About Vernon Library Supplies - Corporate Culture
From our Employee Handbook: The Top Behaviors That Define Vernon’s Corporate Culture (According to Shai):
1. Return all phone calls (emails too). Timely responsiveness to all stakeholders is vital – customers, fellow employees, and vendors. Even when you don’t have an answer to the issue at hand, let them know that you’re still working on it and thinking of them. This is particularly important when the matter (or the other party) is difficult or distasteful. Remember that most people “don’t care what you know as long as they know that you care.”
2. The 3 most beautiful words in the English language are “I don’t know.” (yes, I know that don’t is a contraction). Never be embarrassed to admit that you don’t know something. The sentence that follows should be “But I’ll do my best to find out.”
3. The 4 most beautiful words in the English language are “I made a mistake.” We all make mistakes (just don’t make the same one twice). When you make one, don’t attempt to cover it up, shift blame or hope that someone else (like your manager) doesn’t discover it. Report the mistake immediately to your manager together with your recommended course of action to make things right.
4. You are about to be hit by a truck. Hopefully not, but act as if you are. That means that someone else will need to pick up what you’re doing wherever you left off. In short, leave a paper (or electronic) trail on everything you do.
5. There are never enough “pleases” and “thank yous.” Even when you are simply requesting from a fellow employee that he do what his job description says he should do.
6. Exceed your customer’s expectations. Sometimes it’s just a small extra touch that leaves the most powerful impression.
7. Nothing we do is set in stone. Just because we’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean that we should continue doing it that way. Whatever you’re doing, ask yourself if there might be a faster way or an easier way to accomplish the objective.
8. 20% of what you can do will account for 80% of the result. The flip side of the Pareto Principle is that 80% of what you can do will deliver only 20% of the results. In the business world this means that 20% of your products will account for 80% of your sales and that 20% of your customers will account for 80% of your sales (hopefully 20% of the company’s employees are not doing 80% of the work). Therefore, before you act, figure out what action is likely to deliver to biggest bang for your efforts and prioritize accordingly.
9. Criticize constructively. Welcome constructive criticism enthusiastically. Constructive criticism is always done privately with the sole intention of informing the recipient of ways that he might improve his performance or himself towards the benefit of both the company and himself. If you do not believe that the recipient is capable of changing his ways, don’t bother to criticize. There are few things that we can do as a company that can have more impact than to create an atmosphere where continuous improvement takes place at every level. That can only happen when each of us demonstrates his desire to learn from others without defensiveness. Expose, do not oppose. When someone disagrees with something, it is important to methodically expose the reasons it’s not a good idea (or product, process or tool, etc) rather than oppose the idea. Exposing builds to a better resolution since the final outcome (idea, product, process or tool, etc) will be far superior if all the exposed information is addressed.
10. Always assume that someone else has made a mistake somewhere. Whether it’s a customer, a vendor, a fellow employee, or something that has been spit out from a computer database, look at everything that comes your way as a test of your critical eye. Ask yourself if it is clearly evident that all mission critical questions have been asked. If you’re not convinced, ask them.
11. Spend the company’s money and utilize the company’s resources as if they were your own. No additional explanation required.
12. Don’t be a project bottleneck. Prioritize your work with other peoples’ work in mind. Where possible, work first on those things that others need so that they can do their own work. And when you need someone else to do something for you, don’t wait until the last minute to make your request.
13. Toot your own horn and the horn of others. When you, a colleague or the company have achieved a success or when others tell you good things about the company, its products or its people, make sure that others in the company know about it.
14. Lean into our customer’s right hook. Don’t be afraid to ask customers if everything is working properly and if they are satisfied. Many customers won’t complain; they simply stop buying. And they won’t say good things about us if asked. We’re better off hearing directly from the customer himself, fixing whatever it is that makes him unhappy and hopefully earning his loyalty and good will.
15. Go out of your way to make the workplace pleasant for one and all. When the coffee pot is low or empty, make new coffee. When paper in the copier is low, refill it.