Huluween, Photo Walls & Building FOMO for the Office

Podcast Transcript

‍_{Brookes Braughton}

The other thing is is that because we have a fairly generous discount at Alo, everybody is wearing Alo clothes. So you're wearing... People are wearing yoga pants. You know, they're... They come into work very comfortable. So even on that level, it's really in the employee experience. It's it's... It is not weird to go into a meeting and see people in, like, yoga pants and, you know, a sports bra or whatever, and they're like, oh, I just took a yoga class. And that's, like, very common. So, you know, we encourage people to just, like, be very comfortable. And I think even that is unique to Alo in a lot of ways.

_{Adam Landsman}

Alright. Well, that brings me to my second question, which is, are you hiring? No. I'm just kidding.

_{Adam Landsman}

Hi, everybody. Welcome to the next episode of What's Working. I'm Adam Landsman, senior vice president of growth at Sharebite. And as a reminder, this is a conversation with people behind the workplace experience. The ones thinking about how environments, moments, and systems come together to shape how people work. Today, I'm joined by Brookes Braughton who spent a decade in workplace experience at Hulu and Disney before moving to her current role at Alo, bringing entertainment background to brands centered on wellness and community. Brookes, thanks for joining us.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Hi, Adam. Thank you for having me here.

_{Adam Landsman}

My pleasure. Let's get into it.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Let's get into it.

_{Adam Landsman}

Alo, super cool company. Obviously big brand. They built a brand obviously around wellness and community. How does that shape what the employees expect from their workplace? And how do you have a role in designing it?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Sure. It is definitely a health and wellness brand. That is something that they emphasize consistently externally and internally. It is something that... I don't wanna say it's new for me, but the the scope of... And the inclusivity of the focus on wellness and health is fairly new for me. So it's it's been a really exciting part of working for Alo, to be honest. One of the big things... Like, one of the projects I'm working on right now, for example, is I, am building a gym at our new location. So we just moved into a new office. So we have now two offices in Beverly Hills. So I think the original office in Beverly Hills is the one that kind of everybody knows. They see the gym on influencers' Instagram accounts. So we moved... Like I said, we moved into a new building, and one of my tasks is building a new... A gym for employees. And it... We're trying to kinda mirror the the gym we have for influencers here. And, I mean, it is... We are building reformer... We're building a room for reformers. We have yoga. We have... We're gonna have a gym manager. I mean, it's gonna be all inclusive, a personal trainer, almost as if I am actually running a gym. And so that's, you know, that's one of the ways. And all of that is free to employees if you work at Alo. They encourage you to take yoga classes. Even right now, while the gym is being built, we have a yoga studio, and we have yoga classes all day during the day. We have sound baths. We have classes after work. So that's a big part of the employee experience. We also have a lunch program, which is focused on extremely healthy food, very, like, natural ingredients, salads, smoothies, that kinds of things. So we're we're providing that for employees. And just even some of the spaces that we have for employees, we're very focused on, like, a lot of soft seating so you're not sitting at your desk consistently, or you don't have to sit at your desk consistently if you don't want to. There's a lot of soft seating. There's a lot of lights. There's a lot of plants around. I mean, it is almost a jungle at Alo. We kind of joke around, but, you know, there's so much research about how plants affect... You know, positively affect people at work or just at home or in general. And so that's something that we really focus on. So I would say just in so many ways, it's really, like, woven into the employee experience. The other thing is is that because we have a fairly generous discount at Alo, everybody is wearing Alo clothes. So you're wearing... People are wearing yoga pants. You know, they're... They come into work very comfortable. So even on that level, it's really in the employee experience. It's it's... It is not weird to go into a meeting and see people in, like, yoga pants and, you know, a sports bra or whatever. And they're like, oh, I just took a yoga class, and that's, like, very common. So, you know, we encourage people to just like be very comfortable. And I think even that is unique to Alo in a lot of ways.

_{Adam Landsman}

Alright. Well, that brings me to my second question, which is, are you hiring? No. I'm just kidding. But that sounds awesome.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yes. Actually, I am. You know, we should talk about at the end. I'm sure there's a lot of people who are listening to this that say, that was awesome. How do I get a job there? Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

Wow. Very cool. Not not like a lot of the offices I have worked at in my career, but very cool, certainly on brand.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

Switching brands for a second. So Hulu. Prior to Alo Hulu. Hulu and Disney for a long time, almost ten years. What did working in the entertainment industry teach you about creating experiences that people wanna be a part of and that you may have taken with you to Alo?

_{Brookes Braughton}

So I originally started at Hulu. And I think as many people know, Disney acquired Hulu around... It was with the Fox acquisition. So it was around 2020, twenty twenty one ish that we kind of really felt the effects of Disney coming into Hulu. Prior to that, I think Hulu was such a unique experience because we didn't really consider ourselves an entertainment company. We considered ourselves a tech comp... I keep on saying we. Hulu considered ourselves a tech company. And so, you know, it was it was focused a lot on tech and not... It didn't... Like I said, it didn't really feel like an entertainment company, to be honest. But experiences. I mean, Hulu was so about experiences that were very unique to Hulu. One of the big examples is internally, we had this event called Huloween, which actually, if I was still working for Hulu, that's what I would be nose deep in right now planning Huloween. So Huloween is obviously Hulu's version of Halloween. It was what was... Hulu considered their national holiday, and everybody got into it. Every department picked a theme. You dressed up. And I and I don't don't... I don't mean just, like, a little costume. I mean, everybody got super into it. Everybody decorated their areas. You didn't even know that you were walking into work that day because that's how decorated the office was, the areas were. And it was such a cultural moment and icon in Hulu's history, and I guarantee anybody that has ever worked for Hulu will talk about Huloween if you give them five minutes. I mean, it was truly the experience there. I, you know, luckily was part of the planning committee or or the head of the planning committee, really, for Huloween and just loved creating this experience for employees. And one of the really cool things about that, because like I said, it was such a cultural, like, thing within Hulu... For Hulu and for Hooligans, is that they took it and it became an external campaign. And so now, you know, if you have Hulu, you will see that it's, you know, Huloween time. So you... When you go onto Hulu, it says, like, Huloween, and it's got all the kinda, like, Halloween movies and stuff like that. And it's... They really took it and became an external campaign. And I just thought that was such a cool thing where they took this thing, like I said, that was such a cultural moment for Hulu and something that, you know, was so unique to our culture and that everybody just, like, loved so much and took it externally. And I just... I don't know. I just thought, like, again, I just think it's the coolest thing ever, and we were able to bring that into Disney even when we were working for Disney. And one of the things that I was able to do was to bring that not just for the Hulu part of Disney, but within the Disney streaming. So Disney plus and, you know, all of the other entities within the streaming the streaming umbrella, and really, like, get people to kind of participate and understand what a great experience it was. And so that's something that kind of is always a highlight just in general in my career that I'm super proud of. Let's see. I'm trying to think... I mean, I mean, you know, for Disney, there there's probably a 100 examples that I can think of because there were just so many things we did all the time. One of the things actually, funny enough, that comes to my mind that was just such a hit was Secret Lives and Mormon Wives, which was on Hulu, but, you know, when Hulu was under Disney. And something little that we would do is we had... I don't know if you're probably not super familiar, I'm guessing, with the show. I'm not, but but my entire team is. They talk about it weekly. Oh, really? Yes. I need to be on your team because I am obsessed. But, you know, we would do screenings. So one of the things just in general is we would do screenings for the majority of our Hulu originals and then for, like, larger Disney releases. So Secret Lives and Mormon Wives, we would do a screening and then have a dirty soda bar, and that was such a hit for everybody. They got so into it. So even creating kind of literal... Little moments like that, which are, you know, unique to the series. But, I mean, for Disney, we would have any character come all the time. So whatever large movie release there was, there would... You know, we would have the characters come and people could take pictures and interact with them, and everybody loved that. Even for... I'm trying to think. Even if we didn't have the characters come, we would do some kind of drop. So whether it be, like, stickers was a big one. Everybody loved, you know, putting stickers on their computers. Or I'm trying to think... Sometimes, like, for any of the sporting events, it was like a hat or, you know, something sporty. But there was always a way to sell... It was like a way to celebrate internally and to kind of bring what was happening happening externally into... For the employees and to really create that experience for employees so they can kind of, you know, feel a part of the company and the celebration and all of that. And I think moments like that are so important because it reminds you of the why. You know? Why are we doing this? Why are we here? Why do I come to work every day? Because a lot of times when you're coming to work, you don't necessarily think of the larger picture because you're so focused on your part of the job or your part of your work. And so I think, yeah, having those kind of moments really reminds you of what you're doing, you know, the larger the larger why of what you're doing on your day to day basis.

_{Adam Landsman}

Yeah. That... That's great. You... I mean, you... I think it's, lucky and and exciting when you're part of a merger and acquisition situation. Right? From the workplace experience, sometimes people think, oh my god. I I have all these new offices and the blending of cultures and what does that mean? And and one of the questions I always think about that I that I was gonna ask you, although you... You've really already answered it, you know, how do you keep one... Something that's great with one brand, you know, that that is maybe unique. How do you keep that when it merges with another one? I I think your example about, you know, Huloween and and the Hooligans, I would imagine, you know, some of those sort of continued even though they were owned by by Disney. Is that is that correct?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Absolutely. Yes. Definitely. That, like I said, that was just such a special event for Hooligans. Another thing that actually comes to my... To mind, speaking of that, which is another thing I was really proud of at my Disney time was one of the things that we have at Hulu is a photo wall. And so everybody takes a picture, and it's not just kind of a headshot. It is a picture that says who you are uniquely as a person. So I'll just give you an example of what my photo wall was. So when I started for Hulu, I was living in New York at the time, and I am from LA. And so I wanted to represent LA in some way in my photo wall picture, and I'm a big sports fan. So I had my Kobe Bryant jersey, and I had a Lakers hat, a Raiders hat, a Kings hat, and a Dodgers hat because I wanted to, you know, represent LA sports. But people kind of picked whatever hobbies they had or, you know, just whatever their interests were, and they took a picture around that. So it was really interesting to kind of see, and we put it on the walls of every office. So at the headquarters office, it had every single person's photos in the company. So it was really cool to just see people's unique personalities come together. And I thought that was such a, you know, such a great thing that we did at Hulu that I wanted to bring that into Disney. So I took it, like, all the way to the top to leadership, and I, you know, said, this is something we should really incorporate into, like, Disney streaming side, and they agreed, thankfully. And so I launched photo walls in all of the Disney streaming offices. Actually, when I left, I was launching photo walls in our LatAm and Europe offices. And that was such a cool moment for me because it was something that, like, I said I was able to take... It's about, like, Huloween. Right? I was able to take that from Hulu and launch it into Disney and make that really a moment... Or not a moment, but make that really, like, a part of the culture for Disney. I will say that it was interesting to explain to different countries about what a photo wall was and the unique experience. Not everybody kind of got it or understood it, but that was sort of the one thing when I left that I was kind of sad that I didn't get to see through because I... You know, most people were so excited about it, they love to, like, be able to share their personality with other people at work.

_{Adam Landsman}

That's awesome. Well, let's ask a harder one. What...

_{Brookes Braughton}

Sure.

_{Adam Landsman}

You know, what what didn't make it? Right? What was something that maybe was positive at Hulu that, you know, didn't happen once the Disney folks took over?

_{Brookes Braughton}

I will tell you there was a lot that didn't make it. There was a lot that kinda got chopped. We had a lot of wellness programs on the Hulu side that didn't necessarily make it to the Disney side. So one of them... One of the things we did at at Hulu was we had yoga classes and massages and a stipend... A monthly stipend for, you know, wellness. And that that was not something that Disney offered that people on the Hulu side were very used to.

_{Adam Landsman}

I understand. Now it makes sense. That's why you're at Alo. No. I'm just kidding.

_{Brookes Braughton}

None. I know. It's... I I get it because Hulu is such a small company and Disney is such a large company that it's just almost impossible to scale that. And so I totally understand that, but it was definitely something, again, that was part of the Hulu culture that was, you know... We were sad when that did not translate over into Disney.

_{Adam Landsman}

So let's let's talk a little bit about the... Your field of expertise. Right? Workplace. How do you explain workplace experience to someone who doesn't know what that means?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Sometimes when people ask me what I do for a living, I'm like operations. If I don't really wanna get into it. Gosh. It's such a good question. Usually, I try to say anything internally within the office that affects employees is my purview.

_{Adam Landsman}

That's that's good. I mean, because workplace experience, think, as a as a title or a job function didn't really exist twenty years ago. Right? There was HR, there was operations, there was facility, maybe real estate, and it was sort of a piece of all of their jobs. And I think over time, obviously, companies have realized the employees are really important. They're the ones that do the job. And so Taking care of them and making sure that they have what they need to get it done well is really important.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yes. I often say workplace is the glue that keeps everything together. And I firmly believe that because I, you know, I just see... I don't wanna say people operate in silos or independently, but a lot of departments and teams do. And when you insert workplace experience, our job is to focus on employee experience and everything that happens within the work. And so we are able to connect all of those dots and all of those missing links that happen all of the time. And that that to me is, like, truly the benefit of workplace experience. And I will say, you said twenty years ago people didn't know what it was. I will say even ten years ago people had no idea what it was. When I first started at Hulu and trying to explain to people what I did for a living, then they're like, I've never even heard of that. I don't know what that means. I remember going to conferences that were called, like, you know, some... I don't wanna say the names of the conferences because they've now rebranded, but let's say, like, future offices. Right? Because people were like, we don't even know what workplace is, and that is... Was not terminology that was broadly used. And so when you have these type of conferences, you couldn't even say workplace experience or or workplace operations because people were like, I have no idea what that means. Why would I wanna attend this conference? I think I hate I hate saying this term, like, post COVID, but, you know, post COVID RTO, people understand the value of workplace much more than they did before. So it almost feels like workplace is kind of having a moment now where people really want and need these roles. But, yeah, nobody knew what it was before. I mean, people still don't know what it is, honestly. It's more of something that tech companies or smaller startup companies really focus on because, like, older traditional offices, they... You know, I don't wanna say they don't care about the employee experience, but it's not their main focus.

_{Adam Landsman}

Well sure.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

I mean, I I totally get that obviously given the business that that, you know, I'm in. There's a lot of companies that care differently about their people than they did.

_{Brookes Braughton}

There you go.

_{Adam Landsman}

Hey, that that... That's fine. You mentioned, you know, operations, and I was gonna say, you know, there's operations, there's events, there's culture, there's space, there's people. How do you decide sometimes which is... I don't wanna say more important, but which needs your attention first or most?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Usually, I think about deadlines and what I need to get done. I would say in my current role at my current company, it's kind of there's so much happening and so much going on at any given time. It's almost like what's on fire now, and that's what I have to focus on. And I know that's probably not the best answer, but it is the truest answer, honestly. And so... Yeah. You know, really, what is immediately in... That needs my attention the most is kind of the answer to that question.

_{Adam Landsman}

So you cofounded little something called the Hulu Disney Diversity Collective.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yes.

_{Adam Landsman}

Tell us about that program. What problem are you trying to solve?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Sure.

_{Adam Landsman}

How do you get leadership to back it? All that good stuff.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Sure. This is actually probably the thing that I'm most proud of in my career at Hulu and Disney was founding this ERG. So in the Hulu days, they called them ERGs. In the Disney days, they called them BERGs, which is business employee research... Or sorry. Business employee resource groups. And so when I was in the New York office, in the Hulu New York office, we did not have any ERGs. The only ERGs at Hulu at the time, because remember, was a small startup company and this was, you know, over ten years ago, were in headquarters. And so... And headquarters was Santa Monica office at the time. And so we didn't have any employee resource groups. We didn't have any, like, any groups or any kind of extracurricular activities for employees at that time. And we would see all of the really cool things that they were doing in the Santa Monica office, and we wanted to be a part of them. But a lot of times, we couldn't because, you know, again, I hate seeing this term. In the pre COVID world, they... There wasn't as much focus on streaming things and, you know, there wasn't that much. There wasn't... I don't wanna say there wasn't the capabilities, but it just wasn't as much of a focus. Right? I think COVID forced us all to be equal in a lot of ways. We're all online. You know, Zoom really blew up then. And so that just really wasn't an option for us. Plus the time difference was really hard. Plus it's like if you're having a meeting, you know, with a bunch of people or an event, it's kind of hard to stream people in. And so we just felt like we really wanted something for ourselves at that time. And because I was in workplace experience, it felt like I had a lot of the connections to the people team that were in charge of our, like, DEI initiatives and our ERGs. And so, you know, a couple of us, probably, like, five or six of us sat down together and said, hey. This is something we really feel like we need, but the population was smaller. There's only about 200 people in that office. So we didn't feel like we could have the different dimensions. Right? So we didn't feel like we could have, like, the women's ERG and pride ERG. We felt like we just had the population for one ERG, and so that's why we founded the multicultural ERG. So, like I said, I worked with our leadership on the the people team, and they were so thrilled and excited to help launch this ERG and to be a part of it. And I will say the reception could not have been better. It was kind of truly a testament to Hulu and how much they really focused on employees and the experience. And so we founded the diversity collective. You know, the very first year that we had it, I think we tried to hit, like, every single holiday possible. Every, like, every Dimensions month, we felt like we needed to just, like, come in hard. And by the end of the year, we were exhausted. But we had made such a huge impact on the office. We had a ton more people had joined. We had then brought the ERG to several other of our regional offices. And so it really spread. It really became a big thing, and it was... Again, it's something probably I'm the most proud of, really, in all my time at Hulu and Disney. And then when we integrated into Disney, I really felt passionately about bringing the ERG into Disney because there wasn't a ton of multicultural ERGs there either. And so I did all of that work. At one point, I think we had to merge with another ERG. There was a... There is a lot of work on the back end, I will say, when it comes to creating and maintaining an ERG and being the head of one. So, you know, it's not it's not for the faint of heart. I will say there's just a lot of, yeah, a lot of work, a lot of working with leadership. But we brought it into the the Disney BERG world and merged with other diversity... Or merged with other, sorry, multicultural BERGs and kind of created one that... It was really cool because it was within... Anybody within streaming could join. So there were offices in, you know, Texas or New York or wherever and so... In San Francisco. And I think at some point, we even did an event with, like, a London office. And so it was just such a really cool way to get to know people within Disney because it's such a large company in so many different fields that you would never interact with people or never touch at all just doing your regular job. And so I always encourage people to join ERGs if for no other reason than you just meet so many cool people. But, also, you can participate in, like, fun events, and you get to make a real impact. And it's something... One of the things that kept me going when there was so much work and it kinda got hard and, you know, all of that was... I remember somebody once told me that when they first started at the company, and I think this was in the Hulu days, that they were looking for their community. And when they joined the diversity collective, they found it. And that is, again, like, such a source of pride for me. And I just... I'm so, like, happy to... That I was a part of that and could help people in that way.

_{Adam Landsman}

In in an effort to be balanced, obviously, that... There's some amazing things that you get to do in this in this workplace experience role, and then sometimes they're the they're the harder ones. Right? And a lot of times that stems from budgets. Money is is a real thing, and sometimes budgets tighten and the money is not there. How do you think about which programs to stop, to adapt, to minimize?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah. You know, you almost have to lay all of the programs out and kind of do a pros and cons list, truly. I mean, there's a lot that you really have to think about, especially if you're trying to keep programs in a time when budgets are being cut because you really, really have to justify them. So you really have to show and explain why they're important, and you have to have a lot of data behind it. It's something that has taught me in general in my... In workplace experience that collecting data is always useful. Right? Sometimes you don't think about it necessarily on your day to day, but it's something that's very important. Because when you collect that data in advance, you... When there are times that, you know, you do have to tighten the budget, you have that information to show why whatever program is actually very important. But, I mean, it's truly, you know, looking at what impacts the employees the most, I think, is what I would always wanna... What I have always focused on. And there are things you can do that impact employees a lot in a positive way that don't necessarily cost a lot of money. I will say, one for me, a program that's always probably the most important is a snack program, to be honest, because, you know, nothing keeps people around like free food or at least very subsidized food. So that's something that I usually will be the first thing that I will say, this is what we need to keep.

_{Adam Landsman}

Preaching to the choir there.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

Alright. You've said... You talked about embracing fun And and operating as one team are, you know, some of the best things that you've experienced. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Absolutely. So I will say that those were two of Hulu's values that I really took to heart, and I have continued through my Disney days and now here at Alo. I mean, I think if you can't have fun, work is something that you're gonna do for the majority of your life. Right? Your week is mostly spent at work. For better or for worse, that is, you know, where you spend your... The majority of your life. And so you can't have fun doing it. I just think... It's almost like, what's the point? And I always think about when I was younger, my parents would always talk about how much they hated going to work. They hated the office. You just had to do it. And I always felt like that is such a horrible thing, you know, that you hate doing the thing that you do the most. And so for me, I always wanna think about how can we have fun doing whatever we're doing. Even if it's something small like team meetings, you know, I... I've had team meetings before where I've, like, started... Everybody has to start with a joke. And so every week, it's someone's job to think of a funny joke or whatever. And you kinda just start the meeting, and it's something so small, but it brings a lot of levity to situations a lot of times. And it's something that I always, like I said, I always wanna think about in whatever I'm doing. I truly believe that you can do really good, really serious work and have fun at the same time, and I always wanna remind people of that. If you think... If something's funny, laugh. Why are... You know, why not? It's it's work, but it's okay to have fun at work. And I think people do a... I think people do better when they're having fun personally.

_{Adam Landsman}

So is there an example of something that might have looked too too fun, too silly on paper, but it really delivered good results?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Let me think. That's such a good question. I mean, I think a lot of events can be that way. A lot of people will look at events and say, oh, you're taking time out of your day to have fun. You know, leadership might think like, oh, you're taking your day... You're taking time out of your day to have fun when you could be working. But I do think those... You know, having the the pizza party to celebrate team wins that are fun are really, like, very impactful moments. And I don't wanna say just pizza parties because I know how people think, like, that people always talk about how pizza parties aren't what's keeping people at work these days. But just doing things to celebrate small moments, celebrating people's birthday, having fun in those ways, I think, are very impactful. And I think once you do them and see, like, it's okay to kinda take that break, you know, celebrate something and come back to work, I think people really get into it, and they really understand, like, how impactful it is.

_{Adam Landsman}

Yeah. I I I think the one caveat for me is when a company tries to force fun.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

Like it's... You know, I I think you're you're right. There's a lot of things that's worth having fun. Certainly, it's worth celebrating good milestones, team accomplishments, etcetera. But sometimes I feel like, hey, we're all gonna get together for this thing that's not really a thing. All of sudden the the team feels like, wah wah. We have to.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah.

_{Adam Landsman}

A little bit of force.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I mean, I will say, like, I think it depends on your culture, but after work things, I think that's not a thing anymore, honestly. And so when it's like the fun has to happen after work, that's when it feels forced. But when it's like a lunch break where everyone's celebrating someone's birthday, those are... That's not forced. That is, you know, real moments that people wanna get together and celebrate other people. And then that's more what it's about than the forced moments.

_{Adam Landsman}

Yeah. We we did a whole bunch of events this year, and we have a lot of data. And I can tell you which ones we won't be doing again because it just felt like you're forcing people. Obviously, it's it's it's oftentimes before work or after work because people are busy during the workday. So a lot lot of data about forcing fun. Alright. So let's talk about the office and what makes going to an office if you're if you're not a hybrid or remote company, what makes it worth the trip? Obviously, I think that has changed today versus pre COVID. So what is it that an office needs to do to attract folks to want to come into a physical office that they weren't thinking about years ago?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Absolutely. I think the first thing that comes to my mind is to make sure you're providing a seamless experience. You know, when people step into the office, they need to make sure their badge system or their entry system works. They need to make sure their office or their desk space is set up properly, that they... There's IT on-site that can help them. Like, all those things that make you and the employee have a seamless experience, that seems obvious, but it's not always the case. And I think that is almost... That's number one. That's the foundation. Making sure that when employees come into the office, it's... They're they're not worse off than when they're staying at home. So important, and it's not necessarily... I I see a lot of companies not necessarily focused on that, I will say. So I think that's number one. Number two is provide... Is... I think is... Let me say number two, I think, is focusing on collaboration. Right? A lot of people will say, I come into the office, and I sit in a room, and I have meetings on Zoom all day. Why can't I just do that at home? And I a 100% agree. No one wants to sit in an office all day on meetings that you could be at home. Why are you fighting LA traffic for that, right, Or where... Wherever you're located. And so I think we have to give people a reason, and I think collaboration is truly a reason to come into the office. Things can get done so much quicker when you're talking to somebody face to face in a a lot of times. And emphasizing that, I think, is very important. And that, I think, is one of the things or one of the reasons why workplace experience is so important because we create those spaces and we create those, you know, those events or we create the areas for that. Right? So, like, even, for example, we have a pretty robust cafe program where we offer breakfast and lunch that subsidize, and we offer coffee. And you just create these casual moments for people to interact and come together. It makes you all feel more connected to be together in person when you're helping to create these moments for people. And just, you know, making sure... I think there's... I always called it, like, the three c's, connection, collaboration, and celebration. So also, you know, we've talked a lot about, like, events and celebrations, but I think that's also so important is to being able to celebrate people, celebrating the company, celebrating moments, and making sure, you know, that they... That we have those kind of things that that bring people into the office. And I heard someone say it's about creating FOMO a lot of times. You wanna have whatever it is. Right? The cafeteria or cafe experience, the event, the celebration, the connection, the interactions with people. You wanna create those so when people are at home, they're feeling like, oh, I actually want to be in the office. And that, you know, I fully agree with that. And I think that's also why our roles as workplace experience professionals are very important. Because that's... We... That's kind of the fundamental of what we do.

_{Adam Landsman}

Totally. And and to take that and move it into the tactical, so what what kind of tools or technology programs do you use to maybe measure the effectiveness of these things or just gain feedback from employees so you know what's working and what's not?

_{Brookes Braughton}

The the biggest data that I collect from people is what I call hallway feedback is when you're just stopping and talking and listening to people, either overhearing what people are saying or actually stopping and talking to people. Because when people fill out surveys... And there's other ways to collect data. Right? But I'm just thinking about this. When people collect... When people take surveys, I feel like they, a lot of times, wanna be their their best selves, and they're not always giving the most honest response or answer. And so if you just take people aside and talk to them and listen to them, you'll find common themes. And that, to me is the best data points that anyone can have.

_{Adam Landsman}

Yeah. This was not intended, that is the perfect segue. We end with a lightning round.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Okay.

_{Adam Landsman}

So I call this food for thought. These are quick questions, you know, first thing that comes to mind whether it's a word or a phrase but shorter answers. You ready?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Ready.

_{Adam Landsman}

What's your favorite office you've ever worked in or visited?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Alo.

_{Adam Landsman}

What's your favorite Disney movie?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Aladdin.

_{Adam Landsman}

What's the most out there people initiative you've ever proposed, whether it was seen through or not?

_{Brookes Braughton}

Probably, Huloween to Disney, for sure.

_{Adam Landsman}

What's your go to office lunch?

_{Brookes Braughton}

A bag of chips.

_{Adam Landsman}

Sad. Sad. What... What's your most unusual request you've ever had to solve?

_{Brookes Braughton}

I have had so many unusual requests. I think the one that comes to my mind, this was post COVID, shortly after RTO, somebody asked for approval for an emotional support iguana.

_{Adam Landsman}

Okay.

_{Brookes Braughton}

And I had to deny that.

_{Adam Landsman}

Okay. Finish this sentence. People do their best work when...

_{Brookes Braughton}

They feel appreciated.

_{Adam Landsman}

When they're appreciated. I love it. Brookes, this is great. Thank you so much for joining us on the What's Working podcast. Hope to see you again soon.

_{Brookes Braughton}

Yes. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.