Provoc, a Communications Firm, is "Walking the Talk"

When you walk into the light, airy room, in a residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., you don't imagine it would be an office full of people working.  It feels like a friend's home.  This is the creation of Raj Aggarwal, President of Provoc, a full service communications firm.  Raj founded the company 13 years ago in Maryland and reincorporated in D.C. in 2004.  They are now a globally distributed company with employees located in D.C., Amsterdam and Tanzania.  They provide graphic design, branding, print media, state-of-the-art web technologies, illustration, and more. 

While the company has always offered great benefits to its employees, including paid leave, they had to make some changes to comply with the D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008.  They talked to CLASP, read the law and regulations, and revised their policy accordingly.  They already offered more than enough sick time to their employees, so the changes they made were minor - for example, clearly spelling out the reasons for leave in their policy, requiring certification of illness only after three days' absence, and adding a provision to prevent retaliation.  Raj stated, "We were happy to work with CLASP and learn about the D.C. paid sick days law.  We consider ourselves a progressive business that really values our employees and provides strong work-life balance.  Making minor changes to our policy to comply with the law was really no big deal."  Provoc has started offering the same paid sick days to all of its workers, even those not in D.C.  Will Coyle, CEO and graphic designer, said "it makes sense for us to have a single policy for all of our workers, even if we don't technically have to offer paid sick days to employees in other locations.  It's simpler that way." 

Provoc is also a Certified B Corporation, which means that they meet certain social and environmental performance standards.  One of these criteria evaluates whether they offer vacation days, sick days, personal days, and holidays to full-time workers.  B Corporation seeks to create a new sector of the economy, which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  Other B Corporations in Washington, D.C., including Busboys and Poets and PICnet, have supported paid sick days.

Provoc is "walking the talk" as a progressive business that is committed to its employees. Building on the tone that its welcoming office environment creates, Provoc treats its team members with respect and values the dividends it accrues by having a well-cared-for and appreciated staff.