Administaff - Examine Corporate Culture to Assess Compatibility with Personality, Goals

Houston Chronicle - July 11, 1999

Examine Corporate Culture to Assess Compatibility with Personality, Goals

Spotlight on Employment
Thankfully, your job search is almost over. You have your sights locked on a position at a hotshot technology firm – www.day&night.com. The salary meets your requirements. The benefits are competitive, and the opportunity for growth is high. Yet something in your gut has you feeling a little uneasy.
Everyone in the office seems to look the same…miserable. Why? After speaking with some of the employees, you learned they felt like the "www" in www.day&night.com stood only for "work, work, work."

Unfortunately, this fictional situation might seem familiar in today’s ultra-competitive business arena. But when you spend nearly half your waking hours in one place, you’d better be happy with the surroundings. That’s why it’s more important than ever to include corporate culture issues among your list of priority questions to ask during a job interview.

Corporate culture is an ambiguous concept that can mean many different things to different people. However, some companies place special emphasis on building and maintaining a healthy corporate culture.

One such company, Kingwood-based Administaff, Inc., is a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) that has grown to become one of Houston’s largest employers.

Administaff serves as an off-site human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike temporary agencies or employment firms, PEOs do not provide personnel. Rather, Administaff becomes a co-employer for a client company’s existing employees, including the business owner.

By handling many of the personnel management functions for client companies, Administaff helps entrepreneurs focus on what they do best – serving customers and growing their business.

How is a successful corporate culture achieved? First, a company’s culture stems from its actions and values, not rhetoric. So any company that is truly dedicated to fostering a healthy corporate culture must "walk the talk."

"What you see within our information technology department and throughout the company is an environment that fosters creativity and that isn’t hung up on the chain of command," said David Dickson, Administaff’s vice president of infrastructure and chief technology officer. "We’re fast-growing, which means we work hard, but we also have fun because we can see our progress almost immediately. Here, when you row the boat, you can really feel it move."

These attributes manifest themselves into an information technology department of nearly 100 professionals who are working with the latest in computing technology, including visual-object oriented programming languages, thin-client architectures, Internet/web applications and a completely server-based infrastructure.

Administaff’s information technology department is working with Nortel Networks, a telecommunications and networking company, to enhance and expand Administaff’s telecommunications infrastructure. This collaboration will help facilitate the eventual convergence of voice, data and video communications into a single, national network.

This convergence is an important element in the expansion of Administaff Assistant, an Internet-based service platform that supports more than 2,300 client companies and approximately 38,000 worksite employees nationwide.

"Technology is a key leverage point in Administaff’s business, so it’s vital that we provide our employees with the right environment to help them lead and succeed," Dickson said.

So, how can you avoid getting into a www.day&night.com situation at your next job? Donna Gay, a recruiter for Administaff’s information technology department, said you not only ask about the company’s culture during your interview, but that you also take a moment to scan the scene in the office. For example, are people smiling and enjoying their work? What’s the energy level like – is it bustling or subdued? How is the office décor?

Administaff’s corporate culture also places a premium on employee benefits, said Gay.

"Administaff s devotion to its employees is validated in our benefits package, which includes nearly four weeks of paid time off – in addition to eight paid holidays – during the first year of employment," she said. "We also offer full pay for four hours per month of community service, an Employee Assistance Plan, dollar-for-dollar matching (up to 6 percent) in a 401(k) plan (with full vesting immediately upon enrollment), comprehensive health-care benefits, credit union services, and educational and adoption assistance."

For more information about Administaff call 800-465-3800 or visit the company's website at http://www.administaff.com.