11y
While this was tough to read, this was extraordinary feedback that has already made an impact in the way that GadellNet does business. We wanted to ensure that we properly documented the changes made in response to the concerns documented by this former employee:
Company vision and policy: This year, we set forth the goal of expanding our regional operations in St. Louis and Indianapolis and growing at a steady 35% target. As of the writing of this response, we are slated to be exactly on target. Furthermore, in August, we restructured operations around 4 distinct groups: Managed Services, Professional Services, Development Services and Consulting Services. These functional owners are now responsible for ensuring the operations of the teams and minimizing ownership involvement. These changes have transformed our results and our team, as our weekly anonymous surveys indicate a sharp increase in employee satisfaction over the last 6 months. Our commitment and mission has been the same for 3 years: Grow regionally by outperforming our competition through process efficiencies, mastering the technologies we support for our customers, increasing our delivery of consulting services and protecting our unique culture.
Turnover: GadellNet is proud of our culture, but recognize it is not for everyone. Our mission is focused on maximizing opportunities to change and improve our clients business. This requires a unique skillset of self-motivated individuals capable of working in an environment that is not micromanaged by process, but rather, one that forces our employees to be thoughtful in their approach, solve problems, and act on behalf of our clients. This type of culture is not for everyone and we have to recognize that some turnover is expected as we grow. Our pace of advancement is a challenge not all employees can keep up with – it is our goal for our team to grow personally – develop their abilities, their experience – we want an environment that is challenging, yet rewarding. Our current employees (many of whom have been here for 5 or more years) are committed to our high performance culture. We have the honor of managing the technology of some of St. Louis and Indianapolis’s fastest growing companies, and as a result, expect excellence in the talent that works with these clients.
Your Workday: GadellNet employees arrive at the office anytime between 7:30 and 9:00, depending on family requirements. Most employees work at the office until 5:00 or 5:30 and then depart to see their families. The three owners (as well as the 4 directors and our HR Manager) are all parents of young children and demand that we have a flexible work environment for the team. Our policies and scheduling allow for easy access to doctor’s appointments, soccer games, dance recitals, or any other activity of importance to our teams and their families. There are times where after hours work is requested by a client, but it’s not part of our culture nor is it required for success in the role. Many of our best employees work a standard 40 hour week, but deliver results efficiently and quickly for their clients.
Growth: As we have grown, high performers have grown with the company. Within the last 90 days, we have had the following: 3 promotions from Service Desk to Tier 2, 4 promotions from Management into Directors, 1 promotion from Tier 2 to Service Desk Leader, 2 promotions from Service Desk to On Site Engineer and 1 promotion from Tier 3 Engineer to Senior Project Consultant. We are proud that our growth not only has allowed us to work with more small business clients, but it’s afforded our top performers to develop in their career and make a bigger impact to the business and our clients.
Ownership Involvement: There was some truth to the commentary, which is a natural byproduct of a company that has moved from 4 people to 40 in just a few years. The ownership team wears many hats, and is working diligently (and enthusiastically) to find responsible parties to wear those hats. Under the new organization, in the last 4 months, there has been considerable changes, many promotions and career changing advancements for our team to assume responsibilities across all functions to ensure that the ownership team’s tribal knowledge is well documented and responsibility lies with our 4 consulting teams.