Shortly after visiting our team in Blacksburg, I headed to London in order to speak at a recruiting unconference called TruLondon and to spend time with our UK team.

I was excited about the visit because our UK team recently changed offices and I had heard some pretty fantastic feedback about their new space.  And, of course, I was looking forward to catching up with the various Rackers I had met just over a year prior when I visited for the first time.

The first part of my trip to London was spent at the unconference.  I left on a Tuesday afternoon from San Antonio and arrived early Wednesday morning in London.  I thought I was going to be able to check into the hotel and clean up before the day’s events – that didn’t end up being the case.  So, after brushing my teeth and a very refreshing face wash in the public restroom, I chugged a couple liters of coffee and headed into the event… dazed, but present.

At 3:00 PM, it was finally my turn to present.  I chose to discuss Culture Branding.  The topic focused on the reasons behind and the methods used for sharing content on Racker Talent.  I also touched on the topic of company culture… the stories, events, involvement and core values that make Rackspace the kind of environment it is.  In a nutshell, our goal is to share as many perspectives as possible in order for candidates to make a solid decision as they consider us as an employer.  The thought being that we’re not the right place for everyone, but for the right folks, we’re the perfect place.

The conference itself continued for the next two days.  Lots of catching up with industry friends and a number of Facetime sessions with home later, it was time to head over to the Rackspace location.

So, first of all… Wow!

Our London team really did an amazing job creating a world-class facility that contains all the Rackspace spirit a building could contain.  Large ceilings, cool Racker decorations and tons of culture sprinkled throughout the facility.

Here are a few pictures:

Fanatical Jacket display close to the entrance

Fun break room area towards the back of the facility

The Entrance

View from the top looking down

Cool server room by the conference rooms

My time with the London team was great.  It’s always good to get some different perspectives on how Rackspace is performing across the pond… and they’re making magic happen.  At the time, they had just rolled out our Cloud offering and you could feel the excitement in the air.  With additional roll-outs pending, it was obvious that the team as a whole is pumped to see what the future holds.

While visiting, I had the chance to meet with a number of Rackers who will become bloggers once we launch our UK version of Racker Talent.  Great folks and I can’t wait to see their perspectives shared with the world.

One other important point…  In the U.K., it’s all the coffee and tea you can drink – right from an all-in-one machine that apparently can fly.  Awesome!

As always, it was a pleasure to catch-up with our UK Rackers and visit their new facility.  Can’t wait to see them again in the near future!

In 2010, Michael joined Rackspace Hosting in San Antonio, TX to head up global employment branding initiatives.  Since becoming a “Racker,” Michael launched RackerTalent.com and has brought together internal bloggers from five continents to share the authentic culture of the organization.

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