Summary
Discover how Reverb earned the 2025 Excellence in Wellbeing Award by operationalizing employee wellbeing programs that support physical, mental, and emotional health. Learn our strategies for a human-centric workplace.
Wellbeing at Reverb – More Than Just a Program
At Reverb, we believe that a truly successful business is one where people don’t just work, they thrive. This core philosophy is why we are incredibly proud to receive the 2025 Excellence in Wellbeing Award from the Puget Sound Business Journal. Our commitment to employee wellbeing isn’t merely a set of employee wellbeing programs and initiatives; it’s deeply embedded in our operations, our values, and how we interact with both our team and our clients.
This award recognizes our formal and informal programs that intentionally support the physical, mental, and emotional health of every Reverb team member. We don’t just talk about wellbeing; we operationalize it, ensuring our workplace is healthy, inclusive, and empowering for all.
Our Formal Employee Wellbeing Programs
Reverb’s approach to employee wellbeing is built on a foundation of clear values, integration of B Corp goals, and inclusive policies. Our formal programs are designed to be both intentional and adaptable to individual needs.
Personal Development Beyond Career Paths
We understand that personal growth extends beyond traditional career development. As a Certified B Corporation, one of our goals is to provide non-career-specific life skills training. We offer resources, send quarterly reminders, and compensate team members for one hour of this development annually, in addition to six hours of paid professional skills development. We believe that life skills like parenting tips and financial literacy significantly improve quality of life and reduce stress, directly contributing to overall wellbeing.
Flexible Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSA)
Recognizing that wellness looks different for everyone, we invest in a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) for all employees. This flexible and inclusive benefit covers a wide range of health-related investments, allowing each team member to customize spending to meet their unique needs.
Weekly Wellness Initiatives
Our commitment to wellbeing is consistent. Our Head of People & Culture sends weekly “Wellness Wednesdays” messages, providing accessible, zero-cost tools, resources, and activities to improve daily wellbeing. Recent topics have included financial habits for wealth building, quick mood-boosting tips for stress, and leveraging morning routines for increased energy.
Consistent Support for Holistic Health
Beyond our structured programs, Reverb prioritizes frequent and responsive support for our team’s wellbeing.
Recurring Wellness Support
- Wellness Wednesday Tips: Our People and Culture Manager consistently provides weekly wellness tips.
- Monthly LSA Budget: Employees receive a monthly budget through their LSA for any wellness-related needs.
Ad Hoc Support for Life’s Challenges
We understand that life presents unexpected challenges. Reverb provides access to grief specialists, medical experts, and counselors for significant life events such as medical issues or the death or diagnosis of a loved one, recognizing the extreme stress and logistical difficulties these situations create. Furthermore, we offer responsive support during moments of crisis or collective trauma. For example, following major global events, we create dedicated time and space for processing, including optional listening circles led by external facilitators.
Aligning Wellbeing with Leadership and Business Goals
At Reverb, employee wellbeing isn’t just a perk; it’s fundamental to our mission and intertwined with our business success. Our leadership actively champions this through intentional staffing, cross-training, and vocal participation in all wellness programs. Our public mission to help growing companies create healthy, inclusive cultures extends these same programs and priorities into the work we do with our clients.
Intentional Staffing to Prevent Burnout
We believe in staffing roles adequately to ensure our team members can maintain an average 40-hour work week. We foster a culture where asking for help during peak workloads or personal needs is seen as a strength, not a weakness, encouraging mutual support within the team.
Comprehensive Cross-Training
To allow for seamless coverage and prevent burnout, our team members are cross-trained. This ensures that if someone is on vacation or falls ill, others can step in, enabling them to truly unplug. For instance, our Account Managers and Practice Leads are trained across all services, making workload adjustments easy without compromising revenue or service quality.
Flexible Time Off Policies
Our time off policies are designed for maximum flexibility. We offer Flexible PTO, allowing staff to take breaks when and how they need them. Our consultants can adjust their hours — working full-time, part-time, or even taking extended breaks, such as a summer off to spend time with family or reducing hours while sending children to college. This adaptability is entirely at their discretion.
Generous Rest Periods
We support humane time off policies, observing 13 holidays per year. Additionally, we’ve designated two annual “Weeks of Rest” where all staff are encouraged to fully unplug.
Flex Fridays and Summer Fridays
Beyond meeting-free Fridays, we observe “Summer Fridays” (between Memorial Day and Labor Day) and “Flex Fridays” throughout the rest of the year. During Summer Fridays, staff are encouraged to take the day off, with a rotating on-call system to handle urgent client needs. This rotation includes co-owners and senior staff, demonstrating leadership’s commitment to rest. On Flex Fridays, the goal is to catch up on work and leave early to start the weekend.
Leadership Role Modeling
Our leaders don’t just create policies; they live them. Both co-owners and senior team members actively take advantage of our time off policies and openly communicate when they do. They also remind and encourage team members to utilize their time off, check in on those experiencing stress, and periodically prompt self-care. Leaders role-model vulnerability by sharing personal challenges, creating a safe space for others to discuss similar issues and prioritize self-care.
Measuring the Impact of Wellbeing Initiatives
We regularly track the impact of our wellbeing initiatives through engagement surveys, demonstrating tangible results in workplace flexibility and collaboration. Our most recent survey results show:
- 97% of employees describe Reverb leadership as supportive.
- 90% feel Reverb fosters a collaborative atmosphere.
- 87% feel Reverb provides a family-friendly workplace with flexible working days and hours.
Following each annual engagement survey, Reverb leadership develops an action plan to address feedback and continuously improve.
Employee Feedback Speaks Volumes
Our team members’ verbatim comments highlight the impact of our efforts:
- “I enjoy that Reverb honors diversity and inclusion, that it values kindness as a core principle, that there is a culture of positivity and a willingness to be helpful/supportive, and that I do not find it to be an overly structured culture that results in micromanagement.”
- “100% virtual – this has been a game-changer for balancing my personal and professional life and family. Thank you!”
- “I love that this is a values-driven, woman-owned business. Our values are truly felt through the internal team and colleagues. It makes me proud to represent this firm.”
Impressive Retention Rates
Our retention rate in 2025 is an impressive 94%, which includes our 1099 contract team members. Our attrition rate stands at 7.6%, significantly lower than the consulting industry average turnover rate of 15% to 20% per year.
Reverb’s Commitment: Wellbeing as Our Way of Working
At Reverb, wellbeing is not an add-on; it’s integral to our identity and operations. We’ve cultivated a culture where care is paramount, exemplified by everything from co-owners participating in on-call rotations to providing access to trained social workers for life transitions, and offering development stipends for non-career-related skills. Our policies are designed to be flexible, our people are genuinely seen and supported, and our leadership consistently models the work-life balance we champion. We are proud to be recognized for our unwavering commitment to creating a future where employee wellbeing and business success are inextricably linked.
