For most people, the phrase "IT services" conjures up images of a boring, nerdy guy droning on about stuff you don't understand, when all you want is to get your computer working again. Having fun and providing passionate customer service are, unfortunately, not generally the first things that come to mind.
Heinan Landa wants to change all that. When I spoke to him about Optimal Networks, the small IT services and consulting firm he founded in 1991, and of which he is fiercely proud, he kept returning to two themes: "serious craziness" and "giving our customers what they need.” As an example, he told me about their yearly customer open houses, one of which – with a fiesta theme – included a Mariachi band, alpacas, and llamas…in the Optimal offices. Their 2013 open house was ‘red carpet’ themed, and included a celebrity look-alike contest for customers, a magician, aerial acrobats, and an actual red carpet entryway for the clients coming into the event, complete with faux paparazzi. In the video summary on their website, it looks as though everyone involved – employees and customers alike – is having an extremely good time.
And then there's the purely employee fun: the COO sets up a griddle and makes everyone breakfast on Friday mornings; one employee who's a champion unicycle jumper (did you know such a thing existed?) jumped over said COO to kick off one of the company's bi-annual "Spirit Days" - a mixture of pure fun and camaraderie, and taking a big picture look at the most important issues facing the company.
When I asked Heinan what he sees as the purpose of all this fun, he said "When you don't provide ways for people in your business to connect with each other as people, they're less likely to help each other and care about each other's success. They'll be less happy. And if the employees aren't happy, they'll be less likely to make the customers happy."
Heinan also shared with me that Optimal is expanding quickly - they grew almost 50% last year through a mix of organic sales development and acquisition - and that he recognizes it will be a challenge to keep such a unique culture intact with 2, 5 or 10 times the current number of employees. One approach they're already taking to help ensure they continue to 'fan the flames' of their culture as they grow: a very rigorous hiring process. Whenever they're considering a new hire, they first conduct what they call "practical testing" to make sure the person has the needed technical chops. Then the person is given a "cultural fit" test to check for values alignment. Only those candidate who get a thumbs-up on both tests move on to the interview stage.
In addition to yielding profitable growth, their particular blend of big fun + great service also seems to resonate with employees: for example, they've received a Workplace Excellence Award from the Alliance for Workplace Excellence for six straight years.
What do you think about intentionally making a big dose of fun part of a high-performance workplace? Have you seen it work or - or backfire? I'd love to hear your experiences.
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