I read an article the other day by Richard Branson, that got me thinking about the core ethos behind what we do and why we are successful.
“Businesses are nothing more than a group of people, and they are by far and away, your biggest assets. In fact in probably the majority of businesses, your people are your product. For me there is nothing sadder than hearing someone being apologetic about a place where they are working. When people are proud to be associated with their company it generates a special level of advocacy and dedication that is a huge differentiator in a world full of mediocrity and indifference.” - Richard Branson
It made me realise that whilst we try to ensure that all of our employees and associates are the best at what they do, we also have one major advantage over and above many of the other service providers out there. Quite simply people are proud to be associated with us. Whilst this is something we are “Proud” of as business, it is generated, not by us as an entity, but by each and every QEM representative out there doing their job and doing it well.
It is not something that we can train people for, and it not something that we can try to communicate through an induction, or toolbox talks. Quite simply it is down to individuals and how they perceive their employer. Whilst we can obviously try to influence their opinion by ensuring we treat them with the same respect that we would treat our family, and likewise ensure that they get the best deal possible, we can’t determine how they feel about us as a Company.
We spend a great deal of time onsite, with our clients, and we invariably find that if the people are proud of the Company they work for, then they perform better and have a greater urge to keep the client happy. Unfortunately this seems to be becoming less and less common as people are thrown about merely as commercial entities designed foremost to add to a company’s profit margin. This in turn breeds more discontent, which in turn leads to a lesser service or product for the client.
The benefit is that we all have the ability to try to improve where and how we work. It is all too easy for us to sit and complain about what goes on around us, as opposed to trying to find a way of improving it.
The only way that we can stop the organisations that insist on providing “Mediocrity and Indifference” is if, as employers, we find ways to make our ambassadors proud of what they do and who they do it for, and as Clients we refuse to settle for anything but the best. If we manage that, then we will have the opportunity to not only improve each and every individual’s quality of life, but also the general business environment we work in.
As a business we hope that when you stop a QEM Engineer or manager and ask them if they like what they do, and if they like working with QEM, then the answer will hopefully always be a big fat “Yes”.