Why Bullhorn is a B Corp
I recently celebrated my tenth anniversary at Bullhorn. When I started, one of our founding partners talked about becoming a more sustainable office. I didn’t really understand what he meant, and I can’t say I was excited when he mentioned recycled toilet paper. But I knew that Bullhorn wanted to use business as a force for good.
I was a project manager when we first became a B Corp in 2017. We earned our certification by (barely) passing the minimum certification score. But we were proud, and we celebrated. It was important to us to have a third party verify the claims we made about ourselves.
Our journey has only grown more intentional. We recertified in 2021 with the office-wide focus of increasing our impact and proactively seeking clients aligned with similar values through organizations like B Corp, 1% for the Planet, and Conscious Capitalism.
Being a B Corp means leading by example and setting the bar high for how a responsible company can and should operate. We regularly share our best practices and mistakes we’ve learned through the B Corp networks and Southeast BLD (B Corp Leadership Development).
I most recently led us through our second recertification. We agree to recertify every three years to show that we are still living up to the high standards. Our original score was 82.2. We increased to 93.6 in 2021. We are still in the process of verifying our results, but we will recertify again this year over 100 points. It is a huge improvement.
The most surprising thing is that through further involvement, I’ve found friendships across the country and across industries. I lead a B Corp group focusing on internal operations, which is the role I have grown into here.
Being a B Corp means that we prioritize people over profits. In the last few years, we have established recusal policies for our employees: a month-long sabbatical, unlimited PTO, flexible work schedules, collaboration over competition, paid volunteer time, and financial transparency.
There is always a horizon. We are currently exploring what it is like to be a company without titles. Where self-organization is emphasized. Stick around; we will let you know how it is going.
