Today’s Meet the Team blog features Beehive EVP, Culture & Talent Rebecca Martin, who joined the agency back in 2005 as an account supervisor. She’s worn many hats at Beehive over the years, including client service, marketing and operations, and has been key in shaping and modeling Beehive’s culture, purpose and values.

Rebecca talks in her Q&A about how she’s learned to show up as her authentic self at work — something Beehive highly values and supports through training and mentoring on individual Clifton strengths, personal communication styles, appreciation languages and trust biases. We hope you enjoy getting to know Rebecca a little better.

What do you like most about working at Beehive?

I’ve worked at Beehive for so long because of three things: the people, the culture and the opportunities for growth. I’m regularly inspired by the smart work my colleagues do and touched by their warmth, humor and grace. In the 18 years I’ve worked at Beehive, I’ve experienced many different seasons of life, from newlywed to new working parent to raising older kids as my own parents and in-laws age. I’ve weathered seasons of physical and mental health difficulties, a recession and a global pandemic all while working at Beehive. Life has been real and beautiful and messy and forever dynamic, just as it is for all of us. Throughout each season, Beehive’s culture has provided me the flexibility I’ve needed to meet and manage life and work. Lastly, I’ve never been bored at Beehive. There is always a new opportunity, challenge, project or position that allows me to learn, grow and develop new skills.

In what ways do you feel you can be your whole self/authentic at work? 

Oscar Wilde said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Time, experience and mentorship have taught me how true this is. I’ve worked at Beehive to contribute to a culture where every person is accepted and valued for their authentic self. I do my best to model this as a leader by showing up imperfect and honest and by providing our team with training, skills and tools to play to their own strengths — and understand others’. I’ve learned to value my personal strengths and communication style and lead through those, instead of trying to model what I used to “think” a leader should look like or sound like. When we show up as our true selves, we create the connections, relationships and trust needed to grow and find success.

Can you share an example of a time someone on our team exemplified Beehive’s values? What impact did it have?

Beehive has five core values: accountability, action, well-being, growth-minded and equity. It’s difficult for me to pick a single example of someone on our team exemplifying our values because I see them in action every day. Some recent examples that stick in my mind center on the Beehive value of well-being, which underpins everything about our culture and how we operate. Several of my teammates consistently share how they’re managing their mental health, a colleague takes quarterly overnight staycation for self-care and renewal using her Beehive wellness allowance, several others are using their standing desks with walking pads to get in more daily steps and created a Slack channel to support each other and my colleagues have covered their teammates’ work so they can take stress- and work-free spring break vacations. It’s inspiring to see everyone commit to mental, physical and emotional health and support each other.

What’s your favorite place in the world to visit?

I’ve visited Crane Lake, Minn. during the summer since I was a baby. My dad has done the same since he was in diapers, and so have my own kids. Crane Lake sits at the edge of Voyageurs National Park — one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’ve had the pleasure to spend time in, made more magical by the decades of memories attached to it. There is nothing quite like disconnecting from the daily news, social media feeds, work and everyday responsibilities, far from cell reception and wi-fi to reset and refresh. It’s something I’d like to do more of.

How well do you think Beehive is managing hybrid work?

Hybrid work is messy right now. Collectively, we knew how to work in an office in “the before times” and we figured out how to work from home during the pandemic. But right now, many organizations and employees are at a crossroads when it comes to navigating new post-pandemic hybrid workplace norms. We’re collectively figuring out what the future of work looks like: How many days in-office vs. from home? Who gets to decide? How flexible is the policy? Does it have input from employees? What are the repercussions for not following the mandates? These and more questions are on the table.

Two things the data tells us for sure: Working from home has positively benefited working parents, especially women. Second, in-office work time is critical, especially for young talent who need more clarity, direction and access to senior leadership for career development — not to mention friendships and connections with co-workers. Beehive has decided to remain a work-from-anywhere company and put our focus into making the office a destination for collaboration and connections. We built a new office space in 2022 that incorporates the technology and amenities people are seeking post-pandemic. Our most recent employee survey indicates the highest level of satisfaction with the policy.