Putting Trust to Work

One of the key reasons that Spitfire has been able to attract and build a strong team of talent is our underlying philosophy of treating people as adults. We basically lay out an expectation and expect our people to meet or exceed it. We don't micro-manage, we dont require specific times in the office, in fact we encourage them to work wherever they are most productive. We recognize that hours spent on a congested highway are hours that could be spent getting valuable work done. Our people are empowered to make key decisions for our company, and know that management will back them up.

We put a framework in place that governs how we operate and how we track metrics and productivity, and of course stay close enough to the customer to ensure that we are providing excellent customer service. But, we are really good about trusting our employees to make the right decision. I think that this trust is what makes the difference between a good place to work and a difficult one. I heard it again yesterday from a client that was enjoying his new job, that he is getting a lot done because his CEO trusted what he was doing, and trusted him to make good decisions. His job satisfaction was through the roof!

I must admit, as a CEO sometimes its hard to be so trusting. Especially when people are working remotely, and you don't necessarily know where they are or specifically what they are doing. Last week I needed an answer to a quick question and was unable to reach a key employee quickly (BTW a key component of this is a robust capability to communicate rapidly-we use IM, Cell phones, Text messaging and e-mail for different things), my first instinct was to question what was he doing, found out later he was sequestered in a client data center solving some mission critical issues for them. I found out when the client raved about how wonderful his work was that my first instinct to question was clearly incorrect. The employee reached me shortly thereafter and I got my question answered.

It also takes a robust interview process to ensure that prospective employees are conciencious and trustworthy. We ask a lot of questions that indicate to us if a person has great pride in their work, and if their work ethic supports a service oriented business.

I think thats why people enjoy working at Spitfire. In many respects they are free to craft their own future with their good decisions and a management structure that supports them.