Being real means showing up to work as your full and most authentic self. We want everyone at Splash to know they belong. We prioritize creating spaces — virtually, physically, and figuratively — that foster a sense of belonging for everyone at Splash. And we always welcome feedback around what we can do to ensure this for everyone in our community.

Be Real also means knowing when you need to take a break to take care of yourself and/or your family. Unique perks like our Mental Escape (M.E.) Days, which give each employee two days off per month, were specifically launched to help each of us be real about when we need time to pour back into ourselves. Failing to do so can lead to burnout. It’s always better to take an M.E. Day than burnout.

Being real also translates to how we ask for and provide feedback to each other, or share our individual points of view — another crucial aspect of healthy company culture. We seek progress in everything that we do. Whether it’s a performance review or feedback on a recent team presentation, we encourage an open feedback culture. In this context, being real does not mean being rude or disrespectful. How we deliver and receive feedback matters, and we take care in doing so.

Being real creates space for us to have productive and healthy conversations around the work that we’re doing. Whether you need to be real about missing a deadline or goal, or be real and ask for help or co-creation on a project, this value lets us bring more vulnerability into how we work together. Being real is about being accountable and also holding your peers accountable when something goes wrong or could be better. Part of sustaining a strong feedback culture is dependent on understanding when something can be improved.

But to be real, you have to trust those you’re interacting with. We believe in establishing trust with each other to have those vulnerable moments where we can be real and share our thoughts, feelings, and opinions with care and respect.

Being real also means acknowledging when there are limitations or blockers in the way of getting work done.

Especially as a distributed team, this value empowers us to seek clarity when something is unclear or could have the potential to cause confusion. Whether that confusion comes from the tone of the written communication or some other reason, we always assume positive intent. If there is any confusion, we encourage you to talk about it live.