Top 5 benefits to having a positive corporate culture

According to Inc. Magazine, Corporate Culture “refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. Corporate culture is rooted in an organization’s goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labor, customers, investors, and the greater community.”

At NAN, it’s definitely our employees and leaders that make up the kind of company we are. We’re a group of highly trained, happy individuals working as a team in a winning environment. As a NANNER, I have personally experienced the many ways our corporate culture has impacted our business.  Here are my personal top 5:

1.   Staying Power

The abbreviation for Nationwide Appraisal Network is NAN and we call our team members NANNERS! In a room of a thousand people, all of whom work for an AMC, I would bet you could pick out the NANNERS! We’re the ones who are smiling.

You can tell a lot about a company through employee morale. Those who feel respected, recognized, and rewarded for their accomplishments are more likely to stay.  Having team members who are in it for the long-term is invaluable to an organization.  They understand where the company has been, where it wants to go, and is part of that progress all along the way. It gives your team members a sense of ownership and encourages them to do their best every day.  A positive corporate culture is one where everyone buys into the company because they believe in it. Nanners believe!

2.   Slow and steady wins the race

When Joni Pilgrim and Cari Burris launched NAN almost 10 years ago, they had a vision of not only creating a very successful AMC, but one that upholds its promises and delivers beyond expectations to all their customers. In doing so, they set their business model up for a steady growth pattern. They understood how important it was to develop and integrate customized solutions for their customers. Taking this position requires a lot of work and details, but eventually lead them to grow not only their customer base, but the company and team as a whole.

In order to compete in the appraisal management arena, NAN chose to stand out and be SMART about customer service. There are no shortcuts and they take that very seriously. Being able to connect to their customer and build those relationships is the key in building trust, loyalty, and sustaining a long term business. If they promise the stars, they deliver the moon!

3.   Community Involvement

We strive every day to give back to the community that we call home. Every year we participate in local charitable food drives, donate to organizations such as the Children’s Cancer Center, volunteer in local beach cleanups, support our military with hefty care packages and handwritten cards, sponsor charity golf tournaments, and participate in local MS Walks. In 2013, we started our own event called “BackPacks for Kids”.  It’s a school supply drive where the ultimate goal is to deliver as many backpacks filled with school supplies to schools in need.  We just delivered 348 filled backpacks to two local schools.  It was a great way for NAN to get together with the community and do something good!

We’re dedicated to participating and giving back in every way we can. It’s just part of our culture which is strong and healthy.

4.   Time for fun!

We spend so much time with each other at work and for this reason, we know that making time to have a little fun is important! There are several things we do throughout the year that are fun activities like hosting company outings, office olympics, games, fun contests, pot luck lunches, and crazy dress up days. Another thing we like to do is give out NAN bucks.  Anyone can earn a NAN buck by going above and beyond their scope of work to help a vendor, client or fellow Nanner. Three NAN bucks will earn you a spin on the NAN Wheel to win prizes! It’s always a fun time to hear the wheel clicking and clacking and turning while cheering on our fellow NANNERS.

5.   Awesome leaders

Having a mission statement on paper is just….well….words on paper. But when you have leaders who carry out their mission every single day through the people they work with, then you have an inspired work force and a successful business.  I’ve worked with many businesses from large Fortune 500 companies to small mom and pop shops. What makes a successful company is standing behind your vision and goals and taking action. Joni and Cari realize that actions speak louder than words. They are committed to their team and focused on their business.  And that’s what makes NAN great!