When we set out to build StratEx we did not set out to build the next ADP or Oracle or the next (insert name here) big company. When we started we decided to build an organization based on two correlated tenants: Customer Happiness and Employee Happiness. We try hard to make sure one causes the other instead of negating it. A positive feedback loop. Not every company out there focuses on employee happiness. Many companies claim to focus on customer satisfaction (which is not the same as customer happiness), most pay lip service to that tenant. Some sacrifice employee happiness in order to achieve customer satisfaction.
At the same time, we are the eternal startup company. No matter our revenue, number of employees, or number of clients. We always want to be nimble. We always want every employee of the company to feel they have an extended family in their StratEx family.
At our headquarters we always had a pool table. If you walk in any time during the day you may see people taking a break and playing a game of pool, or bean bag toss, or watching a college basketball game on one of the big screen TVs. We work very hard at StratEx, but that’s not enough, that’s not at the expense of our employee happiness. We also play hard. That’s one of the reasons why we got nominated for one of the best companies to work for in Chicago, and we are proud of that distinction.
Going into the upcoming year, we are establishing a culture club at the company to make sure we keep refining our company culture and keep it aligned with our tenants of employee happiness and customer happiness.
As part of our culture club initiatives for the coming year we will be giving every employee time off as a reward for community service. An employee goes out and volunteers for service in their local community? we will reward them with paid time off. We typically do events at the company for the whole staff. now we are going to make sure it happens at least once a month, on the first Monday of every month we are inviting the whole company for lunch. We want our employees to be healthy. Starting this coming year we will reimburse employees for gym membership. We want everybody to stay healthy and stay happy. If volunteering makes you happy, we will reward you for it, if working out makes you happy we will reimburse you for it, if both make you happy, you are in luck 🙂
We have other nifty things planned as well, next time you are on the phone with a happy StratExian just chat them up.
But wait, there is more 🙂 Starting this year we will be hosting an annual Ugly Sweater contest. So put it on and bring it on. Coolest Ugly sweater take home the secret prize.
Sami Abualsamid
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