Chicago

Pinnacle Furnished Suites: Company Culture Explained

Jan, 09 2019

How we put company culture first

In support of our focus on company culture, PFSuites has invested heavily in providing an office and a typical work day that promotes team engagement, discussion, feedback, and fun.  The office layout and design functionally promote constructive conversation and teamwork.  We have various games (shuffleboard, darts, foosball) for blowing off steam and a lounge area with a couch, chairs, and a TV for decompressing and comfortably talking.  Once a month one of our team members (who owns a catering company) brings in food for the team and we have a team lunch.  Additionally, our kitchen area provides drinks and snacks of various sorts as a company perk.

Health, wellness, and philanthropy are other areas of focus for the team to be involved in.  We regularly have team events such as fishing expeditions and company holiday dinners which promote friendship and teamwork in settings outside (or during) the typical workday.  It is our belief that you can bond more in a day on a fishing boat than you can in a year in the office.  Additionally, the team works together to promote philanthropic efforts such as Move for Hunger food donations and team health events such as 5k runs.

In summary, It is expected that everyone works very hard to achieve their personal and company goals, but it is also paramount that our team members enjoy their job and feel satisfied with themselves and the team.  If you can tackle the office comradery and cultivate a great company culture, you surely can handle the rest!

Management Ideas that set us apart from our competition

We believe company culture, engagement, and happiness drive not only satisfied customers but drive the bottom line, as well.  It is well understood within our management team that the days of a “profit first” mentality represent a short term outlook and will not aid in driving long term success.  Starting with the profit mindset leads to a management style that can lead to the decay of your most important asset - your team!

Although incredibly necessary, and arguably just as important, focusing exclusively and primarily on customer satisfaction from the top down can leave holes in company culture.  These shortcomings can then manifest into problems with clients and customer service, eventually affecting your bottom line. Anyone can “fake” a great company culture on social media, but the customers of 2019 can see right through it.  It must be genuine.

We believe that by focusing on internal culture and team member satisfaction, customer service, customer satisfaction, and company profit all become exponentially easier tasks to accomplish and improve.  A happy and fulfilled team interact both internally and externally more productively and with a better attitude. Another benefit of this philosophy is that employee retention rates remain much higher, reducing turnover and training costs.

Early on in the growth of our company we decided how important it was to maintain the team not only to utilize the knowledge and experience but also to truly provide for the needs of the employees and their families.  One of the main drivers for this is to provide a comprehensive benefits package. Even though we are a relatively small company, we provide benefits to all employees. This includes healthcare, dental, vision, Safe Harbor 401k program, health savings accounts, generous paid time off, and unlimited sick days.  

Another important aspect of our company culture is the idea of promoting from within.  Our company is unique in that we work in an industry that has been around for a long time, but we opened and grew with absolutely no outside knowledge, guidance, or consulting.  Our team, new hires, and job candidates know and understand that the job description and associated pay they get hired into is by no means set in stone. We have a long history of quickly promoting based on ability and dedication.  This not only gives the team more drive in general, it creates a happy workplace knowing you will be recognized and rewarded quickly for your contributions. It is our belief that if someone makes the company more money, or figures out a way to save the company money, they should also, monetarily, reap the rewards of that work.

Finally, the unrelenting push for the use of technology to automate or eliminate the need for mundane and boring tasks helps make the team more productive and ultimately happier.

In conclusion, management’s goal is to create a fun, entertaining, eventful, and rewarding atmosphere for all.  When these factors can be accomplished, everything else becomes easier. At the end of the day, the team is what counts.

Metrics used to measure overall employee sentiment

Rotating Team Insights surveys on a monthly basis.  Each month 1 of the following topics is covered with various questions for each topic: Teamwork, Management, Autonomy and Ownership, Recognition & Performance, Learning & Growth, Morale & Retention, Benefits.  Additionally, each month there is an Employee Happiness portion.

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I want to take the opportunity to thank you and Matt for the service you have given over the past year. If I ever come back I’ll definitely look at pinnacle as a first option.

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