What's the Company Culture Like at Avant?

What values do you ideally want to see in an employer?

I highly value authenticity and respect for diverse perspectives and I need any employer I work for to share those values. 

For me, authenticity means being able to show up as the same person in every part of my life. I love doing improv outside of work, but I’m not a good enough actor to pretend to be someone else 40 hours a week. I want both myself and my co-workers to feel comfortable being our true selves, knowing they don’t need to hide parts of their personalities. 

I also believe the best idea wins and the best idea can come from anywhere. For that to happen, an employer needs to value diverse perspectives. If a company’s culture rejects healthy discourse from a range of opinions, they limit their possible solutions and discourage employee individuality. I want a culture that’s meritocratic and rewards creative thinking.

How does your employer show a commitment to some (or all) of these?

Avant’s benefits are a great example of valuing authenticity. Our flexible time off policy is an acknowledgement that life at work and outside of work are inextricably intertwined. Taking time off to spend time with family, relax, or enjoy your hobbies is actively encouraged. It’s a small benefit, but I love that I can wear the same clothes to work as I wear hanging out with friends after work. I much prefer watching Suits to wearing them.

When it comes to respecting diverse perspectives, Avant practices that value through a culture built on trust and accountability. Trust starts with strong relationships between employees and their managers. Expectations are clear and Avantees are given the autonomy to figure out the best way to deliver. When ideas or outcomes are evaluated, merit matters most. On top of that, feedback flows both ways: Avantees can openly share input with leaders or ask questions, including anonymously, which makes it clear that every voice has a place here.

How do these values shape your feelings about your employer? What about your ability to make an impact in your role?

These values create the foundation for me to do my best work. When authenticity and open exchange are encouraged, I can focus entirely on my responsibilities instead of spending energy managing how I show up or second-guessing whether my perspective will be heard. I know I can bring my whole self to Avant and trust that my contributions are evaluated fairly. That kind of environment makes collaboration easier, decisions stronger and the work itself more rewarding.

Which of your core values most defines how your team works together?

At Avant, no single value defines how we work. Our values — “Authenticity,” “Collaboration,” “Problem-Solving,” “Customer” and “Initiative” — are equally important and deeply intertwined. 

We didn’t invent these values top-down. Rather, we built them from an exercise asking all of our employees about the actions and behaviors that get rewarded at Avant, and then we pressure-tested the results with leadership feedback. Once we looked at the results, our core values were very obvious, which I think is a meaningful reflection of our culture. 

One of the best things about Avant is that we’re large enough to have genuinely complex problems, but small enough that everyone feels their contribution matters. That balance works because our five values operate as a system, not a hierarchy. We have an Avant People Blog where we feature employees, and it’s rare that I read one without recognizing a consistency in how the featured employee thinks about our culture and lives our values. I love it.

How do you align new hires to your culture?

Our values are introduced to new hires during onboarding, and then all new hires are introduced to the company at Demo Day, which is a long-standing Avant tradition. Every other Thursday, we introduce new hires, demo new projects and initiatives, and hang out as a team. We think this is a great way for new hires to start to get a sense of our culture.

We also have leadership habits that are based on our values, which we use in manager training. Last year, we rolled out leadership training for individual contributors as well, again with a foundation in our values-based leadership habits. We really think it is important to drive consistency in expectations of leadership, which then impacts how we work together day in and day out.

How do you celebrate employees who live your values in action?

We celebrate values in action both formally and informally. We hold a Town Hall every month where our values are the very first slide. Quarterly, that Town Hall includes “Values Awards” — one per value, plus an “Overall Values Award” and an “Outstanding Team Award.” So, recognition ties explicitly back to our core values. 

We create regular informal moments, too: Demo Day gives people a stage to showcase problem-solving and share what they’ve built; monthly town halls spotlight teams and individuals; and our Fun Committee, a mix of execs, the people team, and employees, runs programming ranging from “Office Olympics” to Diwali celebrations to career panels, giving people multiple ways to be seen by peers.