Having just been awarded Smart CEO Magazines top 100 Best Run Companies I felt it was important to reflect on how AH accomplished this recognition.
From my perspective, being a “smart CEO” and “best run company” takes more than just one person or even more than just a dedicated group of senior staff. To achieve this level of recognition, I believe you have to have full company involvement.
For AH, and from my perspective, we as a company do a great job in hiring smart, experienced, and passionate individuals. We provide the appropriate training and resources, and then we get out of their way and let them do their jobs. Time and time again we hear from our client partners how outstanding our staff is to work with.
In addition, I (we) are smart enough to involve the staff in helping run the company. Specifically we have several internal committees — Employee Advisory, Social Responsibility, Fun (yes, we have a Fun Committee and the name says it all) and New Kids on the Block (they work with our HR department to ensure our new staff get acclimated and answer any questions they may have about the company) — that we involve in making sure the company is in tune with the staff and their needs. We get fantastic insights and suggestions from staff that we act upon. This has helped us move from just a “good” company to a “great” company.
I also make it a point to stay in touch with staff. I interview all potential new hires to ensure they are a good “fit” for the company and I am one of the first people new hires meet with to get an understanding of where we are going as a company, setting the expectation for them to succeed.
I regularly host a breakfast with a small group of staff with no agenda, but allow the staff to talk about any issues, concerns or suggestions that they have about the company. I regularly take small groups of staff out to lunch to again provide access to me to discuss whatever is on their minds and, lastly, we involve a cross section of staff to take an active role in helping us move forward with the strategic plan for the company. This is the culture we foster and it continues to pay big dividends to not only AH, but to our client partners.
So as much as I appreciate the recognition that comes with the Smart CEO Magazine top 100 Best Run Companies, I know that AH received this recognition due to having an outstanding team, and I just want to say thank you to our team for allowing us to be recognized.
