10. Collaborative Solutions
Carroll Ross, CEO of Collaborative Solutions holds the firm's first-ever Best Small Firms to Work For award in pretty high regard. "Of all the accolades we have received as a company, this honor tops them all," Ross says. "It truly validates what we've all known at Collaborative for quite a while—the firm is a special place to work and our employees have built an unmatched culture in our space."
Winning the award, he says, "lets our people know that they work for a firm that respects its employees and empowers them to be successful. It also further separates us from our competition on many levels—from workplace excellence to winning the war for top talent." Ross says. "For our firm's leadership, it is a welcome acknowledgement of hard work and that we're part of a truly great organization. It inspires and motivates us to wake up each day and work on making our firm even better."
Seems as though they are doing a pretty good job thus far. Ross says morale is very high. Much of that comes from having both a winning and a compassionate culture, and an understanding that everyone is part of a team," he says.
"We encourage innovation, creative thinking and entrepreneurship," Ross says. "We recognize and reward our employees for continuing to make our firm great through their contributions in these areas. We understand that when employees are happy, customers are, too."
And the firm measures employee satisfaction through its annual employee workplace survey where the firm asks employees three questions: What should we start doing? What should we stop doing? And, what should we keep doing? "Each year our employees tell us loud and clear what is important to them," he says. "Through our survey, they help set the agenda for workplace improvements during the year."
Programs such as unlimited PTO policy, internal social communications network using Salesforce.com Chatter and the recently launched Collaborative University lend themselves to increased employee morale, Ross says. "When our employees talk, leadership listens, and most importantly, we trust their input and act on it," he says.
The unlimited PTO program, which was a direct result of employee feedback, has been a big hit, he says. It's no wonder the firm finished No. 5 in the Work/Life Balance category. "Our unlimited PTO arrangement allows our employees to recharge their batteries while we work religiously to balance workloads."
Ross says his top challenge right now is keeping the culture in tact as the firm grows. "Balancing our growth with our cultural personality is a challenge, and many businesses fail it," he says. "We will stay laser focused on keeping that balance in check."
WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR FIRM?
Carroll Ross, CEO of Collaborative, says: "While we believe many aspects of what we do are unique, the item that really stands out is our Employee Referrals program. More than 50 percent of our hires come directly from employee referrals. We feel that this 'one degree of separation' helps us when seeking out the best talent to put together winning teams. Great consultants want to work with other great consultants. A great work experience keeps our employees sharp and motivated. Employees love working for Collaborative and the sheer amount of employee referrals is proof positive."
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.