The Power of Together: Why Working in the Office Drives Success at Interra

While remote work seems to be all the rage these days, working in an office has always been important at Interra.  Simply put: we win more when we’re together.  Our industry is always changing and we are constantly learning and sharing new information.  While some of that exchange is structured, a lot is gained by listening to cubicle conversations and observing not just the science but also the art of coworkers’ styles. While the word “synergy” has surely been overused in corporate speak, the truth is that when we’re together, we work more as a team, we communicate better, and we have more wins.  At the end of the year, that’s good for everyone.

Our values are core to the Interra culture and working together in the office contributes to every single one of them.  Fostering Cooper­ation speaks directly to collaboration; working side-by-side is conducive to Insisting on Integrity, as we can help each other do things the right way; part of Promoting the Family is coaching and developing our employees professionally, much of which is best done together; and Mastering Executional Excellence works so much better when we can exchange ideas and information in person.

Working in the office is also good for career mobility. A good friend of ours likes to say, “It’s a corporate jungle gym now, not a corporate ladder.”  We are always recruiting and the opportunities for lateral moves are plentiful. We’ve had people transfer from logistics to accounting, accounting to sales, sales to operations, operations to marketing, compliance to logistics, logistics to sales, compliance to risk, logistics to rates. At Interra, all the departments work in one space and, even if you don’t work with all of them directly on a regular basis, you get exposure to them all.   Maybe you joined Interra as an accountant but you like how the logistics team solves problems as they ship food all over the world or you see the quiet energy of the compliance team and you want to join their vibe.  You are able to apply for a role in that department and widen your career experience.

We also have fun.  Our diverse staff, representing upwards of 30 countries and 18 languages, is just awesome to be around and our potlucks are top-notch. We have happy hours, surprise afternoon treats, ping pong tournaments, wellness challenges, not to mention volunteer events like delivering meals, helping struggling parents shop for Christmas gifts and clothes for their children, packing shoeboxes of toys and gifts to go overseas, and cleaning up trash around the river near our office. Together we work hard, play hard, and give back hard.

Sure, we have flexibility to work remotely.  Sometimes you have a contractor coming to work on your house, a sick ten-year-old that you need to look in on, or some work tasks that require deep focus.  It may happen that you travel out of state or country to see family, and you can work remotely for a few days and still have the evenings to visit with your loved ones.  Those times are important too.  But for us, there’s no substitute for time spent in person. And let’s face it, we like winning!