“When I’m here, I want to have a good experience.”
Anthony DeGraw is the Director of Partnerships here at Integris and works hand in hand with our Marketing Department. In this 3 part Discussions by Integris series, Anthony is interviewed by Kevin Vitale, Senior Manage Services Account Executive. They discuss 3 important topics that are applicable to any company that wants to overcome industry roadblocks and change for the better. In Part 3, Anthony talks about how relationships and communication add to a company’s culture.
Build relationships
Anthony: “I’m trying to develop relationships with everybody internally. So that’s step one, I want to develop relationships, a true relationship. I want to get to know you and who you are. An intern and a 10 year veteran have two completely different experiences, and I communicate to them two completely different ways. But the end goal is always the same. Who are you? What’s important to you, not only here in your professional life, but also externally in your personal life?”
Anthony: “I’m going to try and do whatever I can do to help you grow, especially in the professional life, what I can actually effect. But in your personal life too. I want to make sure things are going good. And if I can give you some advice or help you there, if you want it, I’m going to help provide you that. At minimum, I want you to come in every day and know that Anthony is going to have a smile on his face and he’s going to give you something, or try to give you something, to laugh about today.”
Anthony: “I think that they are then able to translate that over to the customers that they happen to talk to that day, or even just the people on the street that they happen to meet when they’re at lunch.”
Set an example for other employees
Anthony: “They see then how my communication, both internally and externally, what the results of that communication are. Then I don’t have to do so much telling them, it’s more that my actions speak for it and the results then speak for it.”
Anthony: “Then you give them the tips and tricks that they can use, even if they’re not having a great day, on how to keep people happy, interested in them. But I think it’s the results really at the end of the day that speak volumes over time.”
Allow everyone to have a voice
Anthony: “In today’s world, crossing the line between personal and business is one thing. And for me at least, these lines are getting completely blurred. I’m just going to be this open book. My professional life is such a big part of my personal life as well. But I don’t think we can go to people and say to them, ‘you need to do the same thing too.”
Anthony: “My point there is let those people be them, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But then there’s going to be the people that are going to be on your team that want to do the same thing, and then allow them to shine. Allow them to do that for the organization.”
Anthony: “It’s only going to make the organization prosper. Allowing them to have their voice on things that are going on in their world. That may be hard for a lot of business owners to do, because they’re giving up that control of messaging and everything. But I think their unique insights on your business, their role within your business, or their field in general is going to provide dividends in the long run for your organization.”
