Building a Winning Culture

I joined HealthEdge seven years ago when, like most startup organizations, we were primarily focused on our mission, products, and exciting our customer base. At that time, there was a lot of work in front of us to build out our products and execute our mission, leaving our culture unintentionally to come in second. We knew we wanted to become an employer of choice, and so in those early days, we set about building a foundation of clarity, trust, and consistency.

This strategy was a commitment to the long game and wasn’t always linear, but we took meaningful steps forward over the years where we could action change. Progress was slow until Steve Krupa joined the team as Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, we began reflecting on our culture and seeking feedback for improvement. We recognized the opportunity to make a positive shift in our company culture and began to see the correlation between customer value and employee satisfaction. This journey led us to start talking openly about the culture we wanted, acknowledging areas the needed focus, and regularly solicit feedback through employee engagement surveys.

Asking for feedback is the easy part; the hard part comes when you need to take action on the feedback. We chose to be open and honest about the data despite the fact we were not proud of those initial results. We spoke continuously about what we heard, what we interpreted and encouraged people to ask questions and help us develop solutions. We formed an employee council dedicated to providing a forum for a live employee voice, not just one that lived through the survey data.

Building a winning culture is not about quick wins. It’s not about ping pong tables or creating a cool looking office. It’s about a shared sense of purpose and building an organization that supports, encourages, and empowers excellence. It’s about building a community to which we can all belong and contribute. When everyone is positioned to feel connected to the company’s collective success, it’s a huge motivator.

This is a journey, not a destination. While we have been named a Top Place to Work and a Best and Brightest organization, the work is definitely not done. We are only here because our employees were willing to share feedback with us along the way and co-own this culture. We are thrilled with our shared success but know our journey continues, and as such, we will continue to ask for feedback, listen to our employees, and work together to continue to innovate on a great employee experience.