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Welcome to The Boxcutter – the new monthly newsletter from People & Culture. In each monthly edition our goal is to encapsulate important updates and reminders while providing fresh ways to connect and keep everyone up to speed on the latest and greatest at Gear Patrol.
From the left, Eric Yang, Danielle Alavian, Brandon Frank, Geneva Auduong
A Note From Danielle:
West Coast, best coast? I don't know about that, but I do know that it was excellent meeting teammates in person towards the end of last month. I know that I am very lucky to have an in-person meeting, but you can have this fun online too! It can be tricky finding a balance between encouraging new connections and letting them happen naturally. The line between structure and spontaneity is a practice to nurture, but when you give just a certain amount of guardrails, people are then allowed to actually be incredibly spontaneous because they feel safe. To keep the momentum going, I encourage exploratory conversations to happen all the time, but especially this month. Get together and gather. It will feel great and will rejuvenate your soul and sense of belonging. Likewise, please reach out to me if you would like to spearhead a meeting in person with your colleagues.I will be in NYC working from the Neuehouse location tomorrow, 10/4. If you can, join me! For next month, I want to learn your recipes for Thanksgiving! Please contribute as I will be in the kitchen, and need all the inspiration I can get!
From the left, Danielle Alavian, Will Porter, Emma Cranston
From the left, Eric Yang, John Peabody, Emma Cranston
NoteworthyAnnouncements, happenings, tidbits and other notables
Training at Gear Patrol:
Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Training is to be completed through Justworks
Due on October 9, 2022 (this date is automated based on your time of hire, for 2022 hires this has been completed during onboarding).
Employee Profile/GP Success Stories:
Sherry Wang's 4-year work anniversary is October 17, 2022
Sean Tirman 1-year work anniversary is October 18, 2022
Mitch Kwitek's 1-year work anniversary is October 19, 2022
Jack Seemer completed the BMW Berlin Marathon, and crushed it!
Let's give them a big round of applause - thank you!
Our Next Town Hall is October 19, 2022 at 1:30 pm EST
We are working to incorporate your feedback into the Town Halls starting with more accurate calendar time slot bookings and calendar holds for the remaining Town Halls in 2022
We'll see you on Google Meets next month to review Q3 and discuss what's ahead in Q4
How Do You Spend Your Friday Off?: The Grace Cooper Edition
Thanks to our Friday off, Grace Cooper got to spend the weekend in Kansas City with her sister and a friend celebrating her birthday! They had a great dinner with live music, went to see an opera (they’re both opera singers), and grabbed some drinks and late-night fast food afterward.
Coming Up:
Employee Engagement Survey closes on October 7, 2022 at 8pm EST.
October paydays will be the 14th and 31st.
Open Enrollment has ended.
New coverage takes effect—Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Deductible resets—January 1, 2023
Please contact Justworks or Health Advocate if you have any questions about plans.
Pro TipMake your calendar work for you
Optimize your calendar with Clockwise Clockwise automatically moves your meetings in order to:
Free up blocks of uninterrupted time so you can focus on what matters
Reschedule conflicting meetings so you don't have to
Reflect your preferences to make your day flow the way you work best
Any Pro Tip requests? P&C is on it. Ping Danielle.
Fast FiveFive questions with...
Where do you live now and where are you originally from?I currently live in Austin, TX but grew up in Floyd, VA - a small, one stoplight town that happens to have one of the best coffee roasters in America. Fun fact - the McCutchan’s were basically my second family growing up.What's your favorite thing to do on Saturday morning?Grab a London Fog and breakfast taco from my local coffee shop then go for a walk by the water.Is there something you've been obsessed with lately?I was gifted a sketchbook project book so I guess my current obsession is completing that before the deadline. I’ve been enjoying my Fridays off by exploring and sketching at places that are busy on the weekends.
How do you stay motivated or how do you stay energized for work?I love that I get to learn about or discover something new by reading through posts and adding the visual storytelling element to them each day. What's your Myers-Briggs personality? INFPNow, show us where you work (or are working from this month):
Behind the Scenes:
Paul Naughton and Baby Art Director, Maxine Tornatzky, having fun on set for the Magazine Photoshoot
The Takeaway
The Boxcutter's purpose is to close the communication gap as well as motivate, inspire and connect employees in addition to keeping everyone up to date with what’s going on in the organization. One question (found in the link below) will be asked at the end of each newsletter to close it out.
Thank you all so much!
Danielle