Growing a company in a highly competitive industry like employee benefits is not for the shy and retiring. It takes deep commitment, strategy and execution. As any growing company can attest, there are challenges with rapid hiring, onboarding, training and managing a quickly expanding workforce. Establishing and maintaining a positive corporate work culture throughout these changes is hard, but vital to the health of a thriving organization.
As companies grow, important questions like these must be answered: How do you indoctrinate new employees and ensure that they are embracing your corporate values? How do you make sure that people learn how to perform their jobs in the most exceptional way possible, while also delivering awesome customer experiences? And how do you protect the delicate cultural balance of working hard, giving back to the community, celebrating success and having fun? Last, but not least, how do you measure it all? These are constant areas of concern both for me as CHRO and also for our entire management team at Hodges Mace. An engaged leadership group, we expect all of our employees to share this level of dedication.
Employees as brand ambassadors
We were ecstatic to learn recently that we made the
Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and managers interact and handle exchanges, internally and externally. It develops organically over time from a collection of experiences. It is critical for attracting new recruits. Today's job candidates have high expectations of their future employer. They know more about an organization before applying for the job than ever before. They regard an environment of cultural compatibility as just as important as a good salary. Posting core values on your website, reviews on Glassdoor, and employee to peer references are more influential than ever.
Winning the Best Places to Work in Georgia for the second time affirms that our business model and corporate culture are in sync. That first win was no accident. The second win shows Hodges-Mace has consistently earned the award — it is a deserved recognition of a culture of excellence, comradery and fun. When potential candidates peruse our website for open jobs and research our organization, they not only see why our employees are so engaged, but also see proof that we really are a fantastic place to work. Our employees will vouch for it.
Hodges-Mace’s core values run deep. They are clearly articulated and embody the essence of who we are as a company. The first visual that anyone sees when entering our lobby is a combination of our logo and values, reflecting the principles for which we stand:
- Create Awesome Experiences. Every Customer. Every Interaction. Every Time.
- Innovation Matters. Execution Matters More. (Be proud of our innovation, but deliver on execution — every time).
- Your Brand is What Makes Our Brand Great. (Build your own personal brand, and our company's brand will follow).
- Our People and Our Communities Matter. We are conscientious and caring about our work, our communities and one another. (Bottom line, it's just who we are. We are compassionate).
Throughout the day, in addition to seeing our core values boldly posted in our front lobby, employees also see the Best Company to Work for in 2016 and 2017 awards hanging on the wall, reminding them of our collective achievement. We call it Corporate Bling. These visual symbols remind everyone of who we are, and why we like working at Hodges-Mace. They have meaning and we choose our words and behaviors accordingly. That translates into great things — winning customers, working as team and having fun on the job. This transcends to job candidates too, as they pass through our halls, determining whether Hodges-Mace is the right workplace for them.
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Like most competitive companies, we like to win at Hodges-Mace. Adding another Best Places to Work in Georgia award to our walls, our email signatures, and our offices is not only an honor, but also a source of genuine fun as we recognize our achievement. While seemingly simple and subtle, these are the elements that build employee loyalty and dedication. These are the elements that bring people together to drive a strong and consistent corporate culture. Employees bond when they share a common vision and this connection transcends into the work that they do for our clients. Nurturing a positive corporate culture has proven a winning strategy for Hodges-Mace and a triple win for both our organization, our employees and the clients that we serve.
