In five months, Atlanta startup Sunday hired 170 people around the world.
Sunday, which provides technology that allows restaurant customers to browse menus and pay their checks by scanning a QR code on the table, has office space in seven U.S. and European cities, but it’s committed to remaining a remote-first company. The decision expands its recruitment pool but also breeds challenges in facilitating collaboration and brand culture — a struggle among many companies as they plan what the future of work will look like for their employees.
Sunday is currently based in the Atlanta Tech Village and has about 10 employees locally. CEO Christine de Wendel says employees fall into three main categories: fully remote, in the office for part of the week and in the office every day.
Most employees opt for the hybrid option to see coworkers in person but retain some flexibility. Fully remote employees come to their closest office once a quarter, de Wendel said.
“As we grow, we’re looking to continue with this hub setup, where we have less seats than we actually have team members in that region,” de Wendel said. “It allows people to have a place to come.”
The popularity of the hybrid work among Sunday employees mirror other Atlanta tech companies. Local unicorns Flock Safety and SalesLoft are allowing their employees to decide how much time they want to spend in the office. Global cybersecurity firm Pindrop Security Inc. downsized its office in favor of remote and hybrid work. Fiserv, a financial technology giant with a strong presence in Alpharetta, is consolidating its U.S. office space into a similar, seven-hub model.
Keeping some office presence allows new employees to train and meet their coworkers in person, de Wendel said. She prefers hiring in one of Sunday’s seven hub cities but will choose the best talent from anywhere. The startup also does rotations where specific teams have set days for coming into the office.
“We’re finding that to create stickiness and corporate culture, getting people around the table does help,” de Wendel said.
The startup’s culture sits at the intersection of the tech and hospitality sectors. It has the startup energy — emphasizing growth and disruption — but also the people-centric focus of restaurants. Its website reflects that dichotomy with bright pink branding and script to look like casual pencil drawings, pointing out growth achievements.
Inside the company, de Wendel prioritizes work-life balance, diversity in leadership and getting a B Corporation certification to demonstrate a commitment to strong social and environmental values. That means unlimited vacation time — one of Sunday’s European traits — and two-month maternity and paternity leave.
The startup has also turned to tech collaboration tools to remain connected to remote employees.
The internal tech team uses Gather, a software that simulates the office environment with avatars and different workspaces. Employees can move their avatars into the break room or group collaboration room so the team can see what they’re working on.
An employee suggested that tool, and de Wendel said the tech teams use it the most. Otherwise, Sunday uses messaging app Slack and a tool that connects random employees together for virtual coffee.
“People love it, because on a Tuesday afternoon you’re chatting with a salesperson in the U.K. or software developer in south France,” de Wendel said. “It’s creating this massive excitement because of our international dimension.”
Sunday plans to double its team in the next 12 months and continue scaling hybrid collaboration processes.
