'The work itself is enjoyable'

Then comes the invariable follow-up: Is Pardot hiring?

Honderd, a competitive athlete whose latest passion is ironman events, at first was tasked with selling to new clients. At the company’s career development meeting, she expressed interest in client advocacy, dealing with existing customers. One day later, to her astonishment, the transfer was approved.

Early on, she would double-check decisions with her supervisor. Eventually, he told Honderd to proceed on her own, saying, “I trust you to make the right decision.”

Imbued with high energy, Honderd thrives in a setting with various diversions, from Ping-Pong and putting to scooters and a gong.

Establishing such a culture takes effort, she said. Businesses “always talk about having it. It’s easy to set policy. But it’s really hard to do.”

Q. Your job description is “client advocate.” What does that mean and why do you think it fits your skill set?

A. Client advocates do fun stuff like chat with happy clients, cranky clients, clients with feedback and clients who want to upgrade. We also send an average of, like, 1 billion emails per day to follow up on these conversations. What skills do we use? Nunchaku skills. Also some other stuff like good communication, thoroughness with details and a desire to help people.

Q. Why do you come to the office every day when the company allows employees to telecommute?

A. Two words: Hilarious co-workers. Two more words: Unlimited snacks. The energy of the office is so good, I like to be in the hubbub.

Q. How are you able to take care of your job duties each day with so many diversions in the office?

A. Job duties? What are those? Seriously, the diversions are fun but so is the work. In fact, I like working way more than I like playing Ping-Pong. I’m not so good at the racket sports. That’s what’s great about a place that has stellar people and encourages employees to do things that are interesting and challenging. The work itself is enjoyable, so the diversions are just a bonus. I will say to never underestimate the revival power of a scooter lap or a few golf putts if you need a quick break. Our engineers swear that a game of Ping-Pong is the key to product innovation.

Q. When interviewing job candidates, how can you tell if someone will fit into the Pardot culture?

A. We look for really positive people — lots of smiling, a few jokes, socially adept and appropriate — and we listen carefully to how they talk about past jobs or difficult situations. We ask what people like to do for fun; work-life balance is important. Another insider secret: We always check with our office manager to see what her first impression was. How a candidate behaves when they don’t know it matters is very telling.

Q. How did you manage to get one of the company’s three GeekDesks in your office?

A. Our CEO, David Cummings, sent a company-wide email asking if anyone wanted a GeekDesk. I said, “Heck, yeah.” And a week later, I was standing up.

Q. Most of the employees are in the same age range. Are you more comfortable working in that environment as opposed to a wider range (i.e., older folks)?

A. I like working with awesome people whether they are 22 or 70. The tech scene tends to attract a younger crowd, but anyone who is fun, smart and enjoys scooter-riding or an occasional in-office happy hour is my kind of co-worker.

Q. So, with the company’s policy of unlimited vacation time, how much vacation have you taken each year?

A. Funny you should ask because I actually have no idea. That’s the beauty of it all — you don’t have to keep track and no one else is keeping track either. Maybe four weeks? I am the queen of long weekends and half-days. I used most of my vacation to travel to triathlons. I think there was one family vacation in there, too, but I was able to cut it short by saying, “I don’t have enough vacation time.” Shhh. Don’t tell my parents.

Q. Have you won a Pundie, the monthly $100 prize for outstanding work? If not, are you jealous of the recipients?

A. Definitely not anytime recently. There are folks who are way more deserving than me. The neat thing is, it is usually awarded to someone who would have done the exact same thing without any sort of recognition. That’s the spirit of the Pundie.