Werkin For Positive Impact

Though it might sound counterintuitive, the character of a company can often tell you as much about the quality of their work as the work itself. If a company has strong values and goes the extra mile to actually live up to them, that can be a pretty good indication they’ll go the extra mile for their clients, too. At Westwerk, we’re always striving to challenge ourselves as individuals and evolve the character of our company as a whole. Which is why giving back to the communities that give to us is such an important part of what we do. From volunteering our time with charitable organizations to offering our insight to aspiring developers and designers, we’re committed to having a positive impact on the world outside our office walls.

Here are a few of the ways we’re working toward that goal:

Paid VTO

Pretty much every company provides its employees with PTO, but a surprisingly small percentage offer VTO (Volunteer Time Off)–and even less actually pay for it. Encouraging your employees to volunteer doesn’t mean quite as much if you make them do it on their own time with their own dime. At Westwerk, all employees are given the flexibility to volunteer with a non-profit of their choice without having to use up their personal PTO. Senior Developer Travis Hoglund has used the opportunity to volunteer at his college alma mater, delivering invaluable talks to students who are interested in pursuing careers in development. Additionally, Assistant Creative Director Jackie Menth uses her VTO to serve as a creative one-on-one mentor to a child in the Art Buddies program.

Studio Tours

Every year, Westwerk welcomes a group of AIGA design students into our office so they can see what it’s like to work in an agency with their own eyes. Last week, the Westwerk design team took students on a tour of our space, gave them an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at two of our brewery rebranding projects, and offered personal and professional advice about how to get your foot in the agency design door. It’s one of our favorite ways to help nurture and inspire the next generation of creatives, and we couldn’t be happier to carry on the tradition.

WordPress Community Involvement

As a key player within the WordPress community, we regularly meet with other industry veterans and founders, and attend, sponsor and speak at national WordPress events. We’ve hosted and sponsored monthly WordPress meetups at our Minneapolis office for aspiring developers and freelancers alike, where attendees have the opportunity to meet and mingle with industry veterans, share new ideas and swap business advice. We also annually support and sponsor WordCamp Minneapolis, a weekend-long conference focused on continuing education, networking and sharing. The stronger the WordPress community is as a whole, the stronger the work we can do for our clients and for each other.

Think there’s something else we should be doing? Let us know! We’re always looking for new ways to give back.