There are over 5000 certified B Corporations around the world, including new recruit, New Zealand based SaaS company, Optimal Workshop. The ‘B’ in B Corp actually stands for ‘beneficial’, to reflect the founding vision behind the movement: ‘make business a force for good’. B Corp seeks to help companies balance purpose and profit, while also serving stakeholders by building a global community of like-minded organizations. We asked Andrew Mayfield, CEO and Julie Reddish, Head of People and Culture at Optimal Workshop about becoming a B Corp, the journey so far and why it’s so important.
Why did Optimal decide to become a B Corp?
Andrew: I’ve been interested in aligning our reporting with our purpose and values for years, so becoming a B Corp felt like a huge and natural step in this direction. Our ethos of placing people at the heart of decisions extends to the way we treat our own people, not just our customers. So I saw B Corp as a way of enshrining this thinking into the company and making sure these aspects were considered in future decision making.
Sounds as if being a B Corp was already in line with your thinking. What’s it mean in terms of action?
Julie: One of the things we’ve always cared about is ‘how do we show our real commitment to people, to the environment, to sustainability, to doing ethical good work?’ Finding out B Corp existed as this global initiative, this reputable, recognized way of measuring yourself against other companies was compelling. It was a way for us to metrify or codify ‘the optimal way’ of doing things in a way that does good as a company and does good in the world.
Andrew: Practically it means writing up more policies to ensure the things we do for the good of our people and the planet, which we consider normal are actually written down and therefore, in effect, protected. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, Whistleblower policy, Breast feeding and support policy and Environmental sustainability policy are some that spring to mind.
Tell me about the actual journey to becoming a B Corp - what’s it been like?
Julie: Oh my gosh - it’s been a big project. Little did we know how much work it would take to get accredited! It requires six different categories of certification which have, like 50 or 60 questions or areas you can gain points in and you need a minimum of 80 points to get certification. A lot of the questions weren’t really applicable to us so we really had to look closely and think, ‘what is there already that we do inside Optimal that actually equates to saying yes to that question?’ We had an awful lot of thinking to do about which questions to put our time and our money into.
Andrew: There were a lot of things we did that weren’t fully documented, that was the hard part. We didn’t have to change much of our actual behavior to be honest. We have been for years looking at a people-centered approach - our three values are Approachable, Bold and Curious. We had to write things down, make sure they were where people could find them. There wasn’t a lot we had to change to get our entrance score as such. If we want to continually improve each year then we will need to make continual changes for sure, like anyone trying to self improve.
Julie: We thought we were quite close, then there was this massive surge of interest and eight months to even see a consultant, then another six months before the verification process even started.
That’s when the rubber really hit the road. We were working away on different bits of the B Corp certification like there’s one for having an office set up for breastfeeding. Do you have a lockable door? Do you have a place that is private? Does everyone know? Is it communicated? Do you have a policy on breastfeeding? You had to look at each of those things and make sure that you could back it up with evidence. And that might be worth 0.2 points.
Sounds like a detailed and rigorous journey - but also quite meaningful and actionable?
Julie: We already had thoughts on what we could do to make our organization great like sourcing local produce and local suppliers but the process of becoming a B Corp really flushed it out for us. Some of the suggestions and categories were things we were already looking at within the bigger picture of being a good employer and being a good contributor to our communities. Going through the assessment helped us identify a whole other layer of things that we could and should be doing.
Beyond measuring female representation, what else could we be doing for diversity? What about our indigenous representation? What could we be doing for people with disabilities? It got us into deeper thinking about what diversity actually means. It’s pretty amazing.
What does being a B Corp mean for your employees?
Julie: As an employer it’s reaffirming a commitment to treating people well and human-centered work practices. So the real nuts and bolts come down to individuals thinking how might I get involved with this: If I see something I don’t feel is right I call it out. I can also advocate for what is right.
Andrew: More and more I think people are interested in working for companies that care for more than simply enriching their shareholders, that care about taking care of their team and of their environment and of their impact more broadly, of the change they seek to make on society, knowledge-sharing and all this sort of thing. People are more aware of considering this on choice of where to work, where to stay and just generally where to spend their time. We all have scarce time these days and strong choices to make and it does play into where people choose to work.
Does this extend to customers? What impact, if any, does being a B Corp mean for them?
Andrew: B Corp certainly takes into consideration who you choose to use as suppliers so it becomes a bit recursive in that way. If our customers value the fact we’re a B Corp then they need to be thinking about choosing suppliers who are also B Corps - so it would gradually happen over time I’d imagine.
Julie: It’s about thoughtful practices. Not just following trends. It’s about what works, not what’s popular.
What’s it feel like to be part of this global community called B Corp?
Julie: I think it's a really cool company to be in. To share our thinking, to share policies and resources with somebody who’s traveled that road before us, with its dragons and potholes, to actually follow in someone’s footsteps, but also make it our own ‘Optimal’ way.
Andrew: Being part of a community of B Corps supporting each other with new ways to manage these obligations we choose to put on ourselves to be better corporate citizens as such is valuable. While there’s no desire to make it hard, sometimes it is hard to make sure you’re doing the right thing. It requires extra research and extra conscientiousness when making decisions so sharing ideas and experiences. Feeling like you’re not the only one who’s been there can help.
Becoming a B Corp is quite an achievement however the work doesn’t stop there does it?
Andrew: My understanding is the requirements get harder and that’s a good thing. We can all get better. The biggest areas for us to improve are things like sharing information in decision-making, we’re already pretty transparent but haven’t formalized that so there are things we can do there.
The next checkpoint is in three years and we’re expected to improve plus the requirements get more onerous - so we’d better improve!
I started at Optimal Workshop as CEO over a decade ago and in that time I have seen this company grow from humble beginnings in Wellington, into a globally recognized leader in the UX tools industry, with hundreds of thousands of users from some of the world’s most recognized brands. I am proud to have built an organization that is primed for the future. One that values its people, cares for its product, and loves its customers.
It’s been an incredible journey, but with growth comes change, and so, after 14 years, I’ve decided it’s time for me to step down. This has been an incredibly hard decision because I am still (and always will be) very excited about the future for Optimal Workshop. The momentum, creativity, and innovation that is flowing within the team assure me that the best is absolutely yet to come. Nonetheless, I feel that my part is now played and I’ve got another baby on the way. I’m very much looking forward to spending more time with family and friends while I take a break.
I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey, whether by advising, supplying, introducing, challenging, listening to or working, thinking and dreaming with me in my time here. Together, we've seen a tiny company flourish into a vibrant, resilient, and thriving organization on a shared mission to reinvent information architecture and help our customers create better experiences for everyone.
Moving forward, we’re incredibly lucky that our original founder, Sam Ng has recently rejoined our board and it feels like we’ve come full circle and are ready for a new chapter with fresh leadership who are ready and empowered to focus on innovation and long-term growth. To that end, I am also thrilled to announce that Meiken Bassant now joins me as co-CEO for the next few weeks, and will step into an Acting CEO role once I leave. Her dedication, clarity, and ability to lead make her the perfect choice for this transition. I’ve never had more confidence in Optimal Workshop’s leadership, in all our people, and in our product, than I do today.
I'll be at Optimal Workshop for a little while longer and welcome any conversations or thoughts you may wish to share with me, before and after that time of course.
Thank you again to everyone who reads this, you’ve helped me more than you know and I appreciate it.
It’s going to be a big year for Optimal Workshop, with the recent announcement of a NZ$10m investment by New Zealand private equity firm, Pioneer Capital. We caught up with Andrew Mayfield, Optimal Workshop’s CEO, to find out the story behind the investment, why now, and what it means for the future.
The Tech start-up route isn’t for everyone but you’ve been part of Optimal Workshop’s success story from early on when it was ‘just 4 people in a windowless room’! What appealed to you back then?
“I worked on the initial prototype for Optimal Workshop with our founder, Sam Ng, in 2007 and eventually joined the team myself to take over from Sam two years later. When I was handed the reins the brief was simple: create ‘kick-ass tools that make life easier.
With this focus on tools to make life easier, life online especially, we settled on a suite focussed on user experience research. It’s turned out to be a field that’s grown an average of 40% year on year so there’s no reason to leave that field. In fact, I’d say Optimal Workshop has been a strong part of enabling the UX field, and user research especially, to grow as it has.”
So, that early focus on user experience was a good call, ahead of the curve even?
“It was timely I guess. People were just starting to appreciate user experience as a key differentiator. I’ve always thought of it as a necessary shift in the way people think about design. That you’d consider your users and you might follow specific methodologies so you can do that consistently and inclusively. Ideally, much of what we call user experience would eventually be considered a natural part of any good design process. It’s just good practice as a designer to consider the real, diverse, and evolving needs and context of the people who actually use what you make.”
When you put it that way it feels pretty compelling, even common sense. Fast forward 14 years, what’s the attitude towards UX now?
“What’s interesting now is there are so many people practicing user experience. When we started there was no UX-specific education, no university courses. Everybody in the field had come from some other field and they were all bringing their influences from somewhere else and I found that very interesting.
Every person I spoke to provided a different lens. It seemed to me that everyone had entered the field, even if it meant dropping some other illustrious career, because they cared about trying to make things, digital things primarily, substantially better than what was available at the time. And by and large they did this by listening to real people doing real things, in real contexts.. Simple, but almost unheard of at the time.
The field of UX has matured a lot over time but there’s still a long, long way to go. If anything, good information is getting harder to find so we still have a lot more work to do."
Andrew Mayfield, CEO at Optimal Workshop
Clearly, you have big plans for the future. You’ve just announced pretty exciting news - getting an investor, Pioneer Capital, on board. Why now?
“We are in a big market and from the start our users have almost pulled the product out of us. It has never felt like we've needed to push anything uphill. We've grown organically to a point where we now feel comfortable that we have all the foundations in place for a truly great company. The team is hungry to have a greater impact and to grow fast — so it’s time to put some more fuel in the tank and get on with it.
Pioneer Capital is a great fit for us as they want to help us build a great company that’s fit to endure, and they’d already had us on their radar for some time.”
Sounds like good timing all-around. What kind of growth are you hoping to achieve with Pioneer Capital’s support?
“There’s been a real elegance in growing organically because you only do what is necessary and what customers absolutely appreciate. We've been growing our team at the speed of revenue growth. This means we've only really been able to hire for roles when we really need them. Now with funding, we can look ahead and hire for what we expect to need tomorrow, instead of what we needed yesterday."
Exciting times. What’s the key to keeping Optimal Workshop ahead of the game?
“Keeping our customers at heart. Many companies say it, and it’s addictive once you start doing it. Once you start listening to people and give them what they need - which isn’t necessarily what they asked for - it’s very gratifying. That's what we’re going to continue doing."
You can find out more about the NZ$10 million investment by New Zealand private equity firm, Pioneer Capital in our media release.
Optimal Workshop, a leading provider of User Research and Information Architecture tools, is pleased to announce the appointment of Anne Ting to its board of directors. Ting, who is currently the Chief Design Officer at Totango, brings a wealth of expertise in design and user experience to the Optimal Workshop team.
“We’re so excited to have Anne join our board,” said Andrew Mayfield, CEO of Optimal Workshop. “We are confident that she will make a significant contribution to the company's future success and that her unique perspective will be instrumental in shaping the company's culture and values.”
Ting has over 20 years of experience in marketing, operations and design. At Totango, she is responsible for leading go-to-market, research, and user experience across web, product, and the entire customer journey. Prior to joining Totango, Ting held senior roles at several technology companies, including Unity and Wishlife, where she was responsible for operations, growth and customer success.
"I am thrilled to join the board of directors for Optimal Workshop. The company is dedicated to empowering designers and researchers around the world to create better digital experiences, and I look forward to contributing my expertise to help drive their mission forward," said Anne Ting, Chief Design Officer at Totango.
About Optimal Workshop
Optimal Workshop is a user research platform that gathers fast, actionable insights necessary for understanding user needs and making informed decisions. Our superior analysis tools, testing methods and participant recruitment options increase efficiency and empower teams to deliver customer focused solutions. Our products have created value for a diverse range of roles including UX designers and researchers, content strategists, information architects, and more. Learn more about how we can help you create better user experiences today!
