Once Again, Trueline’s Named a Best Places to Work—Even Though We All Work Someplace Else

Last year, eight of Trueline’s best and brightest employees journeyed to Augusta in a black SUV to celebrate the company being named of one the Best Places to Work in Maine. 

This year, we’ll have to get creative (#SocialDistancing).

For the fifth year in a row, Trueline was one of 84 Maine-based companies to make the annual list—we ranked 18th among businesses with less than 50 employees. Go us!

As we plan our celebration, consider the following: The results are based on anonymous surveys submitted by employees, covering everything from work culture to management to office accommodations to whether or not the company has its own ping-pong table and a dedicated group of high-intensity, Forrest-Gump like table tennis players (of course, we do).

“This is a testament to the consistency and camaraderie we’ve tried to build. We don’t just work with one another, we learn from one another, and that’s been a huge factor in our success.”

– Haj Carr, Trueline CEO

As context, at the beginning of the 2020, we were thriving. Sure, there was snow on the ground and temperatures were below freezing, but things were going well.

New trainees were getting more comfortable in their roles, content coordinators and developers were making new contacts, and writers were churning out story after story.

Then, like so many other businesses, our office closed in mid-March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for a while, our company wasn’t sure what the future held. We were confident we’d remain in operation, but we didn’t know in what form. There were struggles adjusting to our new world—working alone from our kitchens, basements or living rooms and without our colleagues nearby.

But then something else happened. Despite the physical distance between us, our closely-knit group grew closer. We reached out to one another. We checked in on each other. We had daily or weekly chats to make sure we were all okay.

More than six months later, it’s not a stretch to say Trueline is stronger than it’s ever been.

We still have monthly company-wide town halls, but instead of meeting in the lobby of our Congress Street office, we’re meeting on Zoom. We’ve had Zoom “Happy Hours” and several Trueline Trivia games, and lately, we’ve renewed our Coffee Buddies program that invites different pairs of staffers to “meet” each week for coffee and conversation.

Since March, the changes have come fast and furious. And while Dwayne Johnson isn’t coming through the proverbial door, each and every Trueliner has been a rock and a part of the foundation that will keep the company dropping elbows and raising eyebrows for years to come.

“At Trueline, we’ve grappled with and have worked really hard during extremely unusual and difficult circumstances,” says our CEO, Haj Carr. “Without the hard work and dedication of our Trueline family, I don’t know where I—and the company—would be.”