Like many companies across the world, lifestyle brand MANSCAPED’s culture has largely been built because of its employees all being in the office together.

Talking exclusively to UNLEASH, the $300-million-revenue public men’s grooming brand’s Vice President of HR Amy Rumbin shares that this in-person culture “played a large role in the company’s success”.

“It fostered a community where team members thrived and looked forward to going to work each day.”

Amy Rumbin, VP of HR, MANSCAPED.

Everyone worked together towards the “same north star”, and employees sat side by side with senior leadership, and “thrived on the camaraderie” that created.

This crafted strong candid relationships between managers and employees, thereby creating an “infectious” culture where “employees feel valued, included and appreciated for their efforts”.

Not to mention that MANSCAPED’s office may be small, but it was mighty – there were catered lunches, good tunes and ping pong – “you can bet that, given the type of business we’re in, there was a unique sense of employee culture that you just wouldn’t find anywhere else”.

The impact of COVID-19 on MANSCAPED

Then COVID-19 hit, remote work became the norm, and MANSCAPED was “faced with a hard pivot point”, Rumbin shares.

But the lifestyle brand was quick to adapt – the HR team launched virtual happy hours, digital cooking classes and encouraged employees to use Microsoft Teams not just for work, but to talk about hobbies and their personal lives.

Although “these initiatives were very successful in their own right”, employees still felt disconnected while working remotely. This is no surprise since during COVID-19 MANSCAPED went through exponential growth – it almost quadrupled its headcount during COVID-19. The company grew from 60 to 216 employees.

In response to rumblings about disconnection, Rumbin and her wider HR team started to look at some more “personalized” approaches.

“A monetary bonus didn’t seem to hit the mark” – ultimately, “work is more than just a paycheck”, employees want to work somewhere they feel valued and supported.

“Listing off names during regular company meetings wasn’t quite special enough”, Rumbin states, so MANSCAPED started looking for a recognition program, powered by technology.

Credit: MANSCAPED.

The need for recognition tech

For Rumbin, the priorities were that the recognition program “would make a lasting impact” and it “would give the employees the autonomy to be celebrated how they wished to be”.

Recognition tech company Blueboard fitted this bill by providing a “truly customizable way for employees to be celebrated” through experiences.

Employees are “always blown away at how many choices they have” – recent examples of experiences they’ve picked include helicopter rides, a visit to Disneyland and at-home VR experiences.

A central part of the partnership with Blueboard, MANSCAPED has developed a virtual awards ceremony – the Spotlight Awards. The grooming brand has hosted eight so far; all nominations are anonymized, and the winners are chosen by Rumbin, as well as MANSCAPED CEO Paul Tran and president Kevin Datoo.

This is an opportunity for peer-to-peer recognition – well documented as an incredibly valuable type of appreciation at work – and those who win “receive a Blueboard experience, an additional day off work”.

This in addition to MANSCAPED’s very generous (compared to other US employers at least) 20 days of paid vacation, plus three mental health days a year.

Rumbin shares: “We receive tons of thoughtful nominated each time we call for submissions – many times, nominations are made for folks outside of a person’s direct team” – this shows that recognition programs can really help to build connections across departments.

Employees have rated the Blueboard recognition program 4.6 out of 5, with 100% of them saying they feel appreciated and 100% feeling more motivated and productive at work.

Central to these feelings of recognition is that employees don’t just get the experience (and that additional day off).

“We also give winners a personalized shout out on our company LinkedIn…and, of course, flood company-wide Teams chats in celebration,” notes Rumbin.

Since MANSCAPED has opted for a remote-first future of work model – primarily because it has started hiring not just near its San Diego HQ, but all across the US – this experiential Blueboard recognition model will continue to play a key role as the lifestyle grows and evolves.