Integrate’s Office
In a city as big as Houston, there’s no shortage of thriving businesses. And when you come across a business that’s not only extremely successful, but also an incredible place to work…THAT is what it’s all about. You spend the majority of your hours working so it’s ideal when you wake up in the morning looking forward to going into the office.
So, what makes an office one you want to be in and one you want to go to daily? What makes a company thrive? What is attributed to a great office environment?
I reached out to 4 businesses, each in different industries, and rumor has it, they are incredible places to work. I got the inside scoop on each, so keep on reading for a large dose of career inspiration!
Cakewalk Style
Business #1: Cakewalk Style, Women’s Apparel and Accessories Boutique
Describe Cakewalk Style in one sentence. Our clothing is modern, effortless, chic and we only buy what we would personally wear.
How long has Cakewalk Style been around? We have had our Brick & Mortar for a bit over 4 years.
How many employees? Two full time employees and a few part-timers. And, then there are the co-owners: Gina Cartwright and Jennifer Grigsby.
How would you describe the office/store/work environment? Our shop is bustling with activity and energy. It’s not a stand-up-all-day environment and ever day is different! We often have events and we love to host parties. Mundane would never be a word that could describe a day at cakewalk.
What makes Cakewalk Style such a great place to work? We think that our work environment is special because we offer our employees flexibility and freedom to make decisions that are above-and-beyond the environment of most retail establishments. Our employees are encouraged to tap into their creativity and contribute to the success of the shop on so many different planes. They get training in so many different aspects (marketing, creative processes, graphic design, buying, merchandise control, data organization, customer relations, vendor relations, event planning, and the list goes on) Their professional growth is significant.
Who is the Cakewalk Style customer? Our customers are looking for effortless style and the special pieces that we stock in the shop. They are also looking for individual attention and styling. When they leave the shop, they are confident in knowing that they look put together and ultra chic. New customers leave us as friends and come back to visit us often. It’s like shopping their best friend’s closet!
CKO Digital
Business #2: CKO Digital, Website Design & E-Commerce Development Company
Describe CKO Digital in one sentence. CKO Digital is a small team of creatives that love helping businesses grow online – from website design and ecommerce to your instagram feed.
How long has CKO Digital been around? We started CKO in Spring of 2008, so almost 7 years.
How many employees? We do everything in house and never outsource our work so we have to make sure we have the best team in place. We currently have 6 people in our office and we all work very closely together.
How would you describe the office environment? Seth and I (Mishelle) have always been pretty laid back so I would say very relaxed. We have a large conference table where most of us work off of so it is very team friendly and we definitely don’t take ourselves too seriously.
What makes CKO Digital such a great place to work? Seth and I have never wanted the typical 9-5 corporate type of job which is one of the many reasons we ended up creating our own company and workplace. Right now our hours are 11-5 in the office but everyone can sort of make their own. As long as everything is getting done for our clients in a timely manner were pretty flexible. Company dinners and happy hours are also a must when it’s been a long week full of projects.
Integrate’s Outdoor Patio and Putting Green
Business #3: Integrate, Marketing and Communications Agency
Describe Integrate in one sentence. Integrate is a full-service marketing and communications agency that stays true to traditional public relations roots while integrating the limitless strategic potential and power available with direction communication through bold and engaging social media, community partnership and clever marketing for business of all sizes, across all industries.
How long has Integrate been around? Integrate was founded in August 2009, which means we’ll be 6.5 years old before we know it!
How many employees? We’re now a team of 20 scrappy, creative and big-picture thinking communications professionals!
How would you describe the office environment? Our 2-floor office space is a combination of a few shared offices, communal meeting spaces and a main, open floorplan, space where most of our team works – the layout is intentional so that team members can easily turn around to ask their neighbor a question or look to their left or right for a quick brainstorming session. In addition to our open work space, our team takes advantage of four comfortable meeting rooms, where many the brainstorming session and internal team meeting take place. One of our favorite parts of the office, though, is our patio. Because we’re on the top floor of our building (we like to think of ourselves as the penthouse), we take advantage of our outdoor patio, complete with a putting green and patio tables , on nice Houston afternoons.
What makes Integrate such a great place to work? Our love for our craft, along with our passion for our clients makes Integrate an amazing working environment for our team members. The energy here can’t be beat, either! Our team has a “work hard, play hard” attitude. Each team member knows how to take a big brainstorm and a bigger dream and turn it into actionable strategies and results for our clients , all the while having fun and strengthening relationships with our clients and the media outlets or partners we work withOur team thrives on working together to create out-of-this-world campaigns! Outside of the work we do for our clients, we know when to take a breather and congratulate ourselves for the hard work we’re doing. Every other month, the team is treated to fun, team-building activities, from indoor skydiving and an afternoon at an Astros game, to rooftop yoga and improv classes. We also enjoy “Beer Thirty” on Friday afternoons when the clock strikes 3:30. Our annual office holiday party has become one of the most beloved days of the year to our team members too, with past years featuring progressive dinners and late-night karaoke sessions. Because our team members work together so closely in the office, we love being able to let loose off the clock, as well!
JW Marriott Houston Downtown
Business #4: JW Marriott Houston Downtown, Hotel
Describe the JW Marriott Houston Downtown in one sentence. JW Marriott Houston Downtown is “in the Heart of Houston.”
How long has the JW Marriott Houston Downtown been around? We were the tallest building built in 1910. It it was bought and set to be renovated to it’s original exterior in 2009 with a 80 million dollar investment. Because of this investment we won a Preservation Houston award that we were very honored to have gotten. The building has original steel columns through out the entire building and guest rooms. The Carter Room which is my favorite event space in the hotel looks exactly like it did 100 years ago. A 13 ft marble fire place, original chandeliers, 3 stainless glass windows and gold leaf detailing through out the ceiling.
How many employees? 300
How would you describe the office/work environment? The working environment at the JW Marriott Houston downtown is an open concept promoting a very fun and friendly like family atmosphere. Celebrating holidays together, the ups and the downs and sharing duties of our Pet Director, Griffin. He is a mix pug rescue we adopted when we had a fashion show benefit in our hotel, we fell in love with him and just had to make a place for him at the JW. We are pet friendly hotel and thought this would be a great way to promote that we love and accept animals and also to build community within different departments through out the hotel.
What makes the JW Marriott Houston Downtown such a great place to work? The work environment, the community, the embrace of existentialism, having Griffin to play with! Being the first to have a uniform program that was designed by a local designer, the first to have the new SPA by JW concept, and the first to have a beautifully curated art collection.
This post originally appeared on rent.com (be sure to check out the rest of their Houston section). Thanks to rent.com for partnering on this post!