Every business owner understands that their team is integral to the success or failure of their business. Over the past three years, a jobseekers’ market has emerged, creating intense competition with more job openings than applicants. In this battle for talent, your company’s culture separates the winners from the losers. With the right talent on […]
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Every business owner understands that their team is integral to the success or failure of their business.
Over the past three years, a jobseekers’ market has emerged, creating intense competition with more job openings than applicants. In this battle for talent, your company’s culture separates the winners from the losers. With the right talent on your roster, it accelerates your growth and creates greater profitability.
It takes a village
No company or organization can build an inclusive, welcoming and rewarding culture in a day.
It requires a commitment from every team member at every level — from leadership to the newest employee — to help create it.
While perks like coffee bars, craft beers and free lunch Fridays may help show appreciation, they can’t be the sole focus of your investment in culture. To create a people-first culture, leadership must listen to the team and take feedback seriously to make meaningful improvements.
People need to connect with each other and build genuine relationships.
An organization has a responsibility to ensure that every team member feels seen, heard and valued for who they are, and how they contribute to the success of the team.
Culture boosts business outcomes
A winning culture benefits both your employees and clients.
Although your product or service may be exceptional, poor delivery can ruin your reputation. The people behind your business make all the difference when it comes to attracting clients, building a strong customer base and driving sales.
When you have a passionate and dedicated team that feels understood and valued, they’ll work harder, innovate more and develop creative solutions to improve processes and client service. This leads to better business outcomes for clients and the organization.
Engaged employees become more effective as entrepreneurs and relationship managers when they truly believe in the company they are presenting to clients and prospects.
With higher client satisfaction, organizations foster loyalty and generate more referrals, leading to growth and greater profitability.
A culture of trust
ADNET introduced our “responsible time off” policy — our version of unlimited time-off — over five years ago. We felt we needed to offer our team more flexibility and work-life balance, and we recognized that limiting their time off also limited what they could accomplish outside of work.
Managing a high-performing team requires trust and empowerment. Balancing our team’s freedom to take more time off while ensuring they meet our clients’ needs is a challenge, but it can be properly managed with a culture built for people who trust each other and genuinely want the best for each other as well as for the organization.
We also haven’t required our team to return to the office for in-person work, and we have no plans to change that. They can work from anywhere they can be productive — and we provide the tools, technology and support to keep them engaged.
You must be able to trust your team, and trust that you have the right people.
If you ignore your business’s culture, you risk losing top talent — and losing clients.
Christopher Luise is the CEO of ADNET Technologies, a Rocky Hill-based IT management, cloud services and cybersecurity firm that has earned a spot on Hartford Business Journal’s Best Places to Work in Connecticut list for 10 consecutive years.
