Whenever I’m asked about Snagajob’s culture, I think the one thing people have the biggest misperception about is that it’s only a culture of “fun.” And, while it is extremely fun, and we will work incredibly hard to keep it that way, it is only fun as long as we work extremely hard. We’re big believers that hard work and having fun while doing it are not mutually exclusive..

The relationship is reciprocal: we think that if you’re having fun while you work, you’re going to put more of yourself into it. And, on the flip-side, if you’re not working hard, it’s only going to be a fun place to visit, because the business won’t be around long enough to call it anything more than just a visit. This is the essence of our culture and one that hopefully drives strong financial success and allows us to further invest in our people.

Of course, it’s one thing to desire a strong culture. It’s another challenge all together to make it work and convince others it’s the right thing to do. To this day, we’re still always asking ourselves, “Are we doing enough to strike this balance and focus on our people?”

And the answer is,”It’s never good enough.” I’ve always struggled to define culture. It’s not one thing, it’s everything. This is the best working definition I have for culture at Snagajob: great people loving to do great things together as a team. And, here are a few examples of some of the culture-enriching initiatives that help us drive a healthy bottom line: Mission and values: Every company has a mission statement and a set of core values. This is nothing new.

But at Snagajob, these elements are key to everything we do. Every new hire we make, every new product we develop, and every partnership we enter needs to be reflective of these.

Our mission is to put people into right-fit positions so they can maximize their potential and live more fulfilling lives. This includes our job seekers, employers and Snaggers themselves. And, every week at our all-hands company meeting, we read a testimonial from one of our job seekers that illustrates how we’ve been able to effectuate that mission statement in their lives. Working in tandem with this mission are Snagajob’s core values: collaborative, accountable and passionate, or C.A.P. Every time a Snagger shares a Shout-Out! — public praise for a job well done — they assign one of these values to the effort they’re acknowledging

Snagger Sidekicks: Because we’re in the business of connecting hourly workers and employers, we know how crucial those initial touch points are: the interview, showing up on day one and the first 30 days of employment.

To that end, we’ve worked to build a robust welcoming and onboarding program. This includes Snagger Sidekicks, an amped up version of your typical training buddy. Newbie and veteran Snaggers (“the Sidekicks”) are matched up based on common interests.

The Sidekicks call their matches before their first day, take them to lunch, introduce them to each department and mentor them regularly for several months afterward. ? Culture Squad: At Snagajob, all Snaggers own the culture.

And the Culture Squad spearheads these efforts, from planning our annual holiday party and Office Olympics to addressing culture concerns with senior leadership.

Every Snagajob department has at least one member on the Culture Squad, and these representatives are charged with relaying information from their team to the Culture Squad — and vice versa — to make sure we’re promoting a fun and fair environment throughout the company.

As stated earlier, we’re firm believers that culture isn’t about one thing — it’s everything. And this list could go on to include our rabid community involvement, our “comfortably casual” dress code, and obsession with over-communication, which like all of our culture initiatives, when done well, drive an improvement in overall company performance.

As long as this list could be, and as much time as we spend brainstorming new ways to foster an environment where camaraderie and celebrating don’t have to start after 5:30 p.m., it’s never enough. And, it can never be at the exclusion of working hard for each other and for our customers. The two go hand in hand, and the one thing that we’re always struck by, driven by and always striving for is: We can always do more.