Table of Contents

3. From the Founders

5. Be the Brand

6. Focus on the Why

9. Mission

11. Vision

13. Values

25. Brand Promise

27. Brand Attributes

37. Audience

45. Brand Voice

57. Name & Visual Identity

60. Design Principles

67. Brand Behavior

68. Living the Brand

3

From the

Founders

A little while ago, we took a French cooking class with our wives.

(Their idea—not ours.) While neither of us are big fans of French food,

it turned out to be a really great experience. We both gained a huge

appreciation for the passion our chef had for creating great food and

sharing it with others.

Her passion for great work is the perfect example of why we created

BambooHR. We believe everyone has greatness in them, and when

they’re passionate about their work, it comes out. We design intuitive,

delightful software experiences that give people the time, and confidence,

to do their best work.

This brand book outlines guiding principles and examples that inform

the way we tell our story visually, verbally and behaviorally. We want to

make our customers feel inspired to do great work, the work they were

meant to do. We accomplish this by being candid, conversational, confident

and caring—with a sense of playfulness.

We’re committed to building a great company at BambooHR. We’re

committed to building a great brand. This means that all of us are

responsible for delivering a BambooHR brand experience worthy of

recommendation. Thank you for the meaningful contributions you’re

making to our brand and to our business.

Here’s to our best work,

From the Founders

5

Be the Brand

Our brand is more than just an idea on paper.

Our brand is more than just an idea on paper. It’s more than our logo or our tagline. Our brand is the

embodiment of our company. But we don’t own it. Our customers do.

The BambooHR brand encompasses all of the experiences and expectations people associate with us. Yet these

experiences start inside the company, with all of us. Knowing how to live the BambooHR brand will help us all to

grow it—from the inside out.

This book will help you understand our brand, what it stands for and how to express it. In other words, how to be

a keeper of the brand. And how to share the Bamboo Love!

Be the Brand

6

So why do we make our software? Because we believe work should be an outlet for greatness.

People who subscribe to our service want to do meaningful work.

Focus on the Why

People don’t buy what we do. They buy why we do it.

Our online HR software helps small and medium-sized businesses

make time for meaningful work.

What

We design intuitive, delightful software experiences.

How

We believe work should be an outlet for greatness. When people are

passionate about what they do, they can accomplish great things.

Why

Focus on the Why

9Mission

MissionOur purpose beyond making money

Set people free to do great work.

11Vision

VisionWhat we want to accomplish

Be the No. 1 recommended HR experience for small and medium- sized businesses in the world.

13

Here at BambooHR, we love what we do, we take care of our customers and we have

a lot of fun. Everything we do revolves around our five Bamboo values.

The Bamboo Way

Values

Values

14

We work hard and love what we do. We also value our relationships with family and friends and make plenty of time for them.

Enjoy quality of life.

1

Values 1 of 5

17

Grow from good to great.

Values 2 of 5

We believe in helping our employees, and our clients’ employees, grow. When you grow your people, you grow your business.

2

18

We know good ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. Our doors are open, and our actions are transparent.

Be open.

3

Values 3 of 5

21

Assume the best.We assume everyone has good intent. We seek to hear, understand and act out of a desire to do what’s best for the company, our customers and one another.

4

Values 4 of 5

22

We do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.

Do the right thing.

5

Values 5 of 5

25

We help you make time for meaningful work.

Brand Promise

Brand PromiseWhat we deliver to customers

27

Brand Attributes

Brand Attributes

Our character traitsOur brand encompasses all of the experiences and expectations people associate with BambooHR.

Our brand attributes play an important role in this process. Remember to communicate them in

everything you say and do on behalf of our brand.

29

HumanIt really is all about people and making sure they have a great experience with every aspect of buying, implementing and using our software.

1

Brand Attributes 1 of 4

30Brand Attributes 2 of 4

Just because our software is powerful doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Our software’s interface is so clean, intuitive and elegant, it’s a thing of beauty.

Simple

2

33

InclusiveWe allow everyone to enjoy the benefits of automated HR software—not just big companies or techies. Our affordable pricing structure makes sure everyone’s invited to the party.

3

Brand Attributes 3 of 4

34Brand Attributes 4 of 4

We’re alive, adaptable and flexible, just like the bamboo plant.

Flexible

4

37

Audience

Audience

Know your audience. Talk their talk.We talk with people, not at them, so it’s important that we relate to them and understand their concerns. BambooHR has three

main audiences: the C-Suite (CEOs, CFOs, COOs), HR managers and employees. Each has unique needs and motives. Get to know

them. Speak to them in their language.

39

I want ROI, ASAP.

Get me accurate information so I can plan and hire.

Help me make good strategic decisions and mitigate risk.

Make it easy for me to see what’s going on.

Make me look good.

CEO/CFO/COOKnow

YourAudience

Audience 1 of 3

41

HR Director/ManagerFree up my time so I can focus on things like training and creating a great culture.

Help me prove I’m more than a paper pusher.

Simplify my life. Please!

Let me organize, update and access all employee information in one place.

Help me get accurate information and create great reports.

Give me confidence about using an automated system.

KnowYour

Audience

Audience 2 of 3

43

EmployeesLet me focus on my job—not timesheets and paperwork.

Make it easy for me to request time off.

Help me get benefits information whenever and wherever I need it.

KnowYour

Audience

Audience 3 of 3

45Brand Voice

Brand VoiceThe BambooHR voice is friendly, conversational and real. When we speak Bamboo, it’s as

if we’re speaking to friends. We’re informal, but we’re not speaking to “dudes.” Our copywriting

has a witty sense of humor, which is sprinkled lightly throughout our text. We’re playful and

keep things light, but we don’t go overboard. We’re confident and inviting, never salesy or

pushy. We genuinely care about our customers’ success.

The BambooHR name is one word, without a space. In conversation, it’s okay to simply say “Bamboo.”

47Brand Voice 1 of 5

Be candid.

1

Be open, honest and sincere. Tell it like it is. Be unreservedly straightforward.

We say, “Technology can be clunky. We get that. That’s why we’ve worked to make our software refreshingly simple.”

We don’t say, “We can alleviate your fears about implementing and navigating a new HRIS system.”

48

Hi Jim!

Brand Voice 2 of 5

Be conversational.

2

Be on a first-name basis with our customers. Speak like you’re having a conversation with a friend. Don’t be too formal. Or too informal. Share your enthusiasm. But go easy on the exclamation points.

We say, “Hi Jim!”

We don’t say, “Hello” or “Hey.”

51

“Sure! We can look into that—and have you considered this?”

Brand Voice 3 of 5

Be confident.

3

We have a great solution. Be confident about sharing it with others.Go beyond what people ask for and give them what they should have asked for—had they known. Challenge them to do their best work!

We say, “Sure! We can look into that—and have you considered this?”

We don’t say, “Let me check to see if that is something we can do.”

52

“We hear you. It’s hard to spend all your time helping others take

time off.”

Brand Voice 4 of 5

Be caring.

4

Be empathetic. Walk in their shoes. Listen and understand their frustrations. Remember what they’re dealing with, day in and day out.

We say, “We hear you. It’s hard to spend all your time helping others take time off.”

We don’t say, “We have a complete solution for benefits automation.”

55

Be playful.

5

Don’t be afraid to keep things light. Remember, we’re simplifying their lives, not solving world hunger. Use humor sparingly. Sprinkle, don’t douse.

We say, “Guess you could say we put the human back in human resources. By automating it. Go figure.” We don’t say, “We take the drudgery out of human resources.”

Brand Voice 5 of 5

57

Name & Visual IdentityOkay, so why bamboo?Bamboo is a truly remarkable plant. It’s the fastest-growing plant on the planet. It’s flexible, beautiful and

strong. It’s highly efficient, extremely versatile and sustainable. And it’s essential to our world. Oh, and we

have a thing for pandas.

Name & Visual Identity

59

We’ve refreshed our logo and graphic identity to better express our brand personality.

Our logo is modern, fresh and approachable. We really love it, and hope you do, too—

enough so that you respect its usage and play by the rules.

The way we use our logo and other graphic elements helps create a consistent visual

identity, just as the words we use create a consistent brand voice.

Our Logo

Name & Visual Identity

60Design Principle 1 of 3

Nope.

Design Principle #1

No pagodas.Background images of bamboo are great. Cliché references to Asian culture are not.

63Design Principle 2 of 3

Design Principle #2

Be real.Use real people in real situations. Photos shouldn’t look posed or too cool. Stock photography? Don’t even think about it.

64Design Principle 3 of 3

Design Principle #3

Keep it simple.Reinforce the simplicity of the BambooHR software experience.

67

Brand BehaviorGet your Bamboo on.Each of us is a living, breathing expression of the BambooHR brand. We express it

every day —not only in what we say, but also in what we do and how we do it. We create

experiences that build belief in our brand.

Brand Behavior

68

Living the BrandWhat do these experiences look like? Inside the company,

it’s appreciating one another’s unique contributions in

creating a recommendation-worthy brand. Embracing our

shared sense of delighting customers. Recognizing each

other’s strengths. Helping each other grow. And doing

the right thing.

It’s also sharing our passion for the personal growth and

wellbeing of our clients. Reaching out to our customers

and showing them we genuinely care about their

success and are interested in what they are doing.

Inspiring them. Letting them know we believe in them.

We look for opportunities to remember special occasions

and accomplishments in our clients’ personal lives, too.

By remembering to ask how they did in that 5K race or

congratulating them on the arrival of their new baby daughter,

we let our clients know we care about them as people first.

When we find opportunities to be engaged in our customers’

lives and celebrate their progress, we give them confidence to

do great things. And that’s what our brand is all about. It’s not

just a logo. It’s the sum total of all the experiences we create

and share with our customers.

Living the Brand