Company culture shapes the workplace experience, influences employee satisfaction, and ultimately sets the foundation for the organization’s success. How can leaders establish and enhance a productive company culture, specifically within the retail IT industry? The RSPA asked some of the RSPA NextGen Rising Stars to share how they foster a great company culture and to provide key takeaways for you to consider when developing your company culture. Sharing their perspectives are:
- Allie Haskell, Custom Business Solutions
- Cort Ouzts, POS Nation
- Mary Harris, NCC
- Jean Boling, Clearent (Xplor Pay)
- Madeline Stockwell, Heartland
What are unique aspects of your company culture?
Haskell: With our genuine open-door policy, we champion open dialogues and spontaneous collaborations, encouraging a workplace where barriers are dissolved and creativity flows freely – just like my coffee. This blend not only ignites innovative thinking but also weaves a strong sense of belonging among us all.
Ouzts: We literally have our core values written on the wall. Our goals are also always written on the whiteboard. We meet every quarter to discuss the core values and our goals – it’s admittedly repetitive, but it helps us refocus every 90 days. The core values have become so ingrained that managers can simply cite them when needing to adjust performance or behavior.
Harris: Our company culture is centered around a strong family-oriented approach that extends to how we interact with customers, partners, and colleagues alike. We prioritize creating a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and supported.
Boling: We are present not only in the US, but across North America, Australasia, Europe, and the United Kingdom. We employ over 2,000 people in those regions. This means that we have a lot of different people to bring together to create a strong culture. Even with people all over the world we still come together for one goal which strengthens the culture.
Stockwell: Our business is made up of a diverse group of individuals across North America who are committed and driven to bring world-class products and services to their communities. We are entrepreneurs respectfully serving entrepreneurs. It’s in our nature to be change makers, entrepreneurial and work with a passion to provide tangible solutions for everyone we interact with.
Can you describe company initiatives or activities that boost morale and enhance employee engagement?
Haskell: We host active monthly town hall meetings, embracing a fully interactive, camera-on approach. They are vibrant forums where every team member, regardless of location, comes together to share insights, celebrate milestones, and voice ideas. This inclusivity ensures everyone feels seen and heard, reinforcing our commitment to transparency and unity. We not only boost morale but also strengthen our collective sense of purpose and community.
Ouzts: We have summer and winter events for employees. The office is pet friendly, which also helps the environment. I think the most important thing we do is have managers that truly care about their employees. There’s no bigger morale boost than to work for someone that cares.
Harris: We do our best to create opportunities to strengthen our interoffice connections during work hours so that we are respectful of obligations colleagues have outside of work.
We built a covered patio with outdoor seating to encourage people to eat communally rather than return to their desks. We even have a few staff members who have created and contribute to a garden on the patio where we get some of the produce we use for these cookouts. It has become something we all look forward to. Our most recent cookout centered around the solar eclipse on April 8th. We all enjoyed a short lunch together and then strapped on the protective glasses and watched the peak of the eclipse.
Boling: Our company will participate in events such as companywide fitness challenges, hosted webinars for world events, and a forum called Rocket Recognition where we can recognize a colleague for any outstanding job they have done in a public manner.
Stockwell: We share praise and shoulder responsibility every day. Our incentive and award programs recognize our top performers across the business, honoring those who go above and beyond in their roles and for our shared customers.
The RSPA NextGen Community meets throughout the year to provide a support network and resources for future generations and their companies to advance in the retail technology industry. If you would like to get involved in the NextGen Community, please email RSPA VP of Member Services Ashley Naggy at ANaggy@GoRSPA.org.
