Here at The Muse, we know that there's no better way to understand how to ace your own employer brand than by seeing some best practices in action.
Well, you're in luck—because that's exactly what our Employer Spotlight Series does. We feature all sorts of helpful advice and insights from companies that are totally crushing their employer brands so that you can learn from their success.
This month, we chatted with Suni Peddle, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist at Accruent, about the company’s employee-focused culture, prioritizing work-life balance, and how they hire for values-fit (as well as technical aptitude) across their various offices.
Tell us a little bit about your career journey. How did you get to where you are today?
Prior to Accruent, my professional work experience was based exclusively in non-profits. More specifically, I worked in higher education, in various roles, and then transitioned to recruitment and talent acquisition for local charter schools. I loved the mission-driven work but as a new mom, I wanted to find an industry that prioritizes work-life balance. I hoped to transition to the tech industry because of the growth and stability that the industry offers, but wasn’t sure how to make the move.
I ended up hearing about Accruent from my husband who met the New Orleans Director at a networking event in town. He encouraged me to apply. I was hesitant to do so knowing I had no tech experience, but I was ultimately glad I did because, in the next couple weeks I had a job offer!
The tech industry represents a unique combination of stability and innovation. I’m happy to be at a company where these two seemingly different ideas are fully represented. As one of our executives once mentioned, “The only constant at Accruent is change.” While some people see change as frightening, Accruent helps employees embrace change and continually improve our ability to pivot and adapt—skills that are crucial to have in any industry.
While some people see change as frightening, Accruent helps employees embrace change and continually improve our ability to pivot and adapt—skills that are crucial to have in any industry.
What is one tool or piece of advice you wish you'd known about when you first started working at Accruent?
When I started at Accruent, I heard that leaders and executives had an open-door policy, but I didn’t believe that really applied to employees outside of our headquarters in Austin, Texas. As we build our office in New Orleans, we certainly plan to hire more executives in our location—for the moment, though, we don't have many senior leaders.
That said, I was happy to learn that the boundary of geographic location has mostly been a myth! I’ve heard from countless people, including the CEO himself, that any time I want to pick the brain of a C-level team member, I shouldn't hesitate to put time on their calendar to speak with them.
I take advantage of the mentorship program at Accruent—one of the company’s many benefits—and my mentor recently reinforced this idea when she let me know that part of the role of leaders at Accruent is, in fact, to mentor other employees. This further strengthens my belief that Accruent values and cares deeply for its people and is invested in every employee’s growth and development.
You’re based in Accruent's New Orleans office but you help source and hire people for open positions across all of Accruent's locations around the globe. How do you communicate what each distinct work environment and team culture is like to candidates?
Here at Accruent, we don’t make hires based only technical aptitude. We also hire for values-fit. This creates a great working environment for employees because, while you can encounter folks with different backgrounds and unique perspectives, you can also assume that everyone you interact with will have a similar baseline of behaviors. As an example, everyone I’ve interacted with at the company—despite location—shares a similar attitude of being helpful, responsive, and friendly.
When I reach out to hiring managers to learn about their roles, I’ll always ask them to share selling points for their position, hiring team, and office location. I love asking this question because their responses showcase the diverse range of benefits each position offers—from energizing professional development opportunities, to a defined and realistic career ladder, to team karaoke outings (and everything in between!).
We’re also fortunate to have culture champions in each of our office locations who help plan fun culture events for everyone in their respective offices. These individual culture champions send updates to the larger Accruent culture teams to share success stories and ideas for future events. I learn a ton about the unique culture of each of our offices this way, including paddle boarding outings in our Denver location, the Polar Bear Plunge in Minneapolis, and the annual Red Sox game outing in Boston. Any Accruent location you visit is guaranteed to have a great office and winning culture.
What do you value the most in potential candidates? What kinds of questions do you ask someone during the initial screening and interview processes to determine if they’re the right fit?
When interviewing potential candidates, we evaluate for technical fit, of course, but we also ask questions around our values. By doing this, we ensure that we’re hiring folks who, while different and unique, all share common core values such as being courageous, customer-focused, strategic, and adaptable, just to name a few. By hiring individuals at every level who embody these values and who—regardless of their role—push themselves to be innovative and inspiring, we know we’ll be able to take our company to the next level.
What are you most excited or proud to tell people about working at Accruent, specifically when it comes to working in the NOLA office?
Accruent is a great place to work because it’s really employee-focused. We have limitless career growth opportunities, we reward hard work, and we have a strong work-life balance. We have a team of people at our company dedicated to improving our overall culture and, as I mentioned earlier, we have culture champions in each of our locations who help plan fun events for the entire office.
Here in New Orleans, we volunteer together as a company, have fun office happy hours, host an annual crawfish boil as well as a Thanksgiving potluck, and celebrate countless other small events throughout the year
We also just moved into our new office downtown, and it’s really wonderful! Our awesome facilities coordinator keeps us stocked with all of the free soda, coffee, and La Croix you can drink, plus delicious snacks. We all sit on the open floor together (with matching standing desks!), but there are plenty of cool workspaces you can duck into as well if you need space for a private call or want a slightly different work-view on a particular day.
You're getting ready to host Accruent NOLA's very first hiring event, inviting candidates to come see your office, chat with hiring managers, and learn about your open positions. What are your goals going into this event? How do you plan to measure success?
My goals are twofold: to showcase our company and office to the New Orleans community, and to get great talent in front of our hiring managers who are hoping to fill their current open positions.
Success for this event will be measured in terms of the satisfaction of our hiring managers and candidates alike. I want both to feel like they've learned something and engaged with each other. I also want to get the community excited about working at Accruent.
What are the most rewarding parts of your job?
Helping hiring managers meet their hiring needs is very rewarding to me. The most important asset to any company is the people working there, so I take my job to find the best folks for Accruent very seriously. At the end of the day, my ability to perform this job is directly tied to the success of the company.
I love working for a company that has high expectations and offers a challenging and fast-paced work environment but, at the same time, understands the priority I need to give my family.
What's something you do outside of work that makes you a better employee?
Spending time with my husband and son on the weekends helps me relax and rejuvenate to prepare for the work week ahead. My family will always be the most important thing in my life. I love working for a company that has high expectations and offers a challenging and fast-paced work environment but, at the same time, understands the priority I need to give my family.
Employers that prioritize work-life balance for employees have an easier time retaining staff and preventing burnout. Accruent excels in this area, and the impressive contributions of its employees will set the company up for unparalleled success in the coming years.
Want to network with Accruent at their upcoming hiring event in NOLA on Thursday, November 7th? Register here or add yourself to guestlist (and invite your friends) on Facebook here!
