Zephyr—“ A Firm of Endearment”
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Zephyr—“ A Firm of Endearment”
In a book titled“ Firms of Endearment: How World-Class
Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose,” the authors( Raj Sisodia et al.) compiled a list of companies that treat employees significantly better than average, provide high value and service to customers, do not squeeze suppliers for the lowest possible prices, invest significantly in their local communities, minimize their environmental impact, and do not cite as the primary goal“ maximizing shareholder returns.” The authors go on to demonstrate how such companies consistently outperform their peers who are more closely aligned with a pure profit motive.
These criteria for building a great company as specified in“ Firms of Endearment” seem appropriate to me and match the objectives of the owners and leaders of Zephyr. In 2008, we entered a competition in our industry:“ Best Firms to Work For.” We placed high that year, based on an evaluation of employee salaries and benefits, working conditions, and the results of an anonymous employee survey that asked very probing questions about how the company operates in its day-to-day business. We decided to enter the competition again this year to benchmark our progress, and I’ m pleased to report that once again, Zephyr has been identified as one of the“ Best Firms to Work For” in our industry( broadly, architecture / engineering firms).
So far, so good. But in order to be a“ Firm of Endearment” we must also provide valuable, responsive service to our clients at a fair price. We are continuously eliciting customer feedback both in informal conversations and in structured surveys, and we use this feedback to ensure we are meeting and exceeding client expectations. An analysis of our performance for the past year reveals that more than 92 percent of our revenue was repeat business from existing clients. Further, we are on track to grow revenues this year by about 20 percent. Looking at this data as a whole, my conclusion is that in addition to welcoming some new clients in the past year, our existing clients are asking us to do more for them. We fully recognize that the trust that our clients place in us to help them meet their objectives is the foundation of our growing business.
In the“ Best Firms” anonymous employee survey, a number of questions posed to our employees related to how we interact with our clients and other stakeholders. I am immensely pleased that on the question of“ Do I feel my firm is ethical in its business practices?” we received a perfect score— every single employee respondent“ strongly agrees” that is the case.
We will remember not to“ rest on our laurels” as a company we must earn our clients’ business and our employees’ respect and dedication every day. As we proceed through our twentieth year in business( our 20th anniversary will be in April 2014), I would assess our efforts as still a“ work in progress,” but shaping up nicely! Z
Joe Zupan President
Zephyr is a full-service environmental, health, and safety firm offering consulting, training, and data systems services to clients worldwide. We specialize in air and water quality, waste management and cleanup issues, incident management, natural resources, and workplace and community safety.
Currents is published quarterly by Zephyr Environmental Corporation, is edited by David Cabe of Cabe Environmental Solutions, and designed by Allen Griffith of Eye 4 Design. Current and past issues of this newsletter are available at our website. For more information about Currents, or to add your name to our subscription list, please email: currents @ zephyrenv. com or visit www. zephyrenv. com.
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