Living Our Values & Celebrating 14 Years as The Blue Compass Team

As Blue Compass reaches another exciting milestone, we reflect on our journey over the last 14 years. What started as a two-man team in a basement with a Motorola Razor for an office phone has expanded into a team of digital experts who love what they do each day. Discover how Blue Compass sets ourselves apart from the rest by staying true to our roots.

We Do Digital Because It’s What We Do Best

Even when we started 14 years ago, Blue Compass set itself apart by helping businesses stand out from their competition online. Our co-founders brought their passions for the web and creative design together, focusing on building exciting websites for clients. While innovative web designs and online campaigns weren’t as common back in 2007 as they are today, Drew and Cary knew this was the future of marketing.

Impressive clients like Spaulding, Ruan Transportation and UnityPoint Health showcased our award-winning work to large-scale audiences, helping us quickly establish ourselves as industry experts. While we were thriving in the website design and development space, Drew and Cary knew the digital world was (and still is) continuously evolving, so we kept an eye out for new industry trends. One of the first major trends the Blue Compass team capitalized on was executing search engine optimization (SEO) and digital marketing services. We realized one way to keep our websites performing well online was to regularly update content with SEO strategies and best practices in mind. Google had already established itself as a search engine giant, and our digital team began working to stay on top of new information as it was released (we still do this).

The addition of digital marketing complemented our existing services and put our clients and company on impressive growth trajectories. In 2013, Blue Compass doubled in size to 18 team members. Today, as the digital marketing industry changes, we continue to alter our SEO best practices and digital service options. Now, we have close to 30 team members, and we’re always on the lookout for talented individuals who are enthusiastic about web design, development or digital marketing.

Adapting to change is always necessary in the world of technology and all things digital, but some things will never change. The passion and drive to achieve excellent results remains strong among Blue Compass employees. There have been changes to our growing team over the last 14 years, but our values are always at the core of what we do. These are the pillars that Blue Compass stands on, and they’ve helped us develop into the team we are today.

Blue Compass is proud of the unique company culture we’ve built. Each member of our work family adds their own dynamic and personality to the mix; and the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality in the office inspires silly and spontaneous outbursts among our dedicated individuals. We believe laughter is a key sign of a positive culture and work environment, and at some point every day our team members are laughing together. 

While a lot of our culture comes from our fun-loving team members, Blue Compass has found ways to encourage a great company culture by organizing activities and small gestures for our team. Some of the most notable are:

• Team Lunches - Each month, Blue Compass team members gather together for lunch to celebrate the work anniversaries and birthdays of the month. Whether it’s a potluck or catering by a favorite local lunch spot, it’s always a great opportunity to take a break and chat in the Compass Cafe. At the end of each lunch, our team members can also expect an exciting game or activity thought up by our President, Drew Harden, - a few of our favorites include hide-and-seek, Blue Compass trivia and office scavenger hunts.
• Volunteer Work - The Blue Compass crew enjoys giving back to the greater Des Moines community. A few times a year, we leave the office to volunteer for local causes. We regularly work together with Rebuilding Together, Meals From the Heartland and we hold an annual DMARC can drive competition.
• Shout Outs & Thank Yous - We believe the little things matter most, so we encourage everyone to give praise to well-deserving team members. Sometimes this is a spontaneous coffee or note of appreciation. Still, we set aside a special time in our monthly team meetings to recognize and applaud hard-working individuals and celebrate our successes together.
• Fun Fridays Team Outings - Every once in a while, we need a little break from the usual routine or a mini celebration for a job well done. We enjoy special Fun Fridays with happy hours, cheese and wine time, cornhole tournaments, breakfast, or even employees stepping in as guest bartenders.

Blue Compass is proud to stay on top of trends and encourages employees to research and test new strategies. We promote opportunities for personal growth & exploration as we know these skills make our team better.

Team members also attend large industry-related conferences each year to network and explore new tactics and trending opportunities. These inspiring events recharge our passion for digital and often lead to exceptional results.

Each of our internal teams also holds a monthly meeting or training that revolves around industry updates and new execution methods and how to apply them to benefit our clients or improve our processes. Our digital marketing team even sends a weekly internal email update to share what’s new in the digital world. Having timely aspirations and updates encourages our team members to always work towards self-improvement.

Over the past 14 years, we’ve learned that when the Blue Compass team collaborates and combines all of our web design, custom development and digital marketing expertise into one powerhouse, there’s nothing we can’t tackle. Blue Compass thrives on our incredible team-oriented mentality, and our team members do everything they can to help each other. 

Using our diverse knowledge, we create custom solutions that assist all team members and clients. For example, Slate, a customizable content management system (CMS) built by the developers at Blue Compass, was created to be easy-to-use for all people so marketers and businesses can make frequent updates to the website. The newest version of the SEO-friendly CMS, which launched in 2016, was created with our digital marketing team in mind to ensure it pleases search engines by following SEO best practices.

Building long-term relationships with clients sets Blue Compass apart, and it is one of our biggest strengths. Some of the first clients we acquired continue to trust Blue Compass to keep their websites up-to-date and provide advanced digital marketing advice.

Our team invests in learning as much as we can about new and existing clients because when we know the ins-and-outs of their business, we can be a useful extension of their marketing team and a better representative for their brand. Blue Compass is a partnership, not a platform. We work alongside our clients’ teams and use our specialized skills to create a website or a digital marketing presence that aligns with their goals and helps them reach more consumers online.

We’re most successful when our clients are successful. This is why Blue Compass provides personalized classes and training opportunities to keep others up-to-date. Digital marketing trends are always changing, and we understand it takes a lot of time and effort to stay in-the-know on the latest SEO or UX best practices.

Finally, Blue Compass offers ongoing guidance and will be there when our partners need us. Our Client Support Team, which originated in 2013, assists with responding to any troubleshooting or questions clients may have about their digital goals and best practices.

Our team members truly enjoy coming into the office and tackling difficult projects because we are passionate about what we do and cheer on others’ successes. Blue Compass maintains this tight-knit and productive culture by seeking out professionals we believe will be the best fit for our team. This means hiring ambitious workers and exceptional personalities over applicants who may have more industry experience but won’t mesh well with our daily office routines. Blue Compass believes the people in our organization make all the difference!

Blue Compass is Proud to Celebrate 14 Incredible Years!

Mac & Cheese

Mac and Cheese is on the Digital Bark-eting team at Blue Compass. He loves greeting his team members when they arrive for the day, encouraging fun breaks during the workday and taking naps in various places throughout the office. He also enjoys saying hello to clients and other visitors - especially the mail carriers who bring treats! Mac is an important part of our team of digital experts at Blue Compass, where we help brands succeed online through web design, development and digital marketing strategies.