What's the Company Culture Like at Caxy?

Tell us about Caxy’s approach to the in-office experience. How are these elements emblematic of your team culture?

We are a hybrid environment — a few of our team members are permanently remote, but almost everyone is local and expected to be in office at least two days per week, between Tuesday and Thursday. Our team is highly collaborative, and the work we do is rarely done alone. We’ve found that consolidating the days that folks are in office creates enough overlap between team member attendance, and you can really see the impacts. The water cooler moments at the fully stocked fridge or our magic little coffee bot bring a level of personal connection that you can feel when you step into our conference rooms and start whiteboarding. 

Our more tenured members have dedicated desks, but other desks remain open so you can change up your vibe — sometimes you’re looking for more socialization, so working by our community cafe area makes sense, and other times you need a little heads-down space, so the smaller “war rooms” or corners by the windows may make more sense. Our office is fully equipped with TVs, whiteboards, personal desk spaces, sofas and standing spaces to fit your style. There are strategically placed Caxy veterans around the office so everyone has a “swivel chair companion” if they need help.

In your opinion, what about your in-office experience feels the most impactful on your daily work life? 

The human connection to know each other outside of just the required meetings really makes a difference. One of our values and pillars of leadership is this belief and stance that everyone deserves to be seen, heard and cared about as people first. That is simply easier and more effective to do when you know the people as more than just the really smart developer or really thoughtful product manager. Knowing about their pets, their interests, their worries and their approach to how they engage in conversation and problems really elevates the ability of the whole team to work cross-functionally and successfully through challenges.

We notice that junior developers and new team members speak up more and get assistance more quickly in office. We see relationships between senior and green team members flourish in person, which also makes remote work better because relationships are developed and reaching out is less of a barrier. We see more vocal participation in architecture, we see more camaraderie, and we see less idle or stuck employees overall in the office.

Is there anything you’re looking forward to with the in-office experience?

For local team members and anyone who isn’t permanently remote, they come to our office a minimum of two days per week between Tuesday and Thursday. We found that when it was spread out Monday through Friday, folks would be alone in the office on many days, which defeated the purpose. This also changed how we handle meetings. We dedicate remote work days toward deep work, and we adjust our collaborative meetings to be in person wherever possible. We often have a group lunch or may have a lunch-and-learn session to discuss new ideas and trends. 

My favorite part about having an office is the ability to celebrate big milestones of our teams — personal and professional — in a dedicated way. Whether it is a “caxyversary,” (anniversary of employment) or an engagement, graduation, new baby or new house, the office space lets us customize our celebrations to the person, and we get to really emphasize their impact and their success in ways that aren’t as tangible remotely. Our culture is big on showing up for people — If everyone is doing the maximum good they can do, then everyone is cared for and everyone is able to feel confident with risks, opportunities and growth.