Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 02.12.2025 
How Paradigm Turns Everyday Work into a Place People Actually Want to Be
When we learned that we were shortlisted for US Agency Awards’ Best Place to Work 2025 award, we were thrilled (like really thrilled, not like the thrilled you get when you write a press release to announce something boring). After all, excellence is one of our core values. But if we’re being totally honest, we weren’t all that shocked, we probably even would have put it on our 2025 Bingo card. That’s not a humble brag. We weren’t surprised because we all knew a long time ago that Paradigm is the best place to work.
We get it, every company says they have great culture. But at Paradigm, we believe culture isn’t just something you put in your handbook, it’s something you build together, one moment, one celebration, one inside joke at a time.
Sure, competitive pay and great benefits matter (and yes, we have those). Unlimited PTO? Check. Flexible schedules? Absolutely. Remote work? Of course. But all of that is just the starting line. What makes Paradigm shine is everything that happens after the basics: the connection, the laughter, the support, the genuine “I’ve got you” energy that fills our days.
Because here, culture isn’t a program. It’s a personality.
Culture Built for the Team by the Team
At Paradigm, platitudes about culture don’t trickle down from an ivory tower. It bubbles up from the people who live it every day.
Whenever we want honest feedback or new ideas, we ask the experts: our team. Voluntary committees form, brainstorm, and build programs that mean something to them. That way, initiatives that feel natural, fun, and uniquely us.
A few favorites:
- Virtual happy hours and team lunches that keep our remote crew feeling connected
- Monthly trivia battles where bragging rights definitely count as a prize
- Gift cards for winners and hitting our business goals
- Our legendary “brag board,” where shoutouts fly faster than memes in a group chat
Celebrating People Like It’s Our Job…Because…It Is
Here’s our philosophy: people deserve to be celebrated early, often, and sometimes just because it’s a random Tuesday.
That’s why we dedicate a budget to making sure our team feels appreciated – anniversary surprises, holiday treats, and those unexpected “just thinking of you” gifts that land at the perfect moment. They’re genuine gestures that say, “We see you, we value you, and we’re glad you’re here.”
Once a year, we trade virtual meetings for real life. Our annual in-person retreat brings everyone together for a little development and a lot of fun – scavenger hunts, trivia, and awards that celebrate the teammates who bring our values to life.
Even everyday meetings are anything but boring. Costumes, bonus PTO, surprise gift cards, unexpected theme days, you never quite know what you’re walking into, but it’s usually something that puts a smile on your face.
When Culture is Good, People Stick Around
The best thing about creating a place people enjoy is that it makes good people stay. They grow. They build careers that feel meaningful.
Many of our senior leaders started as junior team members and worked their way up. Same for our mid-level managers, who went from entry-level roles to client leads with confidence and support. Even a handful of contractors decided to join the team because they didn’t want to leave.
In an industry where turnover is practically expected, we’re proud to buck the trend. Our employee Net Promoter Score sits around 80%. That number didn’t come from the results of one lucky yearly survey. Providing feedback and suggesting improvements are a way of life here.
When people feel supported, they step into their potential. When they feel appreciated, they bring their best. When they feel connected, they stay. And when they stay, magic happens. That’s the magic we have at Paradigm.
A Workplace That Feels Like a Community
Ask anyone here what their favorite thing is about working at Paradigm, and you’ll get the same answer: the people.
We make each other better. We cheer each other on. We share knowledge. Collaboration isn’t something we have to hype – it’s baked into how we work.
When we set out to formalize our core values, we didn’t have to invent anything aspirational. Our values were already living, breathing, and showing up in everyday interactions. All we had to do was write down what we were doing naturally.
But beyond the collaboration and the productivity and the growth, there’s something even more powerful: authentic connection. We laugh, a lot. We celebrate milestones big and small. We show up for each other. We turn projects into partnerships and teammates into friends.
Culture isn’t something we occasionally “focus on.” It’s who we are every day, whether we’re designing campaigns, troubleshooting for clients, or battling it out in trivia.
We’re proud of what we’ve built: a workplace where people feel supported, encouraged, and excited to be part of something shared.
So, bring on the accolades. We love and appreciate them deeply. But they are really the icing on the cake. The real prize is being able to do what we love, with people we love working alongside, every day.
About Paradigm
Paradigm is a full-service marketing, design, and sales enablement agency. Specializing in working with clients with a complex sale that requires a sales conversation to close a deal, Paradigm is known for building marketing-to-sales infrastructures that shorten sales cycles and increase quality leads for sales teams. With advanced expertise across all areas of marketing, Paradigm’s cross-functional team blends creativity, technology, and strategy with data-backed insights and a fierce drive for flawless execution to deliver purpose-driven marketing solutions that support business growth, maximize profit potential, and improve lives.
Get to know us at paradigmmarketinganddesign.com.
