I2I's Heart-2-Heart on "Team" with Benefits, Reunions, & Annual Fundraiser

Hey there,

Welcome to Intention 2 Impact (I2I’s) Heart 2 Heart (H2H) newsletter - where we share what’s on our minds, in our hearts, and up-our-sleeves. This is an archived newsletter from September 2023. Want to read the newsletter in real time? Click here to subscribe!

Happy fall y’all! Call us basic, but we’re ready for the transition to sweater weather, pumpkin spice, and spooky movies. 🍂

Cozy up as you read Intention 2 Impact’s monthly Heart-2-Heart, where we share what’s on our minds, in our hearts, and up our sleeves.

In this edition, we remix HR policies to align with our values, snap a selfie from our team retreat, and invite you to our annual fundraiser!

On Our Minds

Did you know the average person will spend one-third of their life at work? Roughly 90,000 hours…. or 270,000 episodes of The Office.

That’s a lot - even for the most avid binge watchers among us.

That’s why we spent time this summer pouring over our Employee Handbook to ensure that our policies live up to our values – and that i2i is the kind of place people actually want to be.

Since day 1, we’ve set out to build a company based on feminist business principles that prioritize people over profits. Because businesses thrive when people do.

Here are some of our internal policies that put our money where our hearts are:

1. Flexible work day. I2I’s “core working hours'' are Monday through Thursday from 9 am-3 pm (PT) / 11 am-5 pm (ET). For full-time employees, the remaining 16 hours are flexible. As a fully remote & bicoastal team, this helps ensure we have enough overlapping hours for meetings & collaboration. However, if your creativity sparks when the sun rises, if you’d rather work on Sunday when it's quiet, or if you really hate working on Fridays… you do you, boo.

2. Minimum (rather than maximum) PTO. We spent a LOT of time weighing the pros & cons of unlimited time off vs accrued paid time off (PTO). On one hand, we believe employees should have the freedom to manage their personal time and take time off as needed. On the other hand, there is ample research that shows employees with unlimited PTO end up taking less time off than those who accumulate a max number of days.

In true I2I fashion, since we weren’t satisfied with either option, we made up our own. We adopted a “minimum” PTO policy. Employees can take as much time as they need for R&R (maybe even… R2R? 😉). To encourage team members to actually use it, we nudge folks to take a minimum of at least five days off every six months… aka, we love you, but it’s time to go touch grass.

3. Wellness & home office stipends. And, during all the time you aren’t taking advantage of minimum PTO… we still want you to feel cared for. That’s why we are giving a monthly wellness stipend (for the gym, massages, therapy, breathwork, food delivery, whatever you need to feel whole) and reimbursements for home office supplies (including your phone & internet). I mean, if we’re gonna spend this much time on Zoom and Slack together, you might as well be comfy.

4. Eligibility for paid parental leave starting at 6 months. It’s no secret that the US ranks last in government-mandated paid leave for new parents. Why? I’m afraid that’s above our pay grade… But alas, we don’t need to play by old school rules. I2I offers 12-weeks of full-time pay for parental leave (whether you’re carrying the baby, a committed partner, or even adopting/fostering). We also think it’s strange that this benny (even FMLA) usually takes 12 months of employment to kick in… Um, hello, full-term pregnancy takes 9 months. We offer eligibility after six months of employment. Pregnant people already can’t eat sushi, they should not be penalized further.

Whatcha think about these policies? Anything else we should consider? Let us know!

In Our Hearts

**This week the I2I team is 🎶** **reunited and it feels so gooood! 🎶!**
The I2I core team: Nina, Kathleen, Blake, and Sahiti are together again (IRL) in Pasadena, CA for a team retreat. We put our heads, hearts and hands together to reflect on the past, ideate for the future – and enjoy each other’s company.

On Monday night, the core team was joined by a few other local area collaborators, Ashley, Adriana, and Rebecca for a nourishing meal and spirited conversations!

Working remotely has been a great solution for us over the summer, but there’s something different – and special – about being together. How are you creating these experiences for your teams? We'd love to know.

Up Our Sleeves

Headed to the AEA annual conference in October? Join us for happy hour + professional headshots for a good cause.

I2I is hosting our 3rd annual Pay Her Forward fundraiser on Wednesday, October 9th from 5-7 pm at this year’s American Evaluation Association Conference in Indianapolis!

A suggested $30 donation includes a professional headshot (taken by Ty’Anna Sophia Photography) and light refreshments with excellent company! 100% of proceeds will be donated to the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana - an Indianapolis-based organization committed to improving the lives of marginalized women, their families, and communities.

Click here to sign up! Address & more info will be emailed closer to the date.