Post by EF

↘ 1997: Maintaining company culture     EF history story 28/60      60 stories for 60 years      The 1990s were a period of phenomenal growth at EF, with offices opening around the world. Tour programs and an au pair placement service thrived, and new schools in Boston, Miami, Oxford, and Cambridge highlighted EF’s deeper academic commitment. The first EF website launched, and online learning began gaining traction.    However, EF’s culture was fading as expansion created disconnection. “We were so big and spread out. We didn’t know each other anymore,” Bertil said. Louise Julian, who joined EF in 1985 and was running EF Educational Tours at the time, was the first to address it.       “Our trademark at EF was always our people,” Louise said. “They were our greatest asset and secret weapon. They set us apart from our competition. You could walk into any EF office around the world and feel it. I observed how special this spirit was, but never really spoke up — until I felt it slipping away.”        She launched a study of global EF offices. Which office did the best job at making teachers happy? Which office was best at hiring? Which countries had the most repeat students and teachers? “We created a guide for how to do our jobs by cherry-picking the best practices,” says Louise, “then we developed them worldwide.”        Then she asked more questions. What makes EF such a wonderful place to work? What keeps people in the company for so long? What did it mean for someone to be described as an "EF person"?      This helped a team of longtime EF managers compile core values, which at the time were Positive attitude, Attention to detail, Entrepreneurial spirit, Cost consciousness, and Nothing is impossible. Louise noted: “While the culture is always growing and changing, which is healthy, we wanted to capture the special forces of its spirit — so we could find ways to protect it.”    Today, EF’s core values are Entrepreneurial spirit, Quality, Passion, Nothing is impossible, Attention to detail, Innovation, and Cost-consciousness.       (Amended from the original version published in “Our Story” in 2014 to celebrate EF’s 50th anniversary)     #WeAreEF #EF60