5 key components to becoming a ‘Best Place to Work’

BY ERIC NEWELL AND LEAH BAKER

Becoming a ‘Best Place to Work’ doesn’t happen by accident. The CEO doesn’t send out a memo saying “you must enjoy your job.” HR doesn’t wave a magic wand and make it so. But, company leadership has everything to do with creating a positive environment and attracting and hiring a team with not only the right skills, but also people who are a good fit to the company culture.

A great work culture can vary from place to place. What works at one company might not fly at another, but there are a few factors put in place by our founders that can be universally applied to any workplace. These are the components that have helped propel us to the top of the list in “Best Place to Work” contests six times, in three separate regional publications over the past two years. As a young company, less than three years old, this recognition has been very rewarding as a team and even more so for the company founders who made it a priority. The company’s infancy included fast-paced growth, evolving processes and course corrections. Despite all the changes during this time, there are a few things that have stayed the same. Here is a five-ingredient recipe to put your company on the path to being a “Best Place to Work.”

1. Be Visionary - Our company leadership set out to create not only a successful, profitable company with good benefits and competitive wages, but a place that has the intangibles that attract quality people and make them want to stay. The company has not lost sight of that goal. It is a continuous thread every day. When we started the organization we set out to be the best in our field and set a mission and values that align with that goal. Continual efforts are taken through communication and action to ensure it’s truly a shared vision amongst all members of the organization.

2. Be Authentic – Whether it is client interaction or internal initiatives, our company has a unique personality that relates back to our roots, mission and values. What you see on the website or through the window is the same thing you would see behind a closed conference room door. Being authentic is knowing who you are as a company, and going through efforts to make sure the team dynamic is reflective of your brand, internally and externally. Be who you are, and be good at it.

3. Be Egalitarian - Though there is an organizational chart, there still exists an egalitarian feel, where the entire team is asked for feedback and people have an opportunity to voice their opinions. Great ideas can come from anywhere, team members are encouraged to be innovative. Leadership is approachable to anyone. Even when an employee might not agree with a decision, there is value in just having the opportunity to be heard.

4. Be Transparent – Stoneridge Software has always made a good faith effort in the workplace goals it sets forth. Leadership continually communicates the current state of business, and where things are headed. This provides a clear view forward and gets everyone moving in the same direction.

There isn’t ever the feeling that management is hiding anything. If there has ever been an initiative that hasn’t been successful, or a ball that gets dropped, it’s relayed honestly. There is always an undercurrent of looking at what we can do better. This goes a long way in establishing trust between leadership and employees, and creating overall team cohesiveness.

5. Be Consistent – The answers submitted through these contests are anonymous, but there is one thing that’s obvious. We all want the same thing. From leadership down, everyone in the company is pulling for success and everyone believes in our values of integrity, technical excellence, tenacity, being client centric and enjoying our work. No matter what the values are at your company, when employees are consistently treated like they have value, they are empowered to contribute to its success and in turn, make it a great place to work. PB

Eric Newell President Stoneridge Software eric@stoneridgesoftware.com

Leah Baker Marketing and Communications Manager Stoneridge Software leah@stoneridgesoftware.com

Spearfish couple launches tour business

Spearfish, S.D., residents Jon and Mary Pochop have launched Spearfish Canyon Tours, a tour service focused on providing customers with a history of the city and surrounding area. The company utilizes a 14-passenger bus for the daily tours, which include stops at Black Hills State University, the downtown area, Spearfish’s gravity-fed irrigation system, the former Black Hills Passion Play Amphitheatre, Spearfish City Park and Creek, the D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery, the 1911 Homestake Power Plant and Bridal Veil Falls. The couple collaborated with BHSU for resources including marketing research, which was conducted by a masters of business administration class.

Sanford opens Watford City clinic

Sanford Health has opened a 1,900-square-foot clinic in the resource-taxed Bakken community of Watford City, N.D. The clinic will offer cardiology, podiatry, orthopedics and free injury screenings. Physicians will travel from Bismarck and Dickinson, N.D., each month to see patients.

Sanford Health also recently became the official sports medicine provider for Watford City’s public schools.

First International Bank & Trust expands to Bismarck

First International Bank & Trust has opened its first Bismarck branch at a temporary location, 1533 North 12th Street. The bank intends to break ground on a permanent location later this year. David Mason has been named president of the Bismarck branch.

The bank now operates 24 locations throughout North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona.

Click Rain acquires second company this year

Click Rain has acquired Sioux Falls, S.D.-based web development and interactive storytelling firm Rive Immersive. The addition follows Click Rain’s acquisition of Paragon Videography earlier this year.

Rive Immersive was formed in 2013 by Jordan Loftis and Paul Lexen, along with two other partners. In addition to the firm’s work with a variety of clients, it has developed an app and iBeacon technology called Localized, which Click Rain intends to bring to market and utilize for its clients.

Midco to deploy Cisco tech

Midcontinent Communications says it will deploy Cisco’s latest cable access platform throughout its network footprint as it prepares to offer gigabit-level Internet speeds throughout its network by the end of 2017. The Midcontinent Gigabit Initiative will make high-speed Internet available to about 600,000 homes and 55,000 businesses throughout an 8,100-mile fiber network in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The company also expects Cisco’s technology will better prepare the network for massive performance improvements anticipated in early 2016 when gigabit modems become available to residential and small business customers.

According to the company, its customers’ bandwidth consumption is already doubling every 15 months.

Arvig acquires North Star Fiber

Perham, Minn.-based Arvig Enterprises has partnered with North Star Fiber, a Twin Cities-based venture with expertise in delivering gigabit Internet services to multi-dwelling buildings. The partnership will enhance Arvig’s services in the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Rochester areas.