Fire 
Do you know of organizations or individuals that set the innovation scene on Fire? Tell us about them by completing a nomination for Inno on Fire.
RHODE ISLAND INNO'S 2019 COOLEST COMPANIES
Doug Conant of Campbell Soup once said, "to win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace.”
Now, with 99,821 small business in the Ocean State, there are a lot of perspectives on what "winning in the workplace" looks like. Or, in Inno parlance, what it means to have a "cool culture."
But many can agree there are the obvious elements: fun perks, access to free food, perhaps, or casual dress.
It can be more than that. Perhaps it's the company's powerful mission that spurs its employees to band together and volunteer in the community. Maybe it's generous parental (or new pet!) leave polices; a robust 401(k) package or management's attitude regarding communication that inspires not only the best work from its employees, but also the organization's quick and steady expansion.
Whatever "cool" looks like across the state, having a solid culture matters. Consider the following stats, assembled by global culture management company CultureIQ:
- "94 percent of executives and 88 percent of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success. Via Deloitte."
- "Employees' overall ratings of their company's qualities like collaboration, work environment, and mission and value alignment are 20 percent higher at companies with strong cultures. These qualities help winning cultures keep employees aligned and motivated. Via CultureIQ."
- "Companies with strong cultures saw a 4x increase in revenue growth."
In essence: "Company culture is not an isolated initiative," CultureIQ wrote in its culture report. "It’s not a team-building event or an awesome benefit that your company offers. Culture is how employees get their work done each day. It’s how leadership visibly models positive behaviors ... [it's] an integral driver of your company’s performance that is deeply embedded in every company interaction and process, from recruitment and retention to leadership and mission and values."
But what does having a strong, motivating culture look like in the Rhode Island ecosystem? To get a feel, we asked you, the Rhode Island startup and entrepreneurial community, for input on which in-state companies were the coolest — and you answered our call. Together, with editorial insight, we developed a list of entities whose culture stands out.
Examining some of these exceptional companies — as well as reflecting on one's own company culture — is a healthy exercise. And it's not us just waxing poetic.
"Taking the time to identify and focus on specific opportunities related to culture will lead to lower turnover and higher performance, which in turn, will boost customer satisfaction and loyalty," CultureIQ added.
Get to it by learning more about Rhode Island's 2019 batch of Coolest Companies below.
Feast & Fettle
Feast & Fettle, the fast-growing Rhode Island-based meal delivery service, recently debuted a new office space AND expanded into Massachusetts, indicating that a cool company is one that knows how to scale quickly and well.
It doesn't hurt, either, that employees have access to free espresso ("the fancy kind," we're told), delicious meals and an environment where collaboration and cross-company input is actively sought out.
Additionally, $1 of every Feast & Fettle order goes to local tech company Edesia, which works to address global nutrition.
"We may be small, but the rate of change and our commitment to being the BEST in meal delivery service drives our larger ambitions for world domination (jk, we just want to feed America!)," the company wrote in its nomination.
InsureMyTrip
One metric for cool company culture? Low turnover rate. Consider InsureMyTrip's 2018 stats: in 2018, when the national average for turnover was 14 percent, it boasted only 8.9 percent.
"That statistic alone speaks volumes about the fact that this is a great place to work," the company wrote in its nomination.
In addition to company-wide celebrations like Pi(e) Day and other perks like causal dress and extreme work schedule flexibility, InsureMyTrip boasts a 401(k) program "in which the company makes a contribution (better than a match) equal to 7.5 percent of our annual salary and we're fully vested after only 30 days of employment!"
Massimoto Media, Inc.
Sometimes, a cool company is one that can mobilize in big ways for big brands — despite the size of its team.
"We're a tiny company in Rhode Island, but we work with some of the biggest brands around — including Hasbro, Velcro USA, Cuisinart, Dorel Juvenile [and] Mevion Medical Systems," Massimoto Media, Inc. wrote in its nomination.
Its team includes creatives of all types, from directors and musicians to editors and cinematographers, who bring their diverse talents together to create media for its clients.
They do all this in a 3,000 square-foot historic Pawtucket mill, punctuating their work with solid community time.
"We cook, drink, listen to music and sometimes impromptu jams break out," its team told Rhode Island Inno. "We all have fun every day here."
And they pay it forward, donating time and talent for organizations like Adoption RI and Foster Forward.
New England Medical Innovation Center
As we mentioned earlier, what makes a company's culture unique is more than just cool perks or a gorgeous new office (which this company has, sure) — and that's what makes the New England Medical Innovation Center stand out.
"Our community is what makes us very cool," it wrote in its nomination, highlighting the true diversity of thought and expertise that ranges across the enterprise (think everything from virtual reality to spinal prosthesis).
Furthermore, it adds to the ecosystem at large with the depth and breadth of its insights. "NEMIC provides local and global expertise to companies with hopes that they may make a difference in the world," it added.
Sprout CoWorking
"Making members feel welcome is a fun job," Sprout CoWorking told Rhody Inno in its nomination, and it explained how it uses food, atmosphere and proximity to build a warm community for those who step into its renovated historic spaces. There's its monthly breakfast club, afternoon cheese and crackers sessions, Pizza Thursday! lunches and candy-bowl chats.
Then, of course, there's the coworking spot's monthly rotating art program, which highlights an area artist throughout the building.
"It's a treat to come to work and we think that's cool!" Sprout said in their nomination form.
Swoogo
It's not a secret that the ability to work remotely is a growing trend that more employees want and employers are subsequently embracing. Enter Swoogo, a 100 percent virtual company (with a U.S. headquarters in Warren) that has team members across the world. Spain, Ecuador and more than seven U.S. states include just some of the places its staff members clock in from every day.
That doesn't mean the company is disjointed; it holds video meetings weekly to discuss everything from work to family life. And then there's the twice-a-year trips. "The whole team converges on a city (Newport last fall) where we live and work together for a week," the company said in its nomination.
The Granny Squibb Company
"A cool company encompasses so much including, a location, office culture, people, community focus, passion, perks and giv[ing] back," The Granny Squibb Company, a 1930s established, Providence-based maker of "astonishingly delicious" iced teas, wrote in its nomination.
The company was right when it said "it had it all." For example: A pet friendly office, employees are given two weeks of work from home time so that they can fully bond with their new pet. There's unlimited PTO and flexible work schedule, too, with routine team outings that include sky and shark diving.
Granny Squibb's focuses heavily on community. "We are everywhere," they wrote. "From fundraisers to food festivals and food trucks, beaches and boats, the local corner mart and now the official iced tea of the Newport Folk Festival." It continually donates both time and product to area nonprofit, as well as giving part of its sales to "Save the Bay," which works to keep Narragansett Bay clean and safe.
The Hire
The Hire, a recruiting firm, has a chief goal that informs the culture it builds.
"[The firm] was started with one goal in mind: to empower professionals and organizations to successfully navigate this cycle of change by creating winning partnerships between top performers and progressive employers," it wrote in its nomination form. It's required them to think out of the box, ultimately developing a recruiting methodology that employs everything from training to tech.
In its own offices, management doesn't establish quotas, "because we wanted to cultivate an environment where people work as a team." That includes when employees are playing ping pong, pool or stepping up to the putting green within The Hire's wall, or working with area nonprofits outside them.
Additionally, team members have unlimited PTO, profit sharing and a Massage Envy membership — as well as an annual all-company getaway that allows employees and their partners to take some well-earned R&R.
