On Receiving the 2019 Best Companies to Work For Award – a reflection on company culture
We are honored that Business NH Magazine ranked us #5 on this year’s list of “Best Companies to Work For!” This is the second consecutive year we’ve received the award.
What’s significant to us is that it is awarded based on the combination of detailed reviews and interviews by 3rd party judges, and it’s the thoughts, feelings, and responses of our team, to detailed, anonymous surveys.
I reflect on and study culture regularly – how to understand, develop, and steward it well. While company benefits, policies, processes, offices, perks, etc. are important (and play a significant role in building or squashing a great culture), I believe that what matters is the people on the team and how they treat each other. That’s it.
I’d rather work in a dumpy office, with poor equipment and terrible benefits, but with people who care about each other, do the right thing, work hard, have fun, and are a dynamic and effective team – than the reverse. Getting to work here at Mainstay, where we get to have both the great offices, equipment, and benefits and the caring, dynamic team – that’s incredibly rewarding to all of us.
Why do we prioritize culture so highly? It comes back to our mission, and to the core of how we define success: To give more than we get. Translation: that we care for others. That we do the right thing. That we create value for all. That we use our resources and opportunities to help as many people flourish as we can. That we bless our clients, our team, our community, our environment, and all our stakeholders.
But this award is not just about the mission and the team! It’s about our clients – the amazing clients we get to serve each day. Because business is tough and technology is complex – every organization deserves to have an award-winning IT and Information Security department, filled with caring, passionate, skilled, motivated team members, singularly focused on creating value for the organization through technology.
Personally, this award makes me even more motivated to find and attract the best possible team members, to equip, support, and serve them effectively, to increase our investments in the team, and to be more worthy of this award every day.
Onward and upward.