With a calendar dating from the third millennium BCE, the Chinese people have been building on ancient customs of New Year celebrations for thousands of years. Although they may vary from region to region, village to village, and even family to family according to social position, many of these customs are still observed. 

Today, during what is now commonly referred to as the Spring Festival, passenger trains, buses, and riverboats are packed with holiday travelers from all over China. Shops do a flurry of business selling gifts, new clothes, and festive foods. Kitchens bustle with preparations for elaborate feasts and streets are filled with the sounds of firecrackers and seasonal greetings.

For those living outside of their native countries, Asians who celebrate this holiday still try to honor tradition by gathering with family and friends at home or at a favorite Asian restaurant for a lavish meal and giving the gift of bright, beautiful red envelopes (known as 紅包, hóngbāo) filled with new money to children or unmarried adults for good luck in the coming year!

How Seismic celebrated Lunar New Year

This Lunar New Year, Seismic’s Asians and Pacific Islander Community of Belonging hosted several events to celebrate. We hosted Asian-themed lunches at our Seismic offices to honor Lunar New Year traditions, and, most importantly, we learned from members of the AAPI Community of Belonging. Here are a few of their stories. 

AAPI Community of Belonging honors Lunar New Year

As part of our weekly employee spotlight, we spoke with team members to learn more about how they celebrate Lunar New Year. 

Lena Gu | Support Engineer I | China

During Lunar New Year, I remember a popular saying in Chinese, “You Qian Mei Qian, Hui Jia Guo Nian,” which means, regardless of being rich or poor, we go back home for the Chinese New Year.

In previous years, our family would have been busy since the December 23rd Lunar calendar. My brother and I would help my parents clean up the house and prepare special purchases for the Spring Festival. We would buy a lot of candy, nuts, and new clothes. The most important thing was to make a lot of delicious food. And my favorite food was the fried sweet potato balls. You peel and mash steamed sweet potatoes and make them into balls, then fry them in hot oil until they become golden brown. It’s crispy outside and soft inside. It’s very delicious.

Early on the morning of New Year’s Eve, my mother would start to prepare materials for making dumplings. My brother and I would paste the Spring Festival couplets and blessing characters. We hope that the whole family can receive good blessings in the coming year. After that, our whole family would make dumplings together (although the dumplings I made were a bit ugly, the whole family was happy together). We would put two coins in the dumplings and whoever ate the coins would have good luck in the coming year. To get the coins, children would eat more dumplings than usual.

I hope that everyone can get coins and have good luck in the coming year.

Hannah Kim | Associate Solution Consultant | Chicago, Illinois

When my family immigrated from South Korea to America, to follow along with the American holiday calendar, we shifted our celebrations from Lunar New Year (LNY) to the New Year (January 1st.) This was common practice across many immigrant families that didn’t want to disturb their holiday schedule or inconvenience work holidays. They believed in changing to the country they are now calling home instead of asking for days off.

Since then, we shifted back to doing our celebrations on LNY! We eat a dish called Tteokgook ( 떡국) which translates to rice cake soup and we eat it with banchan (side dishes). This soup has flat and ovular rice cakes in a beef bone broth garnished with thinly sliced eggs (separating the whites and yolks to make it pop), roasted seaweed, and green onion. The ovular rice cakes look like coins and symbolize upcoming prosperity, while the whiteness of the broth symbolizes a pure, clean start to the new year. We will also have a family dumpling folding party to make the dumplings that go into the soup!

Growing up, we dressed up in traditional Korean clothing called Hanbok (sadly, mine no longer fits). Then we go to family and friends’ homes, and perform a sebae (a Korean ground deep bow) to elders, wishing them luck and prosperity in the new year. The elders then share words of wisdom with the younger and give them money (to save for their future, of course). 

We also play a game called Yut Nori! There are 4 special sticks and two teams. You throw the sticks in the air and how they land determines how far a player moves on the game board. 

Tashi Chomphel | Senior Software Engineer I | Ontario, Canada

For Tibetan Lunar New Year – what we call Losar – Tibetan families all over the world spend meaningful time together celebrating the end of one year and welcoming the beginning of another. 

Traditionally Losar is celebrated over 15 days and on the first, we visit a Tibetan Buddhist monastery to pray for our loved ones and for all sentient beings. On the second you spend time with your own families, and for the next few days, different themes are celebrated for each day. 

If it weren’t for the pandemic, here in Toronto, we would usually have a large community gathering at our community center and celebrate together over food and cultural performances by people from all age groups and walks of life, and end the celebrations with traditional circle dances! As we would say, Losar la Tashi Delek! Happy Lunar New Year! 

Ae Na Truong | Senior Sales Engineer | Australia

Lunar New Year is by far my favorite time of the year. Being of Chinese heritage and as a first-generation Australian, my parents taught me that Lunar New Year was not just about the red envelopes, frivolous new clothes and delicious banquet, but rather coming together as a family and celebrating what had been and the year that it will be.

The preparation for Lunar New Year at the Truong’s starts a week beforehand when we’d go to the temple to send up our wishes for the next year. We’d spend a week preparing sticky rice cakes (Zhong) and Teo Chow spring rolls (Twice cool, steamed and fried). Not to mention, the numerous trips to Cabramatta to stock up on groceries for the Reunion Banquet and cleaning of the house – it’s a very busy time.

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, I would wake up with my dad at 5:30 am and head out to buy roast duck, pork belly, and chicken. Until midday, we’d spend time preparing numerous dishes to offer our ancestors. We’d then come together for our reunion banquet. This is where, no matter distance, we’d come home to my parent’s house and eat to our hearts’ content. It’s a joyous time, fueled with lots of love and laughter (not to mention alcohol).

In the evening, we’d head off to the temple and send ahead our prayers for the new year. It’s always a treat and a real spectacle with lion dancing and topping everything off with midnight fireworks.

Among the many fond memories (like playing who can find the smallest lychee seed over Reunion Banquet), my favorite is New Year’s Day. I love waking up to an unlimited supply of Love Letters egg rolls. I feel like a kid all over again.

Happy Lunar New Year

As we look back on the Lunar Year, we’d especially like to thank our AAPI Community of Belonging. Celebrating the new year has been a great experience that our teams have enjoyed around the world. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Seismic, you’re in luck – we’re hiring! Check out our latest openings here!

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Many times, this results in rolling out new HR programs that may leave our teams with their heads shaking because they don’t meet their needs or they aren’t centered around the needs of our teams. After all, industry best practices don’t always mean they’re best practices for Seismic.

This year I was determined to practice what I aspired to do and didn’t listen to “best practice” or other HR practitioners – I listened to our employees. Through our global engagement survey, we heard feedback from our Communities of Belonging and individuals that our employees wanted more comprehensive access to wellbeing programs, wellness coaching benefits, more globally focused programs, and fertility benefits that were much more inclusive.

We listened and, in the middle of this year, embarked on a journey to find solutions that meet these diverse needs.

First, we’re excited to roll out a global well-being program and platform through our partner, Lyra. This will meet the needs of our employees across the globe by providing access to coaches, wellness resources, and even free-of-charge clinicians to support our team at any point in their well-being journey.

Additionally, we found a global fertility and family planning partner, Progyny, that helped us create a global program that’s fully inclusive and helps our employees with their family formation journeys. Whether a single employee needs fertility preservation, help with adoption, or a same-sex couple needs assistance with surrogacy, we now have resources for all.

As organizational leaders, we need to constantly make time and opportunities to listen to our teams so they can share what they really need from us. We can’t rely on best practices; we need to rely on what our employees tell us. Remember, best practice doesn’t always mean best practice for your organization.

If you’re interested in joining the Seismic family, you’re in luck – we’re hiring. Check out our careers page for the latest job opportunities and get ready to ignite growth in your career.

The post Our newest wellness and family planning benefits appeared first on Seismic.

Our end-of-year shutdown is so impactful because everyone can take advantage of it. Since we are all taking a break together, there are no missed deliverables, and we can come back refreshed as an entire organization, ready to take on the new year.   

This year, Seismic is encouraging employees to share how they will spend their time during our global shutdown. It’s a great way to deepen personal connections, peek into each other’s lives, and learn how employees are resting, recharging, and giving back to the community.  This again normalizes taking time off.  Here’s how just a few of our team members plan to spend their week off. 

How our teams will spend their time off

Hydar Al Ammar | Senior Strategic Alliances Director | Australia

If you had asked me in prior years how I have used the Seismic Shutdown period, I would have answered something along the lines of – spending time at the beach (after all it is Summer here in Australia!), visiting my favorite restaurants and bars, traveling interstate or internationally. But this year it’s different – it’s my first Christmas and New Year as a father.

I’m most looking forward to the little things – spending time as a family, watching my almost 1-year-old daughter Nadia experience her first Christmas, spending time with my nieces and nephews, and seeing all our kids together. Of course, I’m also looking forward to having Nadia experience her first Australian Summer and beach trips (we will have to pack a lot more to go to the beach this time). It’s an opportunity for me to completely switch off, slow down, enjoy these little moments, and create some new memories as a family.

It’s been a tough couple of years with COVID-19 and the current state of the economy, but it’s also a moment for me to reflect on the year which had many personal and professional highs, and to celebrate them as we move into 2023. 

Jeannine Butler | Director, Customer Training & Delivery | United States

2+ years of upside down-ness in the world beat my superhero complex into submission. I was surprised (and a bit disappointed) to learn that I’m unable to be all of the things to all of the people, all of the time. I’m a human being who needs rest and refreshment. This hard-learned lesson has humbled me in the most beautiful ways and is one of the most precious things I gained from the COVID-19 pandemic. I hold tightly to it. 

Now, I practice taking time for myself each week and I schedule out-of-office time every quarter. I’m incredibly grateful to work for a company that offers unlimited time off and paid holidays, such as the end-of-year shutdown. This is even more special to me than my planned out-of-office time because I’m able to completely unplug, knowing that my teams aren’t having to work harder because I’m out of the office. It’s such a gift. 

This year, I have planned activities with family – we’ll catch a live Georgia Tech Basketball game, eat and have family game night at my parents’ house, go snow tubing in the mountains, and see a few drive-thru Christmas light displays. But I’ve also got blocks of time for self-care – sleep, flotation therapy, reflecting on 2022, and preparing my mind for the new year. Laying down my superhero complex is a daily discipline I now practice. I feel incredibly fortunate to work for a company that enables me to do that. 

Mike Clemons | Technical Support Knowledge Manager | United States

The Seismic Shutdown is something I really look forward to each year because it gives me time to step away from my desk for a bit, decompress, spend some time with my family, and enjoy my hobbies and downtime that sometimes get a bit distant. I tend to get hyper-focused on my work and can easily lose sight of taking a break or spending time on myself. So, the shutdown is something I especially value since it’s time off that I can plan on and look forward to each year with the understanding that my co-workers are also enjoying the same benefit. 

Living in Florida, December and January weather is perfect for spending time outdoors without feeling like I’m in a sauna. The Seismic Shutdown allows me to spend more time enjoying the best time of year in Florida and getting together with family that I don’t get to do during a typical workweek. 

This year, I plan on spending more time at home to catch up on some home projects I’ve been putting off. I’ll also spend a good amount of time by the pool in my hammock, thankful that Seismic values its employees and provides them with a week away from their desks to reflect and get some well-earned rest. 

Galina Ladkina | Senior Enterprise Sales Manager | France

Our company offers a one-week holiday to each employee to enjoy Christmas and the end of the year. It is very valuable and great proof that the company takes care of its employees’ mental and physical well-being. I, personally, will be spending my time with my family and friends in the Paris area. I will take a few days to finish installation in my new place, all is not set up yet. I will make sure all is done by the start of 2023 so I can start the year in a new environment! I follow my sport and running routine to be prepared for a marathon in September 2023 (it will be my first one). Consistency is key in the preparation and it also will keep me focused. Then I will be very happy to rejoin my colleagues at work! 

Steve Watt | Director, Market Insights | Canada

Holiday shutdown means more time with family at the one time of year when we can all be together. My family and I will enjoy the opportunity to do all sorts of things we love. With our oldest daughter back from university and all of us having time to step back from the daily grind, it’s a fun time! We’ll be playing lots of board games (Catan, Ticket to Ride, Risk, Codenames…) 

We’ll have some of our favorite meals, including a pretty elaborate raclette on New Year’s Eve. We’ll watch some movies. Previous Christmas breaks have included runs through Harry Potter and Mission Impossible, and director-based binges (Nolan, Tarantino…) Our youngest daughter will ensure there’s some Marvel on the menu too. 

Weather permitting, we’ll get out for a ski day. Nothing epic near Toronto, that’s for sure, but 90 minutes north takes us to several pretty decent places including Blue Mountain and Mount St. Louis Moonstone. And we’ll see the extended family that now includes a new wave of babies and toddlers guaranteed to make the rest of us feel old. Add in some reading and some extended dog walks, and it’s going to be a fantastic rest and recharge heading into what will surely be a very busy and exciting 2023. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Wow! From the mountains to the beach, it sounds like our employees have a lot of fun in store. We couldn’t be happier to hear it!

While studies show time away is good for business, Seismic is a people-first business, and we believe in giving ample time off because it simply improves lives. Like many years preceding it, 2022 was tough for the workforce. For many, on the clock or not, it can be difficult to turn off the work mindset. If employees don’t take true, complete time off, burnout is right around the corner. We believe the new year (and financial year for many) is a great opportunity to start anew and recharge for the unique opportunities and challenges 2023 will inevitably bring. 

Note: Please note that not every Seismic employee will shut down this holiday season. We’d like to extend a special shout to our support personnel that will continue to serve our customers during the Seismic Shutdown. 

If you’re interested in joining our team, you’re in luck – we’re hiring! Check out our latest openings to see how you can ignite growth with us.

The post How our employees are spending our annual Seismic Shutdown appeared first on Seismic.

Not long after we publicly announced our mission, vision, and values, team members around the world met online and in person to help shape and articulate our company’s culture. All in all, we hosted 16 in-person and virtual culture labs at seven different offices with 500 Seismic employees. 

How we created Culture Labs

When we started the project, we realized that culture best manifests itself when it is passed along in stories. We thought about the history of storytelling and the experience of sitting around a fire to share lessons learned or incredible feats. Those feelings, emotions, and learning moments are what we sought to replicate among fellow team members. 

We hosted our first culture lab earlier this year in May. At each of our sessions, we started by talking about our mission, “We ignite growth.” We had a leader tell a story about what igniting growth meant for them – whether it was related to their personal growth or how they’ve contributed to growing Seismic.

After our leaders shared their stories, we took a moment to ask our attendees what each of our company values means to them: 

• We are inclusive
• We are vulnerable
• We seek to understand
• We strive for excellence
• We champion the customer
• We celebrate success

Then we divided into groups so that our participants could share their own stories. Each group was given questions to spur discussion around each value, what it means to them, and how they demonstrate that value to others. Groups then reported their highlights and stories, creating even more chances to hear and learn from peers. This resulted in a beautiful manifestation of our culture, lived out loud. And in doing so, we began to solidify our values and shape them through the employee experiences that make Seismic unique and special.    

We also wanted these conversations to extend beyond Culture Labs. During our monthly all-hands meetings, we carved out time for one individual to share their own story about a Seismic value. I recall one story in particular, about vulnerability, that was incredibly impactful. The story shifted the tone of the meeting and throughout that day, in other meetings, our colleagues continued to discuss the story, as well as what being vulnerable meant to them and how it shows up in the workplace. 

That was our goal – to create meaningful experiences that would encourage our employees to take the words in our values and make them their own. 

Building an enduring culture of One Seismic

When we introduced culture labs, it was a way to empower our employees to take our values and connect them to their own experiences and play an active role in our journey. Rather than having culture be something that’s driven by a top-down approach, our people and their stories are a driving force to the culture we’re building at Seismic.

From a talent perspective, we wanted to find a way to operationalize culture – in how we make decisions and communicate with one another. This intentional effort really helps solidify our commitment to how we show up and work together internally and externally. 

If you’d like to learn more about the Seismic culture, or if you’re interested in helping us innovate, you’re in luck! We’re hiring. If you’d like to see how you can ignite growth with us, check out our latest openings. 

The post 2022 Recap: How we’re building a culture of One Seismic appeared first on Seismic.

What a difference three years make. That’s how long it had been since we last hosted our all-company get-together, fondly referred to as Activity. This year, we were fortunate to gather our employees from around the world together again in Seismic’s HQ city of San Diego, California.

Before we recap the highlights from Activity22, let us first explain what Seismic Activity is. Activity is our largest company meet-up of the year where Seismic employees from all around the world come together to grow, celebrate, learn, and have a little (okay, a lot) of fun!

Our mission — we ignite growth — was the centerpiece of the three-day, company-wide conference. At our first Activity in 2013, our entire company could fit in one limo. Since our last Activity in 2019, the number of Seismic employees has increased by 120%. We needed a bigger limo, which is why we took over Petco Park this year.

Over the course of the week, we heard from Seismic’s executive leaders, members of our board of directors, our colleagues, and scientist, teacher, and parent, Angela Duckworth. Each of the speakers focused on the common theme of growth and shared their thoughts on how we enable it as individuals, teammates, and as a company.

In this post, we’ll do our best to capture some of the magic from the past week. Here are just a few of the highlights. 

“Last week was one of the best weeks of my career. It was really impactful to get to know the people on screen in Zoom calls. It was equally impactful to hear, in person, stories from colleagues across the organization about how they help the company win.”

Tony Smith | Manager, Content Strategy

Three years in the making

Over the course of the past two years, we’ve posted about the impact of COVID-19 on our business and our people. We went from being an organization with 11 global offices, to a mostly remote workforce with hundreds of employees working from home. Overnight, coffee mates and cooler talks were replaced almost entirely by Slack channels and Zoom calls. And while we made do with our digital experiences, Activity22 was a reminder that nothing can replace the power of in-person interaction.

Seismic CEO Doug Winter put it best: It felt like the entire company had a huge collective exhale after holding our breath for three years.

In his keynote address, Doug authentically spoke about the challenges we’ve faced as a company and as individuals over the past three years. He also celebrated the many victories that we’ve achieved in that same time span as individuals and a united Seismic team. From our home offices around the world, we came together as One Seismic to drive exceptional growth in revenue, customers, employees, and retention. And, in Doug’s words, “we made the most out of the way things turned out. Together.”

“There’s no way to tangibly measure the impact of bringing Seismic teammates from around the world all to one place. I just know that the next roadblock I face, the next hard conversation I have, and the next ambitious project I propose will be met with a friendlier face on the other end.”

Allyson Fowler | Content Manager

A peek at new products

Seismic Chief Product Officer Krish Mantripragada’s keynote address gave us a sneak peek at the latest product innovations for the Seismic Enablement Cloud. Krish’s team has been working around the clock to deliver new products and capabilities that will help our customers cultivate smart growth. These features include enhancements to our current offerings and some exciting, brand new products. While we can’t unveil too many specifics just yet, you can join our upcoming customer webinars next week to learn about our Fall ‘22 Release highlights. And of course, join us at Shift to not just see all the new innovation in action, but get a glimpse into where we’re heading in the next year. (And, if you can’t make it in person, more details about the virtual Shift experience are coming soon!)

Angela Duckworth on the importance of Grit

From 2019 to today, Seismic has been on a meteoric growth trajectory. But growth doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t come easy. It takes grit. 

On day two of Seismic Activity, we heard from Angela Duckworth about the power and importance of grit. In her keynote speech, she discussed how high performers and world-class achievers share passion and perseverance for long-term goals. She also emphasized the importance of deliberate practice:

• Decide on a small sub-skill to practice
• Practice with 100% focus
• Get feedback and reflect

She challenged the crowd of Seismic employees to embrace a growth mindset and to own our growth at Seismic. Her words inspired us all and will reverberate as we continue to grow over the course of the next year. 

“One of my favorite quotes from Activity is ‘this is the best week of my professional career.’ I’m thrilled with how Activity turned out. I think we accomplished what we set out to do, which is to align everyone on the go-forward path for Seismic and build and strengthen connections so we can win as #OneSeismic – all while celebrating our achievements to date. For me, the fuel that runs all great companies are the meaningful and personal connections that ensure alignment and purpose. After last week, our tank runneth over. This is exactly what we needed after the last few years of isolation and disruption. While I believe the future of work is hybrid and remote, human connection is still important and can carry us from grind to grit.”

Linda Ho | Chief People Officer

Extracurricular Activity

The keynote speakers and panel discussions were incredible. But they weren’t the only items on the agenda. After all, we were in sunny San Diego. So, in addition to discussions that encouraged growth, we also engaged in activities that sparked growth in our professional relationships. 

Between sessions, Petco Park’s lower-level concourse was transformed into a playground where our employees took batting practice, threw a few pitches, or competed in arcade games like Pop A Shot, air hockey, and ping-pong. But no trip to the ballpark is complete without concessions. Our teams feasted on everything from nachos and burritos to hot dogs and garlic fries. Salads were also served!

The food and festivities continued well into the evenings. Dinner, drinks, and dancing were hosted at the Western Metal Supply Co. building and the evening was capped off with a beautiful fireworks display. If you listen closely, there’s a chance you can still hear the band singing TLC’s “No Scrubs.”

Tuesday night, we could be found at San Diego’s historic oceanfront amusement park, Belmont Park. And if we’re being honest, nothing brings you closer to your colleagues than shouting at the top of your lungs from the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster that first opened to the public in 1925. 

Wednesday evening, we hosted a Walk-off Winner Dinner, where our teams had one last outing together and shared our goodbyes. 

“There is nothing better than the energy and power of truly being one team – together, in person, and in such an amazing venue. There is no doubt that pulling Activity off was a big investment of time and money. Still, the payoff is something that is tacit, immeasurable, and most certainly beneficial to our company and as individuals. There is something powerful about the human connection – a connection that cannot be realized over a monitor or phone call.  With so many new people at the company (myself included), we made connections and memories that will last us for many months to come. Our theme was growth and that is indeed what we did as a collective group of people. We grew as a team and as a company – all rallying behind the theme of being #OneSeismic. Collectively being in it to win it, together!”

Hayden Stafford | President and Chief Revenue Officer

Seismic Activity22 was one for the record books. It was a much-needed opportunity for our team to get together in person and celebrate our success. We’re also very much looking forward to Seismic Shift, where we can also celebrate success together with our customers and prospects. If you’d like to learn more, visit our Shift22 page. 

The post Seismic Activity22: Back better than ever! appeared first on Seismic.

These small group discussions gave all voices an opportunity to be heard and to share about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on reproductive health care. Attendees found the discussion to be valuable and were interested in future sessions.

“I found the Safe Space Discussion extremely valuable. The Safe Space Discussion was a perfect example of Seismic values of ‘We are Inclusive, We Seek to Understand, and We are Vulnerable’ and how we put our values into practice on a daily basis here at Seismic. I felt I could be an ally and that I was supported both as an ally, as well as with my own feelings on the topic. Seismic is a special company in these regards, and I am grateful to be a part of it!”

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to join this safe space discussion. This setting provided me the chance to lean into vulnerability and listen and learn from my colleagues across the organization. I highly recommend joining a discussion if you have the chance.”

Resources were sent out to employees reiterating Seismic’s benefit offerings including mental health resources, such as the Employee Assistance Program they can leverage.

A webinar centered on managing compassion and change fatigue was also held. The webinar provided an understanding of what compassion fatigue is, and how to recognize the signs and ways you can help yourself and others with strategies to boost mental health, create connection, and combat compassion and change fatigue.

We will consider leveraging this kind of space in the future on topics that impact our employees.

By listening to and empathizing with each other, we can learn from our collective experiences and contribute to the diverse and inclusive culture we are fostering at Seismic.

If you would like to learn more about how we celebrate DEI, please visit the Seismic Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page.

The post Creating opportunities for all voices to be heard appeared first on Seismic.

Community is at the heart of why Seismic decided to open a new office in Austin earlier this summer. In today’s hybrid work era, the office space functions differently than it traditionally has. At Seismic, we’re thinking deeply about how these spaces can build community for our employees based on role and region and ignite growth for our company.

Our new flexible workplace philosophy views each office as a hub for fostering community, connection, and creativity – and our new office in Austin is purpose-built to do exactly that.

Over the last few months, it’s been great to meet and work closely with team members based in Austin. Our new space provides opportunities to learn from one another, build community, and collaborate with fellow employees, particularly for our early-career team members. We’re excited to meet all the amazing talent this city has to offer and continue hiring in the greater Austin area. Of course, we haven’t forgotten our Southern hospitality – we look forward to hosting Austin-based Seismic customers and partners in this new office. Tacos and beer, anyone?

I’m thrilled that Seismic has an official footprint in this city on the rise, one that has seen a boom in people and businesses alike over the last two years. We’re excited to deepen our relationships with the Austin community and have already completed the first of many group volunteer outings at the Central Texas Food Bank.

So whether you’ve got a great BBQ joint to recommend or just want to say hi to your new Austin neighbors, drop me a message on LinkedIn. If you’re looking to ignite growth in your career and join the Seismic team – in Austin or elsewhere – check out our open roles.

The post Howdy! Seismic opens new office in Austin, Texas appeared first on Seismic.

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to make this happen, and I’m excited to share another update – this time to Seismic’s mission, vision, and values.

In the time since we founded Seismic, we’ve always had a great people and powerful company culture. Our employees are passionate about their work, and the way we treat each other and our customers has driven our company’s success and growth. Without our people and the culture they created, we wouldn’t be the company we are today.  

It’s worked pretty darn well so far… so why did we decide to update our mission, vision, and values? Several factors went into the decision. First, as we continue to grow – in headcount and geography – we want to be intentional about creating alignment among our people and cultivating culture across the globe. Second, there is an undeniable and irreversible trend toward a flexible workplace. The old ways, heavily dependent on face-to-face interactions, have evolved. We need to be more proactive, thoughtful, and deliberate in how we engage our people no matter where they work. 

Lastly, in the past year, I had the unique opportunity to experience how impactful mission, vision, and values can be on culture through the acquisition of Lessonly. Max Yoder, Conner Burt, and the team made this more than “words on the wall” and, instead, how their business operated. It really drove how the entire Lessonly team made decisions, recruited, and worked – so powerful.

With that background, I am excited to share Seismic’s mission, vision, and values. 

Mission: We ignite growth. 

Our mission is our reason for being and it encapsulates what we’re trying to accomplish as a company. A lot of thought, debate, and consideration went into selecting these three words. We ultimately selected we because our mission isn’t just one person or a faceless organization — it’s all of us together. Ignite is a dynamic word that has a cause and effect. And growth spans personal and professional; individual, team, and business; as well as revenue.

Vision: We empower teams to grow and win.

Our vision is a clear, specific picture of what we want to accomplish as we strive toward our mission. We chose the word empower because we hope to give agency, power, and capability to every person our product touches. And we don’t just want individuals to grow – we also want to ensure that teams improve and perform together. And finally, we want to prioritize winning. To win is to find shared success and camaraderie, as well as deepen our trusted partnerships with our customers and their customers. 

Values: We ignite growth by empowering teams to grow and win.

Our values emerge from our mission and vision, as well as the behaviors we already saw within our organization and knew we wanted to prioritize in order to help us become even better. They define what we stand for and how we act as a company, both internally and with our customers. Each of our values builds upon one another and tells the story of who we are:

• We are inclusive
• We are vulnerable
• We seek to understand
• We strive for excellence
• We champion the customer
• We celebrate success 

When these values come together, we ignite growth in ourselves, our customers, and the enablement industry. 

What this all means

When we launched Seismic, the industry was trying to understand what enablement was.  Customers felt the pain of too many pitch decks, lagging rep productivity, or off-brand messaging but they struggled to solve it with disparate tools and teams. Our first years were spent largely on education.

Wow, has that changed! Today’s most successful companies have elevated enablement to a strategic priority with an equal seat at the go-to-market table. Sales enablement programs have grown 343% over the past five years and CEOs routinely cite enablement as a key factor in the success (or failure) of hitting growth targets. 

We are proud of the role that we played in driving that change!

Enablement helps organizations ignite growth and it is my hope that by sharing our mission, vision, and values we will give our customers a glimpse into how we’ll work with them, how we will champion their needs, and ask the hard questions that help them to achieve excellence. 

I couldn’t be more excited about the future of Seismic and the enablement industry. Thank you for joining us on this journey!

The post Building a culture of One Seismic appeared first on Seismic.

the Seismic Enablement Cloud

Rebrand for a reason

Marketers love a rebrand, but this new look isn’t just for show. We’re rolling out an exciting, new brand identity because Seismic is in an exciting, new season. Over the past decade, we pioneered the category of enablement software, launched a wave of new products, completed multiple acquisitions, served thousands of companies, and expanded across the globe — all with the same trusty logo. Thanks to the partnership of our amazing customers, we’re lucky to be an industry-leading company on a tremendous growth path. Now with the launch of the world’s first enablement cloud and our new company mission, it’s time for a brand identity and story that reflects all that energy and possibility.

Our executive and marketing teams landed on three simple words that we want to be true about the next iteration of Seismic’s brand:

Dynamic in that our customers and employees are vibrant, moving, growing, and thriving. Approachable in that we’re humans helping humans, not a faceless corporation. Confident in that we lead our category and work with thousands of amazing customers and partners. 

Six months of hard work later, these guiding principles have led us to the brand we launch today. Without further ado…

Meet the Seismic Stack

Our new logomark is affectionately dubbed the Seismic Stack. The shapes — referencing a screen, a presentation, or a slide — honor our history in content management. They come together dynamically like tectonic plates, and the two trapezoids hold an “S” in the negative space. The overall shape has an upward, growing angle that you’ll see mirrored across the entire visual identity. The wordmark was based on Azo Sans and, like the rest of the logo, was thoughtfully crafted by our friends at barrettSF. We’re ecstatic about the simplicity and energy that this logo will bring to our global brand.

Brighter days ahead

All that orange in our closets isn’t going away. We brightened the Seismic orange to our new primary color Dawn, and partnered it with a rich purple (Dusk) and a soft blue (Cloud). But the secondary and tertiary colors are where the fun comes out to play. It’s out with the fifty shades of beige that have served us well, and in with four bright new colors that show up across the brand to bring energy and playfulness.

Wave hello to real people

One complaint we heard from customers and employees alike was that we used too much stock photography. So we said goodbye to it. 99% of the photography across the brand is our own, thoughtfully shot by our Design Manager, Jessica Sturgeon. Now you might spot your favorite Seismic employee on the site or in a microapp. We’re real people selling to real people, so look for our real faces across the brand.

Clear is kind

Brand isn’t just about visual identity. We wanted our voice and tone to be dynamic, confident, and approachable, too. We want to write simply and clearly, without relying too much on tech jargon. That led us to a new voice and tone, summarized in four key principles:

• Write to an inexperienced you. 
• Be the guide, not the hero. 
• Keep it tight and be bright. 
• Channel moxie, not macho. 

You can dive into these principles more in our brand guidelines. But as you read what we write across all our marketing, we hope it feels like the same Seismic hundreds of enterprises trust, but also a little bit more like talking to a friend. 

Welcome to the Aftershock

Rebranding is great…but the people want SWAG! So we decided to shake things up with our own e-commerce brand. Meet Aftershock. This online store is available to anyone — from employees to customers to earthquake enthusiasts. In addition to a rotating seasonal lineup, you’ll find plenty of everyday Seismic swag and more than a few shocking puns along the way. Keep an eye open for future creative collabs, too.

We celebrate success

Many people shared their time and talents to bring this brand refresh to life. One of our new company values is “We celebrate success,” so allow me a few lines to live that out and celebrate a few members of the Seismic community who contributed to this project:

• The customers who gave hours and hours of helpful feedback
• Doug Winter and the Seismic executive team for their time, insight, and trust
• Kyle Lacy, SVP of Marketing, who was the champion and visionary for the new brand
• Our agency partners at barrettSF who supported us throughout the journey
• The Brand and Web & Content teams who brought the new identity to life in so many creative ways
• And last but not least, Bridget Conrad and Helen Gardner, who guided this project from start to finish. There are few better brand marketers in the business.

Brand is how you feel

We hope you’re as excited about the new look for Seismic as we are; that it’s true to where Seismic has been and aspirational about where we’re going next. But new logos and colors and tone don’t make a brand. 

A brand is how we live out our values.

A brand is how we partner with our customers. 

A brand is how we enable revenue growth for their companies.

A brand is how our employees talk about our culture.

A brand is every little interaction with Seismic. 

A brand is how you feel. 

We’re grateful for all those teammates, customers, partners, and community members who have made Seismic feel so special over the last ten years. We can’t wait to see what excitement and feeling the next decade will bring.

P.S. How do you feel? If you have thoughts, feedback, or questions about our brand, the new identity, the Seismic Enablement Cloud, or what we should work on next — we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a note at design@seismic.com. 

The post How we’re shaking up our brand in 2022 appeared first on Seismic.

In the time since last year’s blog on Women’s History Month, Seismic has continued to deepen its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Our Women’s Community of Belonging, Seismic Sisters, was formed in 2021. The group meets on a monthly basis to discuss women’s experiences as tech professionals. Each month, a different Seismic Sisters member leads a discussion on a topic of their choice. 

For Women’s History Month, Seismic Sisters has led several activities to educate employees, and have some fun while doing it. This month culminated in a Women in Leadership panel discussion, featuring leaders from within the organization. 

Highlights from the panel discussion

The Women in Leadership panel was made up of several global employees, including Seismic Vice President of Product Marketing Eve Alexander, Director of Solution Consulting Jeannine Butler, Senior Vice President of Sales Nadia Rashid, Vice President of Strategic Alliances Preseetha Pettigrew, and Vice President of Web and Content Rekha Thomas. 

The panel discussion covered several topics, including their career paths, the importance of mentorship, work-life balance, and combating imposter syndrome. Here are a few highlights! 

The importance of mentorship

Support, encouragement, and mentorship were recurring themes throughout the panel discussion. Each of the panelists shared their stories about how they navigate being a woman in a male-dominated industry. 

Panelists shared how they’ve grown throughout their journeys as a result of guidance from male and female colleagues. Preseetha Pettigrew shared the story of a mentor she met early in her career. “At the start of my career I had a mentor who gave me support and guidance on how I could amplify my voice, deal with obstacles, and I’m really grateful for the support he provided. He saw that gender has nothing to do with the skills you have to do a job.”

Panelists also discussed the importance of being a mentor to others. Jeannine Butler noted that “As leaders, we have power, influence, and authority that the people who follow us don’t. Our responsibility in making a difference is to use that power for good – not just with our own outcomes in mind, but also having the good of others who will come after us in mind. It requires that we have one foot in the present and another in the future.” She added that her own manager champions the same ideals. “My current boss spends every moment of her day advocating for her teams. She lays herself down to be a bridge that we can cross and her team is fiercely loyal, deeply connected, and ever-growing.” 

Mentors and allies in the workplace can take different forms. Eve Alexander noted that she has mentors who help her become better at her craft, professional development, and advise her during challenges. “Mentorship is a daily activity. I’ve built mentorship relationships as mini-mentorships. It’s not one mentor with a capital M. I have different people who I can go to for different things.” 

How to manage work-life balance

Managing teams and strategic priorities can limit the time available to pursue passions outside of work. A recent PEW Research poll found that 56% of women said they do more household chores than their spouse or partner. And, among mothers, 74% said they do more to manage their children’s schedules and activities than their spouse or partner. 

Two panelists who are parents discussed the importance of managing work-life balance. 

As a senior vice president of sales, Nadia Rashid’s job is demanding. When she first started her career, she recalled feeling a need to always be on, even when she was off on vacation. “COVID forced me to say it’s time to prioritize what’s most important, and for me it’s family.” This understanding has shifted the way she manages her team and workload. “I now have priorities where I do need to shut down at times and I want to empower my team to make decisions on their own. Work-life balance is having a clear understanding of what is important right now.”

Rekha Thomas echoed her sentiment. “Work-life balance is more like a pendulum. Sometimes there are responsibilities at work that swing you in one direction and, other times, there are personal commitments that swing you in the other direction. The key is to try not to swing so far to one side or the other that you can’t get back to equilibrium.” She also shared five practices she follows to find equilibrium:

• Be flexibly prepared
• Know when to zoom in and when to zoom out
• Celebrate smaller successes
• Be vulnerable and know when to ask for help
• Give yourself grace

Combating imposter syndrome

The panel discussion wrapped up with questions from the audience. One question, in particular, stood out: How do you silence the voice in your head, practice kindness with yourself and deal with imposter syndrome? 

Jeannine Butler shared her own story and experience. “It’s something I have to practice every day because I haven’t mastered it. I practice gratitude on a daily basis. I include myself in appreciation for the progress I’ve made. I reflect on it and rehearse it. So that when I’m up against a challenge or I feel like an imposter, I look back at what I’ve done and recognize that if I made it that time I can do the next hard thing.”

More Women’s History Month at Seismic

This month has been a great opportunity for Seismic to come together as a company and celebrate one another. If you’d like to learn more about how we celebrated Women’s History Month, check us out on LinkedIn. 

We’re always looking to hire the next wave of women in leadership at Seismic. If you’d like to join our team, check out our careers page. 

The post Women’s History Month at Seismic appeared first on Seismic.