Our Annual Celebration looked a little different for Valicom this year. Instead of meeting at one of our favorite local restaurants, The Great Dane, or meeting for a night at The Comedy Club, we gathered at our computer screens, everyone to their own. Don’t worry, this isn’t the start of a sad story, I promise! It’s the start of one filled with gratitude.
Having a career in technology has been an amazing experience for me. Technology has grown, shifted, and ultimately saved us during unprecedented times. Imagine if this pandemic had come about 40 years earlier. We would have to hire more mail men and women to deliver papers to the correct locations, or we would all have to buy fax machines for our homes. Not to mention, we would be even more isolated from friends and family than we are now.
To say the least, I am grateful for the developments that have been made over the years, preparing us for the changes we have seen since March of 2020.
30th Anniversary Pep Week
Our marketing team was put to the test as our Holiday & Annual Parties approached. They had to come up with something different than we’ve ever done, somehow bringing us all together from afar, and making it fun all at the same time. I would say they did a great job!
For our 30th Anniversary Party, we began the festivities the week before the event. It was filled with trivia questions about our company’s history, sent via email to all of our employees.
Here is one of the trivia questions we all received that week:
Those who were able to guess the most answers correctly won a $25 Amazon gift card. We ended up having two winners! You might be thinking, this doesn’t seem like a fair game for those who are newer to the company. On the contrary, it was a fun way for them to learn more about the company!
Valicom’s #1 Biggest Differentiator
The day before the event, we sent out a “bonus points” question. That question was:
What do you believe to be Valicom’s biggest differentiator? There is no right or wrong answer to this question.
The results we received were very similar across the board. Let’s take a look at a few responses!
Employee A: “I think that our greatest differentiator is the “warm work environment” I guess you could call it. I feel like we promote a healthy work environment that allows ideas to be shared and also get questions answered no matter who you talk to.”
Employee B: “Valicoms biggest differentiator is our ability to utilize multiple different team resources to go above and beyond for our clients regardless of workload.”
Employee C: “The human element. Most of our competitors have a one-size-fits-all mentality. They often fail to really consider the client’s unique situation and needs/wants. We take the time to listen to the client and build personal relationships. We are also personally invested in the quality of our work and the outcomes for the client. The clients know we are truly interested in their success and have their backs.”
This is only three of the numerous responses submitted. Those who participated also got an extra incentive for doing so!
There was an overwhelming number of responses that indicated what our employees believe our biggest differentiator is:
Valicom’s Number One Differentiator:
Our Team
Day of Our 30th Anniversary
The day of the event, we all sat down at our individual devices, whether that be a computer, phone or tablet. It was encouraged ahead of time that we keep our videos on. It’s always nice to see smiling faces. Though, it’s not always the most comfortable thing to do, this was a special occasion. I was impressed by the amount of people that had their video on and participated throughout.
Each project manager shared the success of their team in 2020 and projections for 2021. Our Marketing Director, Chantel Soumis, put together a lovely PowerPoint, collaborating with everyone who spoke to make sure their slides accurately represented what they were to talk about.
The Zoom event ended with a slide about our dedication to employee engagement. This is a department that is growing within our organization. When your people are your biggest differentiator, you better take good care of them!
Though, there are only a number of people who still come into the office on a rotation schedule, the marketing team blew up balloons and put them all around the office. They also delivered Bloom Bake Shop cupcakes to employee’s desks or to their home if they now work remote fulltime. The last item that everyone received were brand new Valicom embroidered sweatshirts. It’s the little things like these that truly makes celebrating a milestone, such as 30 years in business special – thank you marketing team!
Looking Forward to 2021
There was no hesitation jumping into our new initiatives for 2021. We are in full swing, continuing to make our current clients our number one priority above all else. Our partner program is on fire and we are always coming up with new creative ways to reach companies who will benefit from assistance with their in-house technology expenses.
At Valicom, we are always adapting to meet the growing demands within the telecom industry. We now have many years to show the impact we have had, and continue to have, on enterprises. We look forward to 100+ more years of offering our services with the best team on the field!
Please feel free to reach out to us any time. We’re excited to hear from you.
Shoot me a direct message or reach out at info@valicomcorp.com ]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: JEFF POIRIOR
Jeff brings 25 years of telecommunications and information technology management experience in voice and data networking, server support, and telephony and security; with a significant emphasis on customer service. Prior to joining Valicom, he was chief of the infrastructure support section for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Jeff was the vice president of operations for CC&N, overseeing telecommunications, help desk, data, and desk side support services. Prior to that, he served as the associate director of technical resources for Covance, responsible for managing systems and network operations supporting 1700 users in Wisconsin and Virginia. He has also led data center operations at Magnetek Electric, supporting mainframe systems, client/server applications, telephony systems, and computer-aided design. Jeff holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix. In addition, Jeff is a past board member of the Wisconsin Telecommunication Association.