VCA went through “a lot of turnover” with younger people but has many employees with about 15 or 20 years in the company. As more young employees decided VCA wasn’t for them, Berlin and his team realized they had to do something to stem the tide.
“The number one changing force was the actual people,” says Berlin. “It’s truly a systems business and we’ve shifted to more of an enterprise business.”
Berlin heard his fellow PSNI members and speakers at conferences talking about the importance of company culture and what can be done to improve it. VCA is also part of Vistage, a leadership training and executive coaching firm, and Berlin read books including “The Metronome Effect: Journey to Predictable Profit,” “Scaling Up” and “Good to Great” to inspire the much-needed changes.
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“Some of the best people we have didn’t start in the right jobs,” says Berlin. “It’s about putting people in the right seats.”
Berlin has approved changes to the company culture that are focused around four core principles: commitment, teamwork, learning and balance. When the company hit its annual sales goal after six months, they all earned a day off and company picnic that included rock climbing, zip-lining and other outdoor activities.
Those core principles, by the way, are posted on the company website and posted in every office across VCA.
“What we’re doing is trying to hire people who can work well as part of a team,” says Berlin.
VCA also has hosted quarterly Town Hall meetings for the past few years, says Berlin, in an effort to help the management team connect with employees at all levels of the company.
“It’s a way of letting people see the investments the company is making and communicating those to everyone,” says Berlin.
VCA hosts quarterly Drink and Think events for clients, a way of giving both sides a chance to spend time together in a more casual way. And the company has crafted a monthly employee newsletter that highlights charity events, certifications, anniversaries and more involving VCA staffers. It’s about 75 percent personal, says Berlin.
Company leaders have given their employees the tools to host virtual meetings, do CAD work and create proposals, among other things. Those offerings “come with trusting tools and trusting people,” says Berlin. “These days, people are always working and we need to make it so they’re able to do that.”
Understanding the Importance
Greg Peninger, president of security and AV integrator Protex Technologies, hadn’t thought much about his company’s culture or how to shape it until he went on a tour of the Zappos headquarters. Zappos has become known as the ultimate example of the ideal company culture and built a reputation as best in any business for customer service.
“I didn’t think we could do (what Zappos does) because people expect us to be serious,” says Peninger. “But there’s a lot of what they do that we can bring to our company. It’s certainly a work in progress, and I don’t know if you ever feel like you arrive.”
Peninger also started making changes after reading Dave Ramsey’s best-selling book “EntreLeadership.” With that knowledge in tow, Peninger has led the way on changing Protex’s hiring practices.
That’s meant extending the hiring process over multiple interviews and involving more people in the hiring process. Those changes took effect over the past couple of years.
“It’s more valuable people fit in and are trainable than what they already know,” says Peninger. “The changes we’ve made have been beneficial for the applicant and for us. It’s helped us choose better people.” Among those who’ve come on board under the new approach are sales managers, an operations manager and a controller.
Protex puts job candidates through DiSC (dominance, influence, steadiness, conscientiousness) personality profile tests during the interview process, says Peninger.
“They give us insight on how they are at home and how they might behave at work,” he says. “It also helps us figure out how we can do a better job coaching and relating to that person. Finding out how to motivate each person is important.”
Since moving into a new office a few months ago, Protex has started holding company breakfasts, where members of management cook for all employees. It’s another way Peninger and other company leaders have been better able to connect with everyone as Protex has grown quickly from about five to seven employees to more than 30 today.
“It’s harder to know everyone as we’ve grown,” says Peninger. That’s why he’s started having one-on-one meetings with all technicians and others in the company. “I want people’s opinions and suggestions to be heard,” he adds, “and I want them to feel comfortable giving their opinions.”
