Changing Company Culture – Module 13

One of the things that draws me to GMI over the myriad of other companies that I’ve received offers from is the company culture. It is open, accepting, and encourages communication, growth, and learning. Honestly, I am proud to say that I am a GMI employee, and I absolutely love, (and am passionate about) what I do.

While GMI doesn't classify web analyst as an official role (they’re cast under the wider umbrella of software developer/analyst), I have no doubt that everyone involved – including our CIO Mike Martiny, and CMO Mark Addicks – are more than appreciable to what those people tell them. They are both incredibly receptive, forward thinking guys – and to them, every opinion matters.

Part of what makes our company culture function so well is that we are accepting of the data – and we measure almost everything. From the trending changes to the average age of the Lucky Charms buyer, to the happiness of our employees at work – everything is measured, constantly.

Throughout this course, I got a chance to see just how complex some of the things we measure really are, why we do them, and how that helps us become a better, more responsive organization.

Honestly, our company is so data driven, that I question whether there would be three things I could recommend. However – nothing is without improvement – so rather than recommend new measurements, here are three measurements / processes I might enhance:

    1.     Allow BU’s to count CI hours repeatedly rather than once a FY.

a.     For example, if I develop an automation process that saves the company 12,000 man-hours every year, I am only allowed to count that savings toward my BU’s CI once – and never again.

    

    2.     Inventory and measure our sever disk space and growth in such a way that we can automate the growth process.

    3.     Provide employees with evaluations both at mid-year, and years end in order to give them a sense of their objectives / current status.

In the end, I’m glad that GMI fosters data, openness, and collaboration – it’s part of what makes this company (and my job) great.