EP 58 - It's a Red Letter Day Thanks to You!

As I was driving through our city this morning, I saw a billboard announcing that a particular hospital in our city was the very best hospital in the state. A little further down the road was an eating establishment advertising that they, and only they, were the home of the world's best hamburger. Now you've all seen the articles in Forbes and U.S. News declaring that certain businesses, cities, and states are the best of something or other. Many of these 'best of' declarations, in my humble opinion, don't hold much credibility as they can be manipulated and in some cases outright purchased through the investment of advertising dollars or sophisticated public relations initiatives. So it's fair to say that I view many of these 'best of' employer rankings with the same skepticism. You've heard me say, many times, that perhaps our most significant risk, which could threaten the business of NISC, is the risk of attracting and retaining the talent we need to meet the demand for our products. Financially we're very strong and secure. We have been so fortunate that our pipeline of new business is overflowing and our challenge is to manage the overwhelming demand for our products. It's a good problem to have but to meet those challenges takes smart, innovative, and dedicated employees and that is why our recruiters and peoples services have placed over 150 new NISC colleagues here, in our organization, since January of this year. So to have our organization recognized as the 'best of' is a very valuable tool when we're working hard to distinguish our organization from the crowded field of companies searching and competing for the same great talent. Having said all of that, today we are celebrating a Red Letter Day here at NISC because our organization has been recognized by three, in our opinion, very credible organizations as a great place to work and we feel these three designations have credibility because of the methodology that was used to determine the rankings. Now, for 16 years NISC has been recognized as a best place to work in I.T. by ComputerWorld. Besides being one of the most credible publications in our industry, we appreciate the manner in which Computerworld conducts this study. To determine these rankings Computerworld interfaces directly with our employees. NISC has no control involvement or influence in the survey process and that arm's length methodology gives the results, in our opinion, a great deal of credibility. Also, on a local level, the St. Louis Post Dispatch recognized NISC as a top place to work in the St. Louis region and the Bismarck Mandan Young Professionals have recognized NISC, for the 10th year, as a place that has been successful in executing strategies to attract and retain young professionals in our community. While this recognition is wonderful and flattering, what really matters to us are the sentiments and the perception of each individual NISC employee. That is why we faithfully conduct a quarterly Pulse survey of our employee base. We ask hard questions like "is our compensation package fair, comprehensive, and equitable?", "Is the management of NISC effective and efficient?", "Is your work challenging?", "Are we investing appropriately in your career?", "Is our culture conducive to a positive and engaging work environment?", "Is the coaching you are receiving from your supervisors helping you to advance your career?" In our opinion the answers to these questions matter more than the recognition of any 'best of' award. I want to assure each of you of our determination and desire to be an organization that is continually evolving, improving, and flat out making this a better place to work. We know that you have options and we are focused every day on earning the right to be your employer for the rest of your career. So today we celebrate the recognition from Computerworld, The St. Louis Post Dispatch, and The Bismarck Mandan Young Professionals as a best place to work. To our employees, "Thanks". Thank you for believing in us. Thanks for forgiving us when we mess up and being understanding when we make well intended decisions that just don't turn out very well. It is our desire to make the decisions that are in the best long term interest of our Member owners, our employees, and our organization and as you know that is a very delicate balancing act. Please know of our resolve to do the right thing, always. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you Vern