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At Chariot Solutions, Engagement Requires An 'Inspirational Environment' #
THE 1
continued from page 12
SOURCE OF

COMMUNICATION & EDUCATION DISCIPLINE & LISTENING
Rappaport says he fosters frequent communication with the entire As to having a formal Engagement strategy, Rappaport made it clear this INFORMATION
company, typically delivered through regularly scheduled company-wide has been more about culture to him than a formal process. For one thing,
meetings. “The more information our employees have about the company he admitted, he didn’t know there was any formal science or field related
and its current challenges, the more likely they are to come up with a great to Engagement. “The best thing I’ve done over the past 12 years at Chariot
idea or solution. That has been one of the keys to our success so far.” He says is listen. From day one, my initial team felt strongly that hiring exclusively
he even shares profit/loss numbers with them. top talent would be our strongest competitive advantage. They convinced on Short Escapes and Getaway Meetings
“At Chariot, learning has always been an area of focus. It’s typically at or me that hiring discipline, combined with project discipline (only accepting
near the top of the list of what’s most important to our employees. We send projects for which we are a great fit and thus more likely to succeed), would
our people to conferences of their choice, in additon to the best local tech set us apart. And they were right.”
conference, Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise (ETE), which is organized He adds, “They also taught me what’s most important to the
by Chariot, hosted in Philadelphia and atended by over 500 local technology happiness of the top-tier technologist, beginning with creating a challenging
professionals each year.” environment in which they’re constantly learning, engaged and appreciated.
Rappaport admits his company “doesn’t score as high on this as in the other This is a true win/win, as it leads to strong retention, which in turn leads to
areas…yet. We recognize and reward employees when they reach milestones consistent project success.”
with the company (i.e., 5/10 years), and sometmes when they do something Although Rappaport says it’s not always easy to measure the
truly special, but there’s a lot more that we can do. One of the problems is that effectiveness of an employee engagement strategy, “we have strong n its print editions and via its growing
so many of the people at Chariot are standouts that it’s truly difcult to fgure indicators that it’s working very well. For one, Chariot has an extraordinarily
out whom to recognize. Everyone is so damn good that so far I’ve only been low turnover rate for a technology company. On top of that, we participated online portal, Short Escapes highlights
successful in recognizing and rewarding the entre team.” in the Top Philly Workplace competition held by the local newspapers and
“As great as our consultants are, they want to get beter,” says Rappaport. Philly.com twice, in 2010 and this year. The results are based on surveys I enriching getaway destinations and
“They are ultmately measured by how happy they make their clients. So far they completed by all employees. We finished No. 1 both years for companies in venues overlooked by most media.
have a near perfect record. I am truly lucky to have them.” the Philadelphia area with 50 to 150 employees.” ESM
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14 engagement strategies Vol.18 Issue 3