A good read from Bloomberg Business Week: Welcome to Rackspace: A Frenetic Orientation
Venessa Wong reports on the crazy orientation program at Rackspace that puts new employess in some pretty crazy team building situations. (Photograph by Chris Godfrey for Rackspace)
More pep rally than orientation, it's full of crazy games and group fun. And it gets people charged up and ready to work together.
According to Wong and the company Ambassador of Culture known as SugarBear, "the company takes orientation very seriously and tries to hire personalities who fit its culture. Rackspace even states in its quarterly report: "Our corporate culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain this culture, we could lose the innovation, creativity, and teamwork fostered by our culture, and our operating results may be harmed."
Rackspace is a rapidly growing company that needs fantastic talent—all working together—to make things happen. I think they're smart about how they're investing in their internal culture and brand. And they know it works.
Whether or not this type of orientation is appropriate in your company, it's worth reading the article and thinking about how you can make sure everyone's drinking your Kool-Aid. Your future depends on it!
