Local tour company Walks on scaling their culture and team around the world

Walks provides tours and local activities that aim to help travelers discover top destinations in conscious and educational way.

Walks (takewalks.com) is co-founded by Travel Massive NYC and Boston chapters member Stephen Oddo. The company now operates in New York, San Francisco and nine other European cities. 

 Walks is currently hiring a Guest Experience Specialist in Austin, Texas, a Senior Graphic Designer in Dublin, an HR & Culture Manager in Italy, and a UI/UX Developer in Dublin.

In this interview, we look behind the successful working environment at Walks with no better than their Global HR & Culture Manager – Rachel Eismeier.

Walks it taking off! What are some of the reasons behind your growth?

Yes! This is incredibly exciting. The growth behind market expansion is due to the success of our flagship market helping make a name for the rest of the company, the people on-the-ground and in the office who make the gears turn every day and the dreamers who point to the map and decide where to go next (not really how it works, but it sounds exciting, doesn’t it?).

Tourism is a rapidly growing market, as is conscious consumerism.

The same people who are asking, “Where are my clothes made?” are asking “How can I travel in a conscious, sustainable and educational way, while still meeting amazing people and having fun?”. And that answer is incomparably, Walks.

What’s important about your culture at Walks, and how did you cultivate it?

The culture at Walks was here when I joined in January of 2017 and though not every employee is the same, we all have similar innate characteristics: being adventurous, maintaining curiosity, having a genuine respect and wonder concerning the world around us and valuing creation and collaboration.

All of these things have dictated the employees that we continue to hire and the benefits that we try to develop for our staff. A good example of this is our Product Team. This past year, Walks allowed any employee in the company to apply to be on our “Product Team”.

We gathered all members chosen in Rome to learn, from our Leadership Team, just how a product goes from a “paper-napkin” idea, to a full-fledged, operating tour. And then we asked them to do it.

Not only do our employees come to Walks with a foundational knowledge of their field, but they come with a desire to learn more about travel, tourism, and they have a natural interest in being a part of the process that creates those experiences.

What are some tips and practices you’ve developed to keep your employees connected world-wide?

This is tough and something that we work on daily. Generally, we try to be explicit with timezones when planning meetings, and we all have a clear understanding of when our sister offices operate; so there is no expectation that just because you are in Austin, Texas, you can ask a question and have it answered from someone in Rome, after-hours.

Culturally, we use Teamphoria to allow employees to share a profile about themselves, outside of work, to enable other employees to learn more about them and connect over shared commonalities. We have informational presentations/sessions put-on for employees, by employees that gives the opportunity to share a snippet of what that person’s daily responsibilities entail, and start the wheels turning on how it can connect with other’s fields.

We have monthly “town hall” meetings, where every Manager in the company speaks about what their department is doing and successes and challenges they are facing.

We also strongly encourage all gif’s and meme’s on our company #slack. Everyone in the company is challenged to find the “perfect” emoji that will make others laugh, and that rings true when you are down the hall from one another, or across the ocean.

What’s the best reward about working with Walks? How do you celebrate your achievements?

Every employee probably gets something different out of working for Walks. For me, the best reward is supporting these amazing employees who are putting their heart and soul into perfecting the travel experiences of our guests.

Every detail that goes into our travel itineraries is approached with such respect, empathy and excitement, it makes me feel fortunate to be a part of that. We celebrate our achievements by recognizing small and large milestones through giving awards, announcing it to the whole company, and making sure you are verbally recognized.

If we happen to physically be with one another, you can believe that a delicious bottle of wine, laughter and good food will be had to celebrate.

Can you let us in on any expansion plans we can get excited about for 2018 or next year?

We are moving into two new European markets and one new US market for 2019, and we are also continuing to focus on our newest product line, WOWO, Walk On // Walk Off. It’s a really exciting alternative to traditional touring, and we like to imagine it is a “Choose Your Own Adventure” for travel.

Connect with Walks on Travel Massive and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for more sneak peeks of their latest plans and open positions.