A new way of thinking about employee connection and culture.
Bondy was born out of the remote work movement.
The HERstory
Bondy was founded to help companies maintain employee engagement and workplace culture during the exodus to work from home.
Bondy co-founders Lisa Harrington and Kimberly Martinez
Sisters-in-law and business partners Lisa Harrington and Kimberly Martinez started out 2020 just like many other business owners. Their 18-year-old company, Bonitas International, was poised for another successful year. They’d grown Bonitas into one of the largest specialty fashion accessories companies in the world, with designer lanyards and retractable badge reel jewelry collections that enabled employees who wear ID badges at the workplace to “identify with style.”
The outlook was bright.
And then, COVID-19 hit, and people stopped going to “the office” to work. Bonitas’ customer base—primarily brick and mortar stores—evaporated, seemingly overnight. As predictions of the “retail armageddon” escalated, Lisa and Kimberly knew they had to pivot, and fast.
They took the slowdown at Bonitas as an opportunity to dig deep into what they did well and what they had to offer. Their experience with logistics and shipping meant they could execute product fulfillment and delivery flawlessly. But there was another kind of knowledge they had that would prove even more valuable.
They hit upon the idea of helping other forward-thinking, people-focused organizations like their own make the transition to the remote work model.
This was an area where the pair had plenty of expertise. Bonitas already ran remotely pre-COVID, with the two co-founders/CEOs living in different cities not only from each other, but from the company headquarters outside Cleveland. In order to attract, hire and retain the most capable people in offsite locations, they’d had to master the art of keeping their remote teams energized and connected. They knew other companies would be looking for those tools as well.
And with that, Bondy was born.
Bondy helps keep companies connected, their team bonds strong and their culture vibrant by creating shared experiences. Employees feel honored and valued. They know their employer cares about them and that they’re part of something bigger. At the end of the day, that’s what’s important to all of us.
It’s easier than ever to have employees work remotely now. Cheaper, too. But does the reduction in overhead come at the expense of company culture?
Without culture and connection, employees go from bonded teams to isolated units. Productive? Maybe. Probably, even. But passionate? The work still gets done, but do you lose what makes your company your company?
That got us thinking about how teams connect. How culture is imprinted and sustained. Sure, there’s the employee handbook. The onboarding presentation. Those are important.
Important—but not the most impactful.
What truly brings teams together and creates culture are the everyday experiences employees share. The encouraging slap on the back. The morning gab in the breakroom. Shared food and drink. You ever notice how there’s a vibe to an office? To a meeting? There’s an energetic connection.
That connection isn’t easy to replicate remotely. You have only dual-dimensional communication—a speaker and a screen. Sight and sound. The workplace experience involves all five senses. Full engagement.
Bondy exists to recreate that energetic connection by engaging all five senses. By delivering shared experiences, Bondy connects and builds teams no matter where they are.