At Red Door, we stand strongly behind our core values. While we “SHARE” every day to improve our work within the office, we also recognize that the value of sharing goes beyond our office doors. Our Philanthropy Committee, aptly named “Caring Hearts,” embodies this very notion.  And as we begin a new year, we’d like to share with you as we reflect on the events and activities that our Caring Hearts hosted in 2011.

Serving Seniors

Beginning in April, Caring Hearts volunteered serving lunch each month at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in downtown San Diego. Welcomed by applause and thanked with big smiles and kind words, the “Red Door girls”—as the seniors started calling them—stood out and made a difference in their red t-shirts! Learn more.

MS Walk

On April 30^th, Caring Hearts gathered a team to volunteer at the registration table at the MS Walk in NTC Park in San Diego. Our second year at the event, we were excited to be part of the community and cheer on the other participants. Learn more.

Wreaths Across America

On December 10^th, Red Door volunteered for its second year at this event.  Volunteers helped lay over 2,700 Christmas wreaths on the headstones of fallen soldiers at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, helping spread the message about the importance of remembering and honoring the sacrifices made by soldiers and their families. Learn more. 

Adopt-a-Family

Throughout December, Caring Hearts lead a program that swept through the office: adopting a family to sponsor over the holidays. After receiving our family’s wish list from the Salvation Army Kroc Center, we did our most rewarding Christmas shopping of the season. From dream gifts like iPods to household goods and clothing, the gifts made for a very merry Christmas, indeed. Learn more.

We look forward to more sharing and caring  in 2012.

To celebrate Red Door’s 10^th anniversary this year (double digits!), we would like to share our personality, core values, and overall excitement through a series of “top 10” blog posts on the 10^th each month. To kick things off, we want to focus on one of our most popular core values that really sets the bar for the kind of people we hire and the way our teams interact with each other and communicate with clients – 100% Jerk Free.   

When deadlines are tight, workloads are full, and beer:30 is far away, here are 10 ways to still show R-E-S-P-E-C-T and remain jerk free.  

1. Don’t Be Too Busy to Lend a Hand

• Even if it means getting your hands dirty…

 2. Give Thanks Where It’s Due

• Notes, shout-outs, smiles—a small phrase goes a long way.

Nothing says, “We’re thankful for you” like a public announcement and even a sweet prize. That’s why we believe in our “Mad Props” peer recognition program. Check out a post about one of our winners here. 

3. Think Before You Post

• Be respectful, not regretful.

We all know what happened when disgruntled Domino’s employees posted a video prank on YouTube.  

4. Get Outside the Cubicle

•  Let the walls down. Take a break.

Eating Lunch Outside the Cubicle, RDI Office, Downtown San Diego

5. Let your Personality Shine

• Be the human you are.

Director of Social Media Crosby Noricks isn’t afraid to let her personality shine. Whether she’s wearing a princess tiara, sharing her expertise, or sitting pretty at her very decorated desk, Crosby reminds us that it’s cool to be yourself (and not just your job title).  

The Fabulous Desk of Crosby Noricks, Director of Social Media

 6. Do Your Part

• Don’t let your food rot in the fridge.

Sounds gross—that’s because it is. Sharing a fridge with 50 people can get pretty crazy. But with kitchen duty and weekly fridge clear-outs, we can count on each other to be accountable for keeping the kitchen clean and the fridge fresh. Or whatever the duties may be in your office.  

Kitchen Duty Notice, Downtown San Diego Office

7. Enjoy the View

• Tear your eyes away from the screen… and breathe!

View from RDI Office, Petco Park, Downtown San Diego

8. Pay it Forward

• Imagine a world of shared progress.

Associate Creative Director Patrick Cinco reached out to a new Red Door employee and aspiring copywriter by lending his favorite book on ad concept and copy. His explanation? “I’m just stoked on what people did for me in the past and want to pay it forward.”    

9. Have a Caring Heart

• Serve seniors. Walk for a cause. Give.

RDI Caring Hearts, Serving Seniors @ Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center

10. Be Present

• Listen and pay attention. You might surprise yourself.

The Morale and Culture Committee is pleased to announce Azenith Salenga as the most nominated employee of the quarter for Mad Props.

Azenith Salenga, or as we like to call her “Zee”, is Red Door Interactive’s Junior Designer. Her day-to-day tasks include designing emails, banners, and subpages for clients like Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes, Cricket, California Avocados, and PETCO. She is the go-to person for any immediate creative requests and she always gets the job done well. Zee is quick, efficient, and has outstanding attention to detail.

Zee represents our Core Values by exceeding expectations. When the creative team gets busy, Zee helps relieve the pressure and stress with her positive attitude and willingness to take on extra work. She is always offering her help, even if that means staying an hour late. In addition, Zee continually pleases clients, such as New Leaders for New Schools, with her design work and we all see her growing immensely in the process.

What is Mad Props?

Mad Props is a peer recognition program at Red Door where employees can nominate a fellow co-worker who represents one or more of Red Door’s Core Values. The employee with the most nominations each quarter is awarded an extra paid day off for his or her hard work.

Find out more about Mad Props.

The Morale and Culture Committee is pleased to announce Truman Esmond as the most nominated employee of the quarter for Mad Props.

Truman Esmond is Red Door Interactive’s Quality Architect on the Project Management team. In his role of Quality Architect, Truman is committed to the integrity of the development and testing process to ensure quality client deliverables. He is always 100% dedicated to the projects he is working on and over the past few months he has really gone above and beyond, so much so, that he received the most Mad Props last quarter! 

What did Truman do to earn each Map Prop? The question should be: what did he not do? Truman spent many late nights in the Denver office working to perfect wireframes for a client (we still think he may have slept there a few times:)). Have a technical question? Truman is the troubleshooter in the Denver office, and is recognized for not only resolving technical issues quickly, but also answering questions and patiently teaching us anything technical. Truman has also been applauded for his work on improving our RDI project process. It is clear that he cares deeply about our success and it shows in the detailed process improvements and the way he conveys the changes in each and every training session he leads.

Winning the most Mad Prop nominations shows how much Truman’s unceasing dedication is appreciated. No matter how many projects, emails, or meetings Truman has you can always count on him, and his sense of humor, to be there if you need a helping hand or a good laugh. We often wonder if there is such thing as a bad day in the land of Truman…

Truman represents our Core Values by exceeding expectations, inspiring and encouraging his fellow co-workers, and remaining 100% Jerk free, 100% of the time!

What is Mad Props?

Mad Props is a peer recognition program at Red Door where employees can nominate a fellow co-worker who represents one or more of Red Door’s Core Values. The employee with the most nominations each quarter is awarded an extra paid day off for his or her hard work.

Find out more about Mad Props.

After hours of debate and countless emails, local surf breaks will be the inspiration behind naming our Carlsbad office conference rooms. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and comments, they were all great suggestions making the ultimate decision tuff.

What do local surf breaks and Red Door Interactive have in common? Besides the fact that they are both places where RDI peeps can be found hanging out, they also share other commonalities. Red Door’s Core values, which are inspire, share, evolve, exceed and remain 100% jerk free are often found on the shores of our local beaches. How many times have you seen someone sharing their knowledge and teaching someone to surf, or more personally have you seen someone hanging ten and been inspired to learn yourself? Ultimately local surf breaks such as Swami’s, Windansea, Pipes and Blacks offer the community a place to gather and be motivated by their surroundings. Naming our conference rooms after such places is fitting because RDI prides itself on providing employees with an environment to be inspired and share ideas. So what will our calendars say when we book a meeting in our large conference room? Windansea, Pipes or Blacks? Help us decide!

Leave a comment with your choice, or vote using the surveys on Facebook or Twitter.

Which local surf break should the main conference room be named after?

1. Windansea
2. Pipes
3. Blacks

The Morale and Culture Committee is pleased to announce Ron Hadler as the most nominated employee of the quarter for Mad Props.

Ron Hadler is Red Door Interactive’s Technology Supervisor. His role at Red Door includes managing a team of Web Developers and ensuring technical development runs smoothly. During the last few months, Ron has proved to be a huge asset to the Garden Fresh project team. He successfully launched the new Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes Website including a new and improved gift card shopping cart. Ron devoted many late nights and weekends to guarantee the launch would be seamless. Ron’s teammates have recognized his dedication to this project and continuously praise him for a job well done.

Ron represents our Core Values by remaining 100% jerk free and inspiring others on his team. He’s been referred to as a rockstar, and if you see the new Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes Website, I am sure you will agree.

What is Mad Props?

Mad Props is a peer recognition program at Red Door where employees can nominate a fellow co-worker who represents one or more of Red Door’s Core Values. The employee with the most nominations each quarter is awarded an extra paid day off for his or her hard work.

Find out more about Mad Props.

The Morale and Culture Committee is pleased to announce Lindsay Estrada as the most nominated employee of the quarter for Mad Props.

Lindsay is a Senior Project Manager at Red Door Interactive. During the last few months, she has received well-deserved props for leading the Cricket Communications Website redesign project team. Lindsay brought the team of strategists, creatives, and developers together with daily collaborative meetings to keep the team on track. And by introducing agile development methodology to the process, it lead to increased flexibility and communication throughout the entire project.

Lindsay represents Red Door’s Core Values by showing passion and pride in the work of the team. She’s very encouraging and supportive which keeps the team focused with the end goal in mind. Lindsay’s passion shows in the new Cricket Website, which launched in November—just in time for holiday shopping.

What is Mad Props?

Mad Props is a peer recognition program at Red Door where employees can nominate a fellow co-worker who represents one or more of Red Door’s Core Values. The employee with the most nominations each quarter is awarded an extra paid day off for his or her hard work.

Find out more about Mad Props

The Morale and Culture Committee is pleased to announce Lindsay Estrada as the most nominated employee of the quarter for Mad Props.

Lindsay is a Senior Project Manager at Red Door Interactive. During the last few months, she has received well-deserved props for leading the Cricket Communications Website redesign project team. Lindsay brought the team of strategists, creatives, and developers together with daily collaborative meetings to keep the team on track. And by introducing agile development methodology to the process, it lead to increased flexibility and communication throughout the entire project.

Lindsay represents Red Door’s Core Values by showing passion and pride in the work of the team. She’s very encouraging and supportive which keeps the team focused with the end goal in mind. Lindsay’s passion shows in the new Cricket Website, which launched in November—just in time for holiday shopping.

What is Mad Props?

Mad Props is a peer recognition program at Red Door where employees can nominate a fellow co-worker who represents one or more of Red Door’s Core Values. The employee with the most nominations each quarter is awarded an extra paid day off for his or her hard work.

Find out more about Mad Props

Being recognized as one of the best places to work in San Diego has a lot to do with the amazing people who work here. We are extremely passionate about our work and embrace a number of “Core Values.” To recognize dedicated individuals who go above and beyond we developed a program called “Mad Props.”

“Mad Props” was created and implemented by Red Door’s “Morale and Culture Committee” back in 2006. It lives on the home page of our intranet and gives employees the opportunity to nominate their peers whom they feel embody the company’s core values. A nomination lives on the home page for 2 weeks and includes his or her picture, description of what was done to receive the nomination, and how it relates to our core values.

In addition to individual nominations, the employee who has accumulated the most nods each quarter gets an extra day of PTO (Paid Time Off) to use whenever they like! We announce the winner at the end of the quarter in a public fashion by ringing our celebratory bell (definitely gets people’s attention) in the office and congratulating that individual.

With that being said…..we would like to congratulate Kim Weinstein for being the most nominated employee of the quarter!!!

Kim is Red Door’s Online Acquisition Coordinator and has been with the company since last November. Some of Kim’s “Mad Props” include preparing last minute presentations, demonstrating expertise in PPC campaigns, and providing excellent customer service. She consistently demonstrates many of the Red Door core values such as “Goal-oriented Multi-disciplinary Collaboration” and “Treating customers like they’re at The Ritz.”

We look forward to sharing more of these announcements to showcase the hard work and dedication behind the team at Red Door Interactive.

Original Article: Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit

I came across this interview with the CEO of Zappos.com I felt inclined to share.

Yes, the title of the post is what drew me to the subject, but it’s actually not the most interesting part. Later in the interview the CEO shares a prime example of treating customers like they are at “The Ritz” and how it spread into a social media success story. His story is about a woman who ordered shoes for her terminally ill mother and needed to return some, but considering the situation was unable to bring the shoes to UPS. After Zappos got wind of this woman’s circumstances they not only sent the UPS truck to her to fetch the shoes, but sent her flowers for her mother the next day. Apparently, this women wrote a blog about how thrilled she was and the blog went viral. Zappos motivation for this kind gesture was not to gain media coverage or a great review, they were simply demonstrating actions based on their core values. Simple stories like this are a reminder that business is about people caring about people. This is what creates successful business relationships and meaning in the work place.

~Jessica Love