What I Didn’t Know about Working at Hudl

I’ve been at Hudl for four months. In that relatively tiny amount of time, I’ve worked on dozens of projects, sent and received thousands of Slack messages and had immeasurable chances to challenge myself.

There’s still a lot to learn — I’ve had people tell me it took them as long as a year to really feel like they knew what was going on. But here’s what I know so far:

The “A” stands for “awesome.”

We use activity-based working, or ABW. This doesn’t mean we don’t have desks — we do, lots of them — it just means they aren’t assigned. There are meeting rooms and single-person spaces, but no one has a specific office or desk (not even our CEO). There are also comfy chairs, booths and couches to work from. This way no space is wasted — when Hudlies are traveling, out sick or working remotely, there’s no deserted desk or empty office.

Before I started, I didn’t know if I’d like ABW or if I’d just have to put up with it. Turns out, I love it. I can work at a standing desk near the rest of my team, or settle into an armchair by the window and watch the bustle of downtown below as I write. I can proof copy from a booth in the cafeteria, or hop into a phone booth for a Zoom call with someone in another office. ABW ends the repetition of being confined to the same place day in and day out (unless you like sitting in the same spot — that’s cool too.)

Every day is a choose-your-own-adventure.

The autonomy Hudl gives employees goes beyond ABW. The amount of freedom each person has to do their job is unparalleled. There’s always room to challenge ideas and processes, as well as opportunities to innovate. With job shadowing, apprenticeships and Hudl Works Smarter (a stipend to attend conferences, take classes or do anything else to level up role-related skills), there’s a huge potential for growth.

Of just the people I’ve met so far (I’d estimate around 200 of the 1,300+), I’ve already lost track of how many have moved to different positions and teams from where they started as their professional interests changed. Hudl gives team members what they need to be awesome at their roles and, if they want, grow into new ones.

You will be challenged.

Prepare for pushback — it’s one of our values, after all. “We’re Respectfully Blunt” (colloquially known as #realtalk) means no one’s afraid to raise questions or issues. It’s never mean-spirited; it’s just about improving. I’ve been pushed harder than ever before to write tighter, consider every angle and learn an audience inside and out.

Having your work so carefully vetted can be exhausting — after all, who wouldn’t want to get instant approval on anything they produce? But when the final product is rock-solid and you learn something new every day, it’s hard to say you’re not better off for it.

Cutting-edge tech isn’t just for our users.

As a global, multi-office company, keeping everyone connected is key. I’m based in Lincoln but work closely with several people out of our Boston office on a daily basis, and I collaborate with British and Australian Hudlies too. But because everyone has adopted tools like Slack and Zoom, keeping in touch across time zones is painless. Google docs and other collaboration platforms make sharing information easy, whether the recipient is across the room or across the country.

This use of tech helps power ABW — it’s not only possible but even efficient for our team members to work from anywhere, whether it’s from home, a coffee shop or a prime booth spot they snagged and don’t want to leave. I’ve been in multiple meetings where people called in via Zoom, even when they’re just a floor above where the meeting was. (Don’t ask why, ask why not.)

But it is all about the users.

When it comes to improving our product and making life easier for the people that use it, we are all freakin’ in. I’ve never been exposed to such a user-first mentality as I’ve seen at Hudl. Two more of our values are “We Thrive on the Frontlines” and “We Listen.” I’ve seen time and time again how quick we are to interact with and solicit feedback from our coaches and teams. For some companies, customers are a means to an end. For us, they’re our raison d’être.*

If you’re ready to join a team that works really hard and cares a whole bunch, take a peek at our careers page to view open positions.

*This translates as “reason for being” and is one of five French phrases I know. (The others include “hello” and “latte with soy milk.”)