Kurt Twiford, CEO
I was greeted this morning by a birth announcement from one of my employees. Their first child, a boy, 7 lbs 3 oz. It reminded me of one of the most rewarding parts of business ownership – helping our team achieve their personal goals and make life better for themselves and their families. Of course, customer satisfaction, innovation, solving problems for our clients, and profitability are all critical to our survival. Putting those corporate goals into the context of helping our work force meet their personal goals however is how we thrive.
When I purchased Conexus about 12 years ago, one of my biggest challenges was mentoring employees and navigating business while dealing with issues that many young adults face … absenteeism after Dover and Pocono races for instance. Over the past five years however we have shifted from handling life lessons to celebrating life moments – getting married, buying a home, having babies, earning degrees, receiving awards – and that brings me as much, if not a greater, feeling of accomplishment than the hundreds of projects we have completed and the business relationships we have forged.
Kyle Gable, our Director of Technical Solution, recently remarked in a strategy session that “happy employees make happy customers.” He is absolutely right. While we have a good culture, we know that it can be better, so we have established cultural development as one of our wildly important goals. We are intentionally investing time and resources into, not only defining our culture, but holding one another accountable to it. Attracting and retaining the best talent in our industry is as much about our working environment as it is about transforming the environments of our clients.
My expectations for Conexus have honestly not changed in 12 years. I want to lead a team of hardworking, team-oriented, innovative thinkers who provide products, solutions, and flawless delivery to our clients. That expectation is about more than a paycheck … it’s about making a difference. Thanks Ryan and Kim for the reminder of our true purpose and congratulations on your beautifully healthy arrival!