With most of our team members now fully remote, we’ve transitioned many of our much-loved programs to work in this virtual environment. Slack has also become a major tool in our remote-work culture toolkit. Yes, it’s used for quick professional communication, but we also love seeing our more than 300 employees connect throughout the day in N2’s countless non-work-related Slack channels. Some of our most popular Slack channels include #ParentSupport, #aN2mals, #welovewellness, #N2classifieds, and #garden_lovers. While we do care about workplace productivity, we also know happy employees make better workers and bring passion to what they do. This is why many of our programs are less about professional development and more about bettering the lives of our people on a personal level.
For example, we still hold our monthly all-hands meeting during which team members and company leaders share announcements and inspirational speeches, introduce our newest hires, “catch people doing things right” (aka shouting out employees who’ve gone above and beyond in living out our culture), and enjoy some trivia questions for a chance to win prizes. This consistent touchpoint of gathering the entire team together (even virtually) has enabled us to hold onto the aspect our employees love most, which is spending time with fellow N2ers.
We produce an award-winning quarterly internal publication for our team members. Each issue has one or two team member features, articles that celebrate the personal and professional accomplishments of our people (baby and wedding announcements, home purchases, dream vacations, etc.), and an opportunity to share pictures of their families and pets. It also includes company news and the latest updates from our N2GIVES partners (N2’s giving program that has donated more than $20 million to help fight human trafficking).
Part of our culture of caring includes transparency with our team about ways in which we can improve, and we have a team member advisory board in order to ensure we’re getting honest and open feedback regularly. This is an excellent chance for employees from all departments and levels of the company to make their concerns heard.
Over the years we’ve not only made an effort to bring on people who radiate our culture, but have made an effort not to bring on so-called “brilliant jerks” who, despite often having the exact skills on paper that we need, would negatively impact the work experience of other team members. This philosophy has not changed even through years of explosive growth.
The most important metric N2 leaders hold themselves accountable for is this: Every team member can say, “My life is better because of N2.” This is the goal of our company, and it is the ability to maintain (and add to) a culture of caring that allows us to reach this standard.
From day one, N2’s co-founders set out to build a company that held respect as its core belief. Over the years, they’ve made it a point to bring on team members at every level who prioritize respect. In fact, the first of our 6 Core Values at N2 is as follows: “Treat Everyone With Respect: Everyone, regardless of position or tenure, is important to our team. If you can’t show respect to everyone on our team, your time with N2 will be limited.”
This means always being open to the ideas, thoughts, and opinions of others. It means withholding judgement of others. And it means respecting the time of others by ensuring we meet our deadlines, admit mistakes when we make them, and communicate effectively. This includes regular anonymous surveys to team members about how we’re doing, as well as open and honest feedback in twice-a-year reviews with employees. The reason we put together a team member advisory board is in order to ensure we’re getting honest and open feedback regularly from all different departments and people on all different levels.
We attract team members who tend to have a few things in common:
the desire to do good in the world through their work
the determination to be better tomorrow than they are today
the tendency to treat others with respect.
The opportunity for internal advancement is strong at N2. We’ve been in business for nearly two decades, yet we stay committed to operating with a startup mentality – and this has led to rapid and continued growth. With this comes many opportunities for our people to rise to the challenge and take on new roles and responsibilities. We make it a priority to promote from within whenever possible, and this mindset attracts growth-minded candidates. We offer all the standard fare common among most great workplaces: 401(k) matching, maternity and paternity leaves, generous PTO, various affordable insurance coverage options, etc.
But there are quite a few offerings that go above and beyond the expected – and these are all provided for the sole intention of promoting the overall wellbeing of our workforce: Through the N2 First-Time Homebuyer Program, we gift team members $7K to put towards the downpayment on their first home purchase. Our Sabbatical Program not only offers but *requires* team members to take a paid, three-week sabbatical every third year of employment to combat burnout. We invest in the professional development of our team members in a few different ways: We pay for LinkedIn Learning subscriptions for every team member (and boast a user rate of 85%!), and we hold leadership development courses of our own for team members who may seek advancement. We have benefits like free nutritional counseling, wealth consulting, free lawyer for wills and family planning, and N2 also provides a paid Holiday Break that covers the last week of the year.
Like our CEO always says, N2 exists to create meaningful careers for our people to work with team members they actually like, where they can grow financially, relationally, and spiritually.
We’ve found success creating a supportive environment for our team to not only do their best work, but to genuinely enjoy the time they spend doing it.
Additionally, our team members love knowing they make a huge positive impact on the world through their work. N2 donates 2% of its revenue to fight human trafficking around the world. To date, we’ve given more than $20 million – and our team members know it’s because of their hard work and dedication that we’ve played a role in freeing thousands of vulnerable people.
We also dedicate a day every year (known as N2GIVES Day) for team members to, as we like to say, #SkipWorkDoGood. Everyone is encouraged to spend the day volunteering in their local community for a day of impact.
Over the years we’ve not only made an effort to bring on people who radiate our culture, but have made an effort not to bring on so-called “brilliant jerks” who, despite often having the exact skills on paper that we need, would negatively impact the work experience of other team members. That creates a Loved Workplace.
Read about or unique benefits, our giveback program #N2Gives, our remote work programs, our culture of caring, our core principals and you'll see why as well.
From day one, N2’s co-founders set out to build a company that held respect as its core belief. Over the years, they’ve made it a point to bring on team members at every level who prioritize respect. Like our CEO Duane Hixon always says, N2 exists to create meaningful careers for our people to work with team members they actually like, where they can grow financially, relationally, and spiritually.
Additionally, our team members love knowing they make a huge positive impact on the world through their work. N2 donates 3% of its revenue to fight human trafficking around the world. To date, we’ve given more than $20 million since 2016 – and our team members know it’s because of their hard work and dedication that we’ve played a role in freeing thousands of vulnerable people. Our co-founders Duane Hixon and Earl Seals both believe in this mission so passionately and personally that they have never wavered from supporting this worthy cause.
Each and every year, N2 adds new and even more unique perks to our benefits program. We offer all the standard fares common among most great workplaces: 401(k) matching, maternity and paternity leaves, generous PTO, various affordable insurance coverage options, etc.). But there are quite a few offerings that go above and beyond the expected – and these are all provided for the sole intention of promoting the overall wellbeing of our workforce.
Here are the top 10 noteworthy and unique benefits we offer.
–Through the N2 First-Time Homebuyer Program, we gift team members $7K to put towards the downpayment on their first home purchase.
Our Sabbatical Program not only offers but *requires* team members to take a paid, three-week sabbatical every third year of employment to combat burnout.
–N2 partners with a pediatrician’s office near our corporate headquarters to cover the monthly fee for the pediatric needs of all children of local N2 employees (including home visits).
–N2 covers the majority cost of local physical therapy so the life-changing practice of PT can be accessible to employees for the extremely low co-pay of $5.
–We pay for LinkedIn Learning subscriptions for every team member, and boast a user rate of 85%!
–N2 provides free nutritional counseling and health coaching with a licensed nutritionist, including free annual biometric screenings and fun health challenges throughout the year.
–In partnership with a wealth consulting firm, N2 covers the cost of custom, confidential financial planning in the form of in-depth, three-hour sessions employees can take advantage of every year.
–In addition to eight paid holidays and PTO ranging from 10-30 days annually (depending on tenure), N2 provides a paid Holiday Break that covers the last week of the year.
–Not only does N2 offer a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) for all of our parents and/or caregivers, but matches contributions up to $500 to help further offset the cost of care.
–Our employee assistance program allows team members and everyone in their household to speak confidentially with masters-level clinicians 24/7 to discuss personal or professional problems that may interfere with any work or family responsibilities.
Founded in 2004, The N2 Company is America’s leading niche magazine franchisor and helps businesses “connect with ideal clients” by partnering with affluent neighborhoods, real estate communities, new-mover audiences, and others, to produce 800+ custom publications. Through its Hyport Digital arm, N2 also provides digital marketing to amplify advertiser success.
2093 PHILADELPHIA PIKE #3202
CLAYMONT, Delaware, 19703
Media/Publishing
Duane Hixon and Earl Seals
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