Star2Star Communications, LLC
Sarasota, FL
Grade: A
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Summary: A fun and techie culture, solid employee recognition, trophies, awards and sales incentives with good perks and inventive meeting places. |
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Intro: One of the most appealing aspects of our company to technology workers is that we are very forward thinking and flexible in terms of the technology we use. We are cutting edge in everything hardware and software related. We use many different languages and programs, and we generally give our staff the ability to work using whatever they are most comfortable with or curious about. Our employees are encouraged to explore and learn other technologies and new areas. |
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Impact statements:
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Advancement Opportunities:
We encourage advancement by fostering the exploration of new technology tools and maintaining an open, learning atmosphere.
Medical benefits:
We have a great health plan, short and long term disability planning, and life insurance.
Community service/charitable causes:
Every holiday season, our team votes on a charity to support during the holidays, and we run a company-wide drive to bring joy to deserving members of the community. We also support employee community service projects. For example, recently, one of our developers swam a distance race for charity (sponsored by other employees including our CEO Norman Worthington) while another developer followed him in a kayak.
Measuring satisfaction:
We do not have any formal processes on a company-wide basis at this time, although we are currently working on new initiatives. Every department has their own informal methods for maintaining team satisfaction.
Our offices are home to the Star2Star Space Museum, which contains fascinating artifacts and memorabilia from the space programs of several nations. The space museum is spread across our Sarasota offices and inspires our employees with the potential that technology of technology and how far it can take us.
Creative meeting places:
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Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium |
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The Sarasota Classic Car Museum |
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The South Florida Museum |
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State and county parks |
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Other local are venues and attractions |
Perks:
We provide coupons to all employees everyday that give a discount on food and drinks from our own on-premise café, the Flying Saucer. We also have a deal to provide a Sam’s Club discount to employees.
Fun:
Our offices are home to spontaneous Nerf gun wars that break out without warning. Our team members are constantly seen walking around the building in groups. Our offices are adjacent to the Sarasota Airport, allowing our employees to see planes come and go all day. Our on-premise café, the Flying Saucer, provides great opportunities to socialize.
How corporate vision is communicated:
We hold regular events to communicate our corporate vision, including company-wide meetings which we call all hands meetings, sales summits, weekly department calls, and four monthly newsletters.
Empowering employees:
We encourage open door communication, whereby our management team always keeps their doors open and available so that they are free to listen to all suggestions and recommendations.
Every quarter, we give our three 3P awards to honor employees who demonstrate our key company values, and the winners get the closest parking spaces to the building. We also include employee promotions and successes in our monthly employee newsletter. We give out numerous trophies and awards throughout the year and provide sales incentives and prizes to our team including weekend vacations to such locations as Las Vegas.
We don’t tell our developers how to write. We give them the freedom to work in the best way for them. A specific example is the recent development of our Apple Watch app. One of our team members figured out how to code for the Apple Watch on his free time and developed the app on the weekend. Another example is the creation of a recent whitepaper where a member of the development team worked with our copywriter to create a whitepaper, where he had final approval on content. Our developers often also head other interdepartmental collaborations with sales, marketing, accounting, legal, and other departments.
Ensuring well-being:
We have standard hours, but each department has flexibility based on needs. We are also very tolerant and understanding of doctor visits, family responsibilities, and et cetera.
There is schedule flexibility based on department. Everyone has an allotment of PTO days that employees can use for illness or vacation. The amount of days of PTO is determined by an employee’s seniority, with more senior employees having more PTO days.
We provide excellent health and life insurance and PTO days. We have a conference room dedicated to treadmills. Many team members take daily walks around the building. Many employees also take part in completely anonymous employee support networks.
Longevity:
The longevity of our management team is very long, and many members have been with us since the company’s first year. The average longevity in other departments is less, but that has to do with us being a young company. Although our company has seen continuous growth over the last ten years, the last three have seen explosive growth, with the majority (more than half) of our employees coming on board during that time.
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Closing company statements: We want team members who want to be part of something revolutionary. The way things are traditionally done is not good enough at Star2Star. If you want to succeed here, you need to be forward thinking, adaptable, and a fast learner. Also, don’t expect to be doing the same thing for very long. |
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