SoftareOne employees at a recent volunteer event.
March 8, 2019
Written by Patty Ravencroft, director of people and culture, SoftwareOne
I often think about this quote from our late president and CEO Patrick Winter: “It’s not about work-life balance, it’s about work-life harmony.” Patrick knew that there isn’t a clean line between work and life, but a blending of the two. At SoftwareOne, we want to help our employees lead happy, fulfilling lives both in and out of the workplace.
This philosophy recently inspired a new strategy for our North American business called “Vision 2022.” Within this vision, our executive leadership board decided not only on three business-related pillars, but also on three pillars centered around our people. At SoftwareOne, we don’t make widgets; our entire business is about people. When we focus on our people - current employees, prospective employees, and clients - we become not only more successful in business, but a more successful community.
One of these people pillars is “Impact on Society,” which ties right into our mission to help our employees feel fulfilled. We know that our employees want to work for an organization that helps them contribute to something bigger than themselves. So, we ask ourselves these question: how can we as an organization help our people be better global citizens? How can we create opportunities for everyone to give back to our shared community?
Relationships with organizations such as United Way help SoftwareOne answer these questions. United Way has connections to communities we don’t, and uses innovative strategies to bring people together around the issues they care about. That is one reason SoftwareOne sponsors both the Technology United CIO Forum and the Technology Career Fair. United Way’s Technology United network brings together professionals from all types of technology professions to make a difference in our community through events, volunteerism, and advocacy focused around local students interested in technology.
Partnering with an organization like United Way gives our employees an opportunity to network with other professionals, connect to new communities, and volunteer to share their passion for STEM careers with young people. To us, empowering employees is not just about “SoftwareOne gave me the time and resources to learn a new skill,” but “I have these new skills and can turn around and mentor people, and SoftwareOne helped me do that.”
We all have a stake in making our community stronger and, here at SoftwareOne, we know our strongest asset is our people. When we sow into our talent pool and help everyone have a fulfilling life both in and out of the workplace, we all win.
SoftwareONE is also a sponsor of the upcoming Technology United Career Fair. Find out how you can get involved.
Check out photos from the CIO Forum on Facebook, and learn more about how you can attend the event by becoming a member of Technology United.