Culture Champions by CultureX
Most corporate cultures are average or worse, but a rare handful walk the talk and produce outstanding outcomes. This podcast series shares lessons from senior executives at "Culture Champion" companies that produce both exceptional business results and a world-class employee experience.
Culture Champions by CultureX
Katie Burke, CPO, Hubspot
During Katie Burke’s tenure as Chief People Officer, HubSpot was one of the brightest stars of the tech universe that shone both culturally and financially.
HubSpot boasted the highest average culture rating within the enterprise software industry, which itself had the highest average culture rating of the fifty industries we measured. HubSpot ranked #2 among all large US employers in Glassdoor’s 2022 Employees’ Choice Awards, was named #1 Best Place to Work by the Boston Globe, and was listed by Fortune as a Best Place to Work for Women.
Online, employees spoke remarkably positively about the company during Katie’s tenure. Employees were more than three standard deviations about empowerment, trust, and leaders walking the cultural talk than enterprise software peers. Transparency, honest leaders, mental health, agility, respect, LGBTQ+ equity, and psychological safety were all more than two standard deviations above the industry average.
Investors loved HubSpot too. The company boasted 34% revenue growth over the past six years, producing returns 2.4 times better than the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Central to HubSpot’s success during Katie’s tenure was culture. HubSpot published its culture code in 2013, and has been viewed more than 5 million times since then.
Katie led the charge on HubSpot’s award-winning culture for more than a decade, first as Vice President, Culture and Experience and then as Chief People Officer for the past seven years. She is a thought leader on corporate culture and the future of work—recently named as one of the thirty leaders, thinkers, and innovators shaping the future of work.
In her final interview before leaving HubSpot, Katie reflects on the secrets of its remarkable cultural success.