subject. Today, she’s so glad she joined. “You feel a special atmosphere,” she says of these photography sessions. “It is not only sad, but also fully loaded with love and trust.”

Birgit recalls a particular photography session where the baby, Cedric, was supposed to be born on Birgit’s birthday. The family found out in advance that Cedric wouldn’t survive, and Birgit came to do a session with the family while Cedric was in his mother’s belly. He was later born sleeping on Birgit’s mother’s birthday, and she was able to visit the family again. “It was kind of a miracle; we have so many connections,” Birgit said. “It looked like Cedric picked me to get to know his family.” They’re still in touch, and now have a “rainbow baby.”

In addition to photography sessions, Birgit volunteers to edit and retouch photos sent over by parents or hospitals, “to create a nicer version” of whatever pictures they’d been able to take. “I am very happy and thankful that Alludo provides these volunteer days, so I can be available to step in if I am needed urgently,” says Birgit. Of course, many of her sessions aren’t planned in advance and are requested via an alarm on an app. Birgit relishes knowing that she can say yes and use volunteer time for it if needed. “The families are thankful for Alludo, too.”

Birgit and Douglas have very different volunteer roles, but they share a commonality: they’re willing to step in during people’s most difficult moments, in the middle of a crisis, and be a force for calm and support. It takes an incredible caliber of character to step up like that, and we’re proud to have them among our ranks. That goes for the many, many other Alludo employees who use volunteer days to make a difference in their communities.

At Alludo, we’re firm believers that culture can’t be dictated. Our CEO Christa Quarles often says that culture is what happens when you’re not in the room. Corporate culture should be a representation of the individual personalities, skills, backgrounds, and experiences of the people who work there. These stories from Birgit and Douglas—and the many other stories that we continue to hear—are an indication that Alludo’s culture is generous, resilient, empathetic, proactive, brave, resourceful, and so many other good things. It’s a reminder that giving happens in so many ways; energy, time, skills and resources. It might look different for everyone, but a corporate volunteering program is essential to building a culture of giving.