At Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, we embrace and encourage curiosity. We live for client euphoria that is driven by our willingness to follow that curiosity and deliver on a great idea. And we surround ourselves with people who embody those traits. We believe that each of us has a vested role in building a culture of ideas, infusing new life and new passion into the organization - and, ultimately, setting the path to where Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (and our clients) can go.

The ideas, customs, interests and traditions that inform our culture result from the contributions of the 800 people who work here. We seek out people from a wide range of backgrounds to build a company rich in diverse experiences and global perspectives. Not only does this level of diversity expand our accessible knowledge base and enhance our collective wisdom, it also helps us serve our global client base.

We pride ourselves on the strength of not only our client list but also our employees. How do we attract and retain the best and brightest? By keeping people challenged and rewarded. By offering a supportive yet flexible environment. By encouraging risk-taking. By fostering creativity and innovation.

By empowering our employees and valuing their contributions. Each employee has a distinct voice in our culture - a voice to which senior management listens closely. We have frequent informal meetings where our CEO, Melissa Waggener Zorkin, joins employees in discussion of both client- and agency-related topics. Employees also regularly share their insights and experiences with colleagues via informal "Brown Bags." At our quarterly {in}fusion business meetings employees engage in a dialogue with the agency's leadership team on topics such as the agency's expansion, new services and the types of companies they want to work with as clients, as well as the progress of the agency's goals and how they can individually contribute.

By creating an ongoing environment of learning and education. As committed to our internal staff as we are to our clients, we believe strongly in mentoring, developing and investing in our employees. It's a sound investment; they're our greatest asset. We believe that Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, through our agency's training program, truly sets the standard in the PR industry in the variety and quality of training programs and skill-building sessions that are available. Employees also receive an annual education allowance that can be applied to appropriate external training and learning opportunities.

By recognizing and rewarding their achievements. Beyond the external recognition that our teams achieve on behalf of clients, we also believe strongly in the value of internal awards. Our WExcellence Awards are presented annually to Waggener Edstrom Worldwide employees whose work exhibits innovative thinking or achieves exceptional results for clients. Through sharing the winning work across the agency so that everyone can appreciate it, learn from it and be inspired by it, the program also encourages us to grow and add new skills and tools on behalf of our clients.

By encouraging employees to maintain strong ties to community involvement and their personal interests. As a corporate citizen, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide believes in balancing our commitment to our employees and clients, with a commitment to enrich the communities in which we work and live. The breadth and depth of agency involvement in these activities reflects the diversity of our employees. In addition to matching employee involvement in causes they care about with corporate contributions - collectively, we supported more than 100 local and international non-profit organizations via our 2007 employee grant program - the company gives every employee sixteen hours of paid time off for community service; provides pro bono PR services to local community organizations (such as Junior Achievement Austin, the Singapore Cancer Society, Mercy Corps and the United Nations' Stand Against Poverty); holds WE Make a Difference Days worldwide; supports ongoing employee grassroots community engagement events in all our offices; and, is committed to the sustainable initiatives spearheaded by a grassroots effort called WE Planet-Green. Generous contributions are also disbursed every year via the private WE Foundation to - for example - cancer research focused organizations such as Susan G. Komen for the Cure (in addition to local race sponsorships/employee teams) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center).

By keeping things fun. Of course, we also like to have fun. We firmly believe that work can and should be enjoyable. Team-hosted office get-togethers, athletic teams, special-interest group gatherings, family volunteer days and end-of-year parties are just a few of the ways we play as hard as we work.

Think you’d enjoy Waggener Edstrom Worldwide? Your career starts here.