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United KingdomTrust, transparency, & remote-first: How telecom giant Calix built its award-winning culture
Parul Kapoor, Chief Talent and Culture Officer, explains how Calix became the company with the best long-term outlook in the US, as voted for by employees...
In an era where many organizations are forcing return-to-office mandates and struggling with engagement, Calix is doubling down on what actually works: trust, transparency, and employee ownership of culture. Parul Kapoor, Chief Talent and Culture Officer, explains how the company’s remote-first model, “Speak Up Spot” forums, and holistic approach to wellbeing have created a workforce that isn’t just satisfied - it’s genuinely optimistic about the future.
What's the secret behind Calix's award-winning culture?
Parul Kapoor
Chief Talent and Culture Officer, Calix
Being recognized as the #1 company on Comparably’s 2026 Best Company Outlook list is a testament to the confidence our employees have in Calix’s direction, leadership, and long term strategy.
At Calix, our outlook is shaped by transparency, trust, and rooted in a shared purpose. Employees understand our mission, are aligned to our strategy, and clearly understand how their work drives meaningful business impact.
We prioritize clear communication, invite ongoing feedback, and act on what we hear - creating a culture where people feel informed, empowered, and optimistic about the future. That combination of clarity, inclusion, and follow through is what makes our outlook strong and sustainable.
How do you create cultures in which employee engagement, tenure, and drive are high?
At Calix, we create high engagement, tenure, and drive by anchoring our culture in a clear set of values that guide how we lead, communicate, and work together every day: Purpose, the 3 Cs: Collaborate, Create, and Communicate – and a deep commitment to investing in the success of others. This is evident by our employees giving our culture a 4.9/5 rating.
Everything starts with purpose. Employees understand our mission, are aligned to our strategy, and understand how their work directly contributes to business outcomes and community impact. This clarity creates meaning and alignment, which fuels motivation and long term commitment.
Transparency and communication are non negotiable. We prioritize clear messaging, invite ongoing feedback, and act on what we hear, ensuring employees feel informed, empowered, and heard
We encourage employees to collaborate across teams and geographies to accelerate impact, create by fostering innovation and curiosity, and communicate openly so people have the context they need to make informed decisions. Transparency and communication are non negotiable. We prioritize clear messaging, invite ongoing feedback, and act on what we hear, ensuring employees feel informed, empowered, and heard.
We believe that the strongest cultures are built when people actively invest in the success of others. At Calix, leaders are expected to care for their teams, help others win, and deliver results together. This mindset builds trust, psychological safety, and a sense of shared ownership. When people know they are supported, and their success is intertwined with the success of those around them, they stay engaged and bring their best every day.
This combination of purpose, transparency, collaboration, and trust is what sustains a culture where engagement is high, tenure is strong, and optimism about the future is real and enduring.
What key people initiatives is your business currently working on?
In 2026, our people strategy is focused on building a future‑ready organization that can scale with clarity, capability, and confidence. As Calix continues to evolve as an AI‑driven platform company, our talent and culture priorities are centered on strengthening leadership at every level, using data and technology more intentionally, and ensuring the employee experience keeps pace with the speed of our business. The goal is to enable our people to do their best work today while preparing them – and the company – for what’s next.
A key area of focus is leadership, both how we hire and how we develop leaders. We are intentional about bringing in leaders who not only have the skills to drive results, but who also model our values, lead with purpose, and invest in the success of others. At the same time, we are strengthening leadership capability, equipping managers with the expectations, tools, and development needed to create clarity, foster trust, and lead consistently at scale. We believe strong managers are the single biggest driver of engagement and performance.
When people know they are supported, and their success is intertwined with the success of those around them, they stay engaged and bring their best every day
To further support leadership development and connection, we are opening a Center for Learning and Development at our headquarters in San Jose. This space is designed as a hub for education, leadership development, and connection. The San Jose Center will allow us to add customer value beyond product briefings by supporting how customers lead transformation, while also giving employees a consistent home for leadership development and shared standards. This investment reflects our belief that learning, leadership, and innovation are best accelerated through community and shared experiences.
Another major focus is how we leverage AI to enhance the employee experience. As part of our broader AI strategy, we have launched an AI Council to support teams across the organization in their growth and development, helping build confidence and capability with AI across the business. This initiative challenges us to think differently about our work and to intentionally invest in learning and relearning how AI can be leveraged today. In parallel, we are implementing AI to reduce friction across the employee lifecycle, improve access to insights, and enable smarter, faster decision‑making – freeing up time for more meaningful, human‑centered work. At Calix, we take our responsibility to adopt new capabilities thoughtfully, with transparency and trust as non-negotiables.
Together, these initiatives reflect how we’re building Calix for the future by investing in strong leadership, hiring with intention, and leveraging AI responsibly to support our people. It’s how we ensure our culture remains resilient, scalable, and forward thinking as we continue to grow.
How do you do things differently as an employer?
At Calix, we don’t treat culture as something owned by HR or leadership alone – it’s something our employees actively own and live every day. Our values guide how we make decisions, how we treat one another, and how work gets done. They’re not a statement on a wall; they show up in how we collaborate, how we give feedback, how we support one another, and how we hold ourselves accountable. That shared ownership creates authenticity and consistency, even as we grow and evolve.
Turning workforce data into early warnings for high-cost employees
A critical part of that culture is how we build trust and model transparency. We believe open communication is foundational to engagement and performance, which is why we created Speak Up Spot - a forum where employees can submit questions anonymously to our leadership team. Every question is answered, and responses are shared openly with the entire company. This ensures employees feel heard, leadership remains accessible, and dialogue is honest and inclusive, even when topics are complex or challenging.
We reinforce that trust through our “Fueled by Your Feedback” commitment. When employee input leads to changes or new initiatives, we close the loop by clearly sharing what was implemented and why. This transparency demonstrates that feedback isn’t just collected - it drives real action. Employees can see the tangible impact of their voices, which strengthens accountability and reinforces a culture of continuous improvement.
We also made an intentional choice to be a remote‑first company and we’re staying that way, even as many organizations move back to office‑centric models. Remote‑first starts with trust and flexibility: trusting employees to do great work without being physically co‑located and giving them the autonomy to integrate work and life in ways that are sustainable. It also enables us to hire the best talent wherever they are, rather than limiting opportunity by location. We’ve proven that strong performance, connection, and culture can thrive in a distributed environment when leaders are intentional and communication is clear.
Finally, we differentiate ourselves by being early and thoughtful adopters of technology such as AI - not just in our products, but in how our employee’s work. We are intentionally putting technology into employees’ hands and encouraging them to lean in, experiment, and learn. Our philosophy is that AI should reduce friction, expand capability, and unlock time for higher‑value, human‑centered work. We believe technology should empower people to do more, not constrain or reduce them.
Together, these choices of living our values, leading with trust in a remote‑first world, and embracing technology as an enabler are what truly differentiate Calix as an employer. They allow us to build a culture that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the future of work.
Why is it important to put people first in your business?
People are the heart of our business. At Calix, we believe that sustainable performance and innovation start with caring for the whole person not just the role they fill. That’s why we take a holistic approach to wellbeing, intentionally investing in our employees’ emotional, physical, financial, and social health.
When people feel genuinely cared for, supported, and trusted, they bring more energy, creativity, and commitment to their work. We prioritize creating an environment where employees have the opportunity to invest in their development, maintain balance, and connect their work to a sense of purpose.
Whether it’s supporting mental health, enabling flexibility and recharge, or fostering connection and belonging in a distributed workforce, our focus is on helping people thrive not just get through the workday.
We are intentional about bringing in leaders who not only have the skills to drive results, but who also model our values, lead with purpose, and invest in the success of others
That commitment shows up clearly in our results. We have a low non-regrettable attrition rate of 2.6%, and strong tenure of almost 15% of our employees of have more than 10 years of service, reinforcing a simple truth: when you put people first, people choose to stay. This outcome reflects one of our core values - we invest in the success of others to be successful. While that mindset is central to how we serve our customers, it is equally true for how we support our teams. When employees feel invested in, developed, and empowered, loyalty and long term commitment follow.
Putting people first is not separate from business performance, it’s fundamental to it. When employees are healthy, engaged, and growing, the business benefits through stronger execution, better decision‑making, and long‑term resilience. We’ve seen time and again that when our people thrive, Calix thrives and that belief continues to guide how we lead, invest, and build for the future.
