In August 2006 I was presented with an employment opportunity of a lifetime. I could not have asked for more – great team, fun and friendly environment, and I got to work with my dad. My mom joked, saying “I knew you would end up working with your dad someday. When you were young you would fall on the ground in a puddle of tears every time your dad left for work and now here you are working with him everyday…isn’t life funny.”

I was brought on as an accounting assistant and after my first day could easily see the endless possibilities for my future career path at Eliza. Yet I could never have imagined all I would see and experience along the way to where I am now. My current title is “HR Specialist.” That is what I do; why I do it is an entirely different story. Let me explain by sharing this account of “The New Space.”

Operation Sumo Suite from Eliza Blog on Vimeo.

It all began when we once again expanded our office space – this time taking over what was once was a neighboring company’s shipping center. After the space was cleared out, it was a blank canvas.

The discussion of what we would use this space for began and department heads explored the exciting opportunity of optimizing work flow and workspaces custom-built to accommodate an entire team.

This excitement may be hard to understand unless you first understand the concept of Eliza’s “Manifest Destiny,” which I learned about when I first started here.

As Eliza grew over the years, instead of relocating to a larger space, we chose to expand the current space every time one of our neighboring companies made a move – busting right through the wall and creating what seemed like the endless office.

The energy that resulted from these explosive expansions brought about innovation and creativity, with every inch of the “new space” put to work in the most effective possible way. The time had come to break out the architectural creativity hats and make the most of our “New Space” once again.

Through email, people had a chance to fight it out for the opportunity to expand their departments. In the brainstorming that followed we joked about the “New Space” being used to settle interdepartmental disputes in a constructive, yet highly amusing, manner.

The idea was to have the disputing parties talk it out and if no resolution could be made it would be settled sumo style. This sparked a flurry of fun email chains and some nostalgia, with fun senior management stories from the past.

The decision had been made – Operation Sumo Suite was in effect. But most important would be the element of surprise. An email went out notifying all employees of a mandatory meeting where Lucas Merrow, CEO, would be sharing the benefits of integrating Japanese culture into the workplace. Finally the day had arrived and only a select few had been recruited for the Sumo Ops team.

Implementing it properly was no easy task.

As 4:30 pm on a Friday rolled around, employees were blindly summoned into the new space where a feast of sushi and other Asian-themed delicacies were on display. Once the shock of food wore off, confusion set in as people tried to understand why the CEO was reading the Wikipedia definition of “Asian Culture” word-for-word.

Finally the back doors burst open to reveal Alex Drane (our President) and Rob Bergin (Director of IT) in fully inflated Sumo Suits. Laughter immediately filled the room and the presentation to follow was one that I will never forget. Alex came out victorious, showing Rob that she most definitely is “the boss lady.”

The suits were then available for any other brave souls willing to publicly humiliate themselves. Of course I was the first to jump in and try this out for myself. I will hold that moment as one of my favorite Eliza memories.

What was the point of all of that, you may ask?

In an environment like Eliza it’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day and forget to enjoy the company’s progression and accomplishments, or to simply take the time to enjoy fellow coworkers. I have the unique opportunity to facilitate opportunities for employees to reflect and enjoy even the smallest achievements – like completing yet another great work week.

It is in this that Eliza’s culture allows for an opportunity of strong team growth and development each and every day. The benefit of this environment is priceless.

It also creates continued respect for peers, allowing team problem solving to thrive.

As long as I can remember, every time the stress levels at Eliza gets too high or tension is unavoidable, there’s been an opportunity to constructively suppress and subside it — making sure that every team member knows how much their hard work is appreciated.

In this instance I would categorize this method as “blowing off steam by blowing up the fun.”

As I continue my professional career with Eliza I am continuously blessed to have the opportunity to be innovative in how we handle tough HR situations.

This is just one of the many nontraditional yet effective tools Eliza uses to keep production at its highest level by ensuring that its employees are happy.

Sumo Ops team – job well done! I am once again brought to reflect about how I have nothing but gratitude for the opportunities and support that I have been given over the years.

The people I work with are the biggest reason for me getting up every day and doing what I do.

I LOVE MY JOB!