by Scott Jack
Content Contributor, E-N Computers
Over 10 years of experience in healthcare IT and tech support.
When you work with someone, you want to have a good idea of who they are and how they operate. Whether you’re a prospective client or a new employee, we want you to know what drives us and what you can expect. So, here are our core focus, our values, and the framework we use to do our best work.
QUICK ANSWER:
What are the core focus and values of E-N Computers?
Our core focus is helping people solve problems with streamlined business IT solutions. The five core values that guide how we do that are a culture of success, discipline, dedication, innovation, and humility. They help us to work well together and provide the best service possible to our clients.
Why core values matter
Values are guiding principles that inform how we make decisions and work toward our goals. We want employees who embody these values because they will be able to act without having to be explicitly instructed by management, they will have better relationships with their colleagues, and they will provide better service to our clients.
Core focus and core values of E-N Computers
Core focus
We help people solve problems with streamlined business IT solutions. To support this core focus, we set five core values: culture of success, discipline, dedication, innovation, and humility. These core values guide the way we work, and we expect our team to display them. We also look for these qualities in our clients. Experience has taught us that when our clients share these values with us, we can achieve great results.
Culture of success
We foster a positive, success-driven culture internally and externally. This means that we are interested in solutions, not in shirking responsibility or playing the blame game. We aim for positive interactions with team members and clients.
Many organizations have several vendors to manage. For example, we take care of IT support, but a client may also have an internet service provider and often a separate phone provider. When network or phone service issues arise, vendors often do a lot of finger-pointing. No one wants that. Instead, we work directly with vendors to find solutions.
Discipline
People acting with discipline have a higher rate of success. Providing consistent service quickly requires discipline — the ability to follow a plan, meet deadlines, and overcome challenges. We show discipline by following our established processes, such as triaging and responding to support requests promptly and checking their status every few days. We finish what we start, even when it isn’t easy.
Dedication
A dedicated person is devoted to a task or purpose with a single-minded sense of loyalty and integrity. We view ourselves as a true partner to our clients. We’re committed to doing our job well and earning the trust of our customers. When we’re at work, our focus is proactive communication and problem solving.
Innovation
Innovative people introduce new ideas; they think in an original and creative way. Constant changes in technology and business require adaptability. We value the ability to look at a problem differently, find non-obvious solutions, and collaborate on ideas. It helps us to stay competitive, be more efficient, and provide better service.
Humility
Humble people have a balanced view of themselves; they are not arrogant or prideful. We highly value this quality in our employees and look for it when we hire. Humble people seek to understand, acknowledge what others have to offer, and avoid the tendency to want to prove themselves right. Humility is part of what helps our team to work well together and be solutions oriented.
What our clients say
It’s one thing for us to tell you about some “core values” cooked up in a management meeting. It’s another to really put them into practice. Here’s what our account manager, Amy, has to say about the qualities our technicians show:
Many times on surveys, clients let us know that our technicians speak to them in terms that they understand and the clients appreciate that. The technicians are relatable, patient, and willing to take the time to help the client get to the resolution with the understanding of what was done, not just that it was done.
Here’s an example of a survey response directly from a client:
Will was pleasant to work with. He was very patient and kind. He walked me step by step with my situation and that is exactly what I wanted. He met me on my level. Lots of times people just don’t look out for the person on the other end of the phone, they just want to move to the next situation, but not Will. I really appreciated the time and patience he took with me.
To see other positive reviews from our clients, check out our Testimonials page.
Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)
The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is a set of tools and practices that help businesses to be more effective. It aims to address six aspects of business operations:
- Vision: Make sure everyone is on the same page about where the business is headed and how the team is going to make that happen.
- People: Hire the right people and put them in the right roles.
- Data: Use a few key metrics to understand where the business is at.
- Issues: Find problems, create a plan to fix them, and prevent them from cropping up again.
- Process: Identify your core processes, document them, and make sure everyone follows them.
- Traction: Introduce discipline and accountability as you work through major goals toward your vision.
Why we implemented EOS
We used to have a very dysfunctional team with each manager pursuing their own goals and values. Like many service-based businesses, our sales and engineering teams were at odds. As a result, we didn’t have the best working relationships and sometimes took comments in meetings personally rather than focusing on problem solving. We were stuck and couldn’t grow like we wanted to.
EOS is geared toward small businesses with less than 250 employees. EOS is great for addressing the pains that small businesses face as they grow and mature, particularly when it comes to maintaining quality during expansion and reducing founder dependence.
How we implemented EOS
We decided to work with a business coach — EOS calls them Implementers — to work on the problems we were facing. The first coach was not a great fit. The second one was great, and we worked with him for a year and a half. He was familiar with our industry and understood the challenges we faced. He really helped us turn things around.
We had to sit down and work out our vision and core values together. Deciding on these things as a team helped everyone to buy in. Once we clearly defined our specialty — helping people solve problems with streamlined business IT solutions — it was easier for us to work together toward that. Now we continue to self-implement EOS, documenting and refining our processes, tackling issues, tracking metrics, and keeping communication channels open.
Working with an EOS Implementer is not cheap, but it’s well worth the investment. We paid about $5,000 per quarterly session and had some contact in between sessions. Another excellent resource for us was Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman. Traction is a practical compilation of many other business books.
Key components
There are two things we do as part of EOS that we want to highlight.
We review our employees based on core values. This review happens quarterly, with a special structure once each year. If we find areas for improvement, we coach the employee. Our goal with this is to improve staff and customer satisfaction.
We do an annual checkup to make sure we’re on the same page. The team receives a survey with 20 statements that they score from 1 to 5 according to how strongly they agree. A score below 4 lets us know which areas need work.
Benefits from using EOS
Since implementing EOS, we’ve seen two key benefits: stronger team unity and better meetings.
Team unity. Our team, especially management, is now unified around our core values and a common vision. Comments during meetings reflect this and are more solutions-oriented, so people feel like they are tackling a problem together instead of being attacked.
Better meetings. We pay attention to key metrics now so we can make more data-driven decisions. We have better meeting agendas that are oriented around identifying, discussing, and solving issues. Tasks can be assigned to be handled by the next meeting, short-term issues have a two-week lifecycle, and bigger issues are worked through quarterly. When we leave the room, we have an agreement on what the solution to an issue will be and we are committed to making it work.
How is your IT maturity?
When you have the right people working together, you can implement systems and processes that actively help you reach your business goals. We sometimes call this IT maturity. But for many organizations, something is off when it comes to their partnerships, strategy, systems, and settings. How can you know what’s working well and where you have room for improvement? Start by taking our free IT Maturity Self-Assessment. You’ll walk away with some pointers and, if you want, a free appointment to discuss your results.
Take the IT Maturity Assessment
Is your business ready to weather changes, including employee turnover? Find out by taking our IT maturity assessment.
You’ll get personalized action items that you can use to make improvements right away. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to book a FREE IT strategy session to get even more insights into your IT needs.
