On people: why we like to hire employees with attitude

By? Ali Mignone, SHRM-SCP , Head of People, Diversity, and Inclusion

This article is part of an ongoing series from?our head of people, diversity, and inclusion?on the ways Theatre Projects tries to best serve its employees and the communities in which we all live and work.

Passionate people who care about the power of story and the world around them seem to find a home at Theatre Projects. Because that attitude is the bedrock of our work—helping clients create spaces that promote dialogue, inspire human interaction, and serve communities—we are always looking for ways to nurture it.

To continue building an inclusive environment for our teams to thrive in, we have formalized some company-supported policies that celebrate who our employees are and what drives them outside of work. We call it an Employee Engagement program, but it’s really an acknowledgment that one size never fits all, especially when it comes to supporting employees in their desires to grow personally and professionally, manage their health and families, and do good in the world.

In essence, TP provides each employee with an annual fund to use as they see fit toward their goals. Some employees have plans for that fund as soon as it’s available. For those who don’t, we offer a simple structure to spur ideas:

• Healthy minds: Experience art and culture, advance your skills, rest and recharge, support your mental health, go outside
• Healthy bodies: Maintain or improve your physical health, make healthy choices
• Healthy communities: Participate in your community, donate to things that matter to you and TP will match, express your social conscience and build your awareness of the world

Our team members have used their funds toward professional certifications, conference attendance, theatre and concert tickets, national parks passes, yoga classes, therapeutic massage, drone flight trainings, poetry workshops, and matched donations to causes that capture their hearts. And they’ve used flex time to extend lunch hours to accommodate exercise classes and paid time off to volunteer in their communities.

I’m tempted to say that they do all of this while still providing world-class deliverables to clients, on time and on budget. But I believe our team provides world-class deliverables to clients, on time and on budget, precisely BECAUSE they do all of this.

Our goal is to encourage and sustain an existing employee attitude—where it’s not just the work that matters, but how our employees engage with the world and develop themselves as healthy, socially conscious citizens of their communities.

It’s a work in progress. Our team will let you know how we do.