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How to Build Company Culture With Video Messages

Loom isn’t just for closing deals, giving design feedback, reviewing code, or recruitment videos — although it’s great for all those things. Now that (like so many other organizations) our work environment is fully remote, it’s critical that we’re intentional about having fun and building camaraderie. Video messages help us do just that.

Recently, a startup piloting Loom asked for examples of how we use video to build and strengthen company culture at Loom. I polled the team for examples, and the results were too delightful not to share with everyone.

24 examples of company culture videos

Shortly before Jude Flannery joined Loom as VP of Engineering, he shared a song he wrote with the team — and Senior Software Engineer Harsh Goel surprised us further by recording a couple extra parts on top of it: 🎵

Enterprise Support Specialist Jaclyn Thompson is the queen of funny company culture videos. Here she is announcing the members of Loom’s then-newly formed Employee Advisory Group:

Here's Jaclyn again, pumping up the team for an upcoming employee engagement survey:

Product Marketing Manager George Williams took us all on a roller coaster ride: 🎢

Then there was that time Staff Brand Strategist and resident oddball Brooks Chambers taught us all how to tweet:

Here’s Brooks again, showing off his new hoodie:

The hoodie loom inspired a number of spinoffs, starting with these from Senior Product Designer Kim Walker:

… which brand designers Tim Lampe and Judson Collier added to:

Side note: Tim also recorded this birthday loom for Judson (noted Greta Gerwig stan and possibly actually Greta Gerwig? You be the judge):

… but back to the teamwork that went into the hoodie loom remixes. Baby Shark got in on the action, courtesy of Enterprise Support Specialist Amanda Rothbard (maybe don’t play this one if you’d rather not have the tune stuck in your head all day): 🦈

Then came this Bhangra remix from Content Marketing Manager (and social media guru) Karina Parikh:

Kim again, wishing us all a happy weekend:

And finally, at the end of this rabbit hole, the holiday remix from content marketer Emily Triplett Lentz: 🎄

company values (screenshot)
One of our company values at Loom is “Embrace the Weird.” If these videos are any evidence, I’d say we all do a pretty great job living up to it.

I actually don’t know the origins of this video from Customer Support Lead Lauren Cunningham wishing Senior Engineering Manager Paulius Dragunas a good morning, but I don’t know that I need to in order to enjoy it any more than I already do:

Front End Engineer Amanda Cheung helped us all live vicariously via her loom detailing her recent hike of New Zealand’s Abel Tasman Coast Track: 🇳🇿

VP of Marketing Matt Hodges is generous with videos of his adorable kids, including this one of his daughter saying hello:

Here’s George again, giving us all a tour of his patio garden: 🌱

Using the Loom mobile app to give a tour of my balcony garden

You may not think the same person who produced that mild-mannered gardening video would spend a significant portion of his weekend creating this far-out explanation of Loom’s new brand, but you’d be wrong (remind me to chat with him about work-life balance):

Talk about video production!

My Co-founder and our CTO, Vinay Hiremath, recorded this ridiculous video with Paulius to wish Senior Software Engineer (and diehard Deadhead) Steve Milburn a happy one-year anniversary. Their goofy laughter is infectious:

That time when Emily threw a dance party to welcome Karina to the team:

It’s become something of a tradition (or contest?) to record funny video updates on the design team. Here’s Kim using JazzKeys to tell his team what he’s up to: 🎹

… and in another one of those design team updates, Senior Director of Brand Stewart Scott-Curran had his hilarious daughter be the video avatar for his voiceover: 

Her grabbing of the can of soda mid-recording really makes it feel authentic. She doesn’t break character the entire time. Impressive.

And the cherry on top 🍒 —  Product Design Lead Britt Layton’s transcription product video is one of the all-time great culture videos:

I love re-watching these videos — it’s a great reminder of all the incredible people I have the privilege of working with. ❤️

Related reading:
Why Asynchronous Communication Is Ideal for Weekly Team Updates
How to Build Connections When Your Team Can’t Be in the Same Place
Quick Tips From Loommates: Introducing Yourself
11 Essential Communication Skills for the Workplace

Fun videos are a symptom of a fun culture

I say it all the time: people first, then product, then profit. When you're trying to build a great company, culture matters just as much (if not more) than the more tangible perks in your comp and benefits package.

The best company culture videos are a byproduct of a) video being one of the standard communication channels your company uses, and b) a spirit of fun and camaraderie baked into your company values — to the extent that new employees immediately recognize that bringing their real-life personalities to work is celebrated rather than discouraged. There's a time and a place for more buttoned-up corporate videos, but there's plenty of room for teammates to be themselves.

To me, these videos demonstrate that Loommates feel comfortable bringing their full, quirky selves and senses of humor to the workspace, and I couldn't be more thrilled about that.

Posted:

Nov 11, 2020

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  • Joe Thomas

    CEO & Co-Founder