Hiring for values: how Aurora builds culture across a global workforce

The company’s expedition team members, who deliver voyages on board, are contractors. Wiseman said drawing them into the same culture as permanent staff is central to her strategy.

“And the one way of doing it is if you have one purpose, one set of values, you know, that everyone can draw from,” she said.

For passengers, the employment arrangement is invisible. “They don’t care if you’re a contractor. They don’t care if you’re a staff member. They don’t care,” Wiseman said.

To support this, she has restructured the people and culture function, creating a new role that will support both the ship-based contractors and the global staff. Aurora also has a policy that allows employees, after about two years, to join a voyage and spend time with the expedition team.

Building a communications framework that transcends borders

Isolation is a real risk when an employee may be the only company representative in their country. Aurora has no offices in North America or the UK, so everyone in those regions works from home.