‘Tis (always) the season of giving at SailPoint
With the holiday season near, it’s natural to express gratitude by giving back to the community. But at SailPoint, giving back is woven into the fabric of our culture. We don’t just donate our time and resources when the holidays roll around – our crew finds ways to give back and impact our communities throughout the year.
That’s why Becky Harmonson, SailPoint’s Senior Manager of Culture and Employee Experience, wasn’t surprised when two crew members came to her earlier this year with an idea about hosting a volunteering event in their local region. But Becky saw an opportunity to expand the program beyond just one geo and turn it into an international program that brings remote employees together in their local communities worldwide.
“From our feedback survey, we were hearing that our remote crew members were interested in more opportunities to get together. This felt like a great opportunity to expand an idea into something that really addressed broader feedback,” Becky pointed out.
In just a few short weeks, the #SailPointCares program was born. The first event went live in Mexico City in June 2023 as a team-building event for our new crew in the region. The team spent the day volunteering at Fundación Casa de las Mercedes an organization thatprovides a safe space for girls overcoming hardships to live, learn, and grow.
“I was honored and humbled to spend the day with these sweet girls. It was inspiring to see their faces light up during our visit,” Wendy Shepperd, SailPoint’s Senior Vice President, of Engineering said after attending the event.
“By actively engaging in initiatives like #SailPointCares, we uphold our commitment to act with integrity, knowing that we may serve as an example to others who are observing our actions,” added Raul Carbajal Mendoza, SailPoint,’s Director of Engineering.
Since that first event in June, #SailPointCares has traveled to five other locations throughout the United States including Denver, Boston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Raleigh.
Across all cities, participants have one consistent piece of feedback: Nothing tops getting together in person.
“Being a remote crew has a lot of pros, but no web meetings, virtual all-hands, employee surveys, or team retros can replace that personal connection,” Yael Kadoshi, a Lead Product Manager in Boston noted after volunteering at Community Boating Inc.
We keep the good times rolling at a team happy hour or dinner with all the #SailPointCares volunteers. The extra opportunity to bond gives team members a chance to get to know one another better – the crew at the Denver event even talked about setting up a hiking club together.
When it comes to designing programs for the SailPoint team, Becky’s mantra is “meet people where they’re at.” And sometimes, that means meeting remote crew right in their hometowns to create connections and foster community.
#SailPointCares is already working on its 2024 lineup to maintain our impact all throughout the year and expand the program to other regions, like Asia.
Of course, we take every opportunity to give back, including throughout the holiday season. Our culture team helps crew members organize regional holiday parties in over 20 cities across the U.S. in addition to the parties we host at our offices across the world! They also run our annual Giving Tuesday and Sailanthropitch events. All these efforts are just another example of the ways our team prioritizes giving back to both our communities and our crew all year long.
Like the sound of #SailPointCares and interested in joining our team? Check out open positions on our Careers page.