Exemplifying “People First, Technology Second”: How Technology Helps Businesses Take Care of People

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the JMARK Business Innovation Technology Experience.

Todd:

Okay. Welcome everybody again for our marathon afternoon of talking about technology and all things great about technology, but we’re not talking about technology. We are going to talk about people, the heart of why we do technology at JMARK. And so at JMARK, we have a motto, a phrase that we use pretty much all the time, and it’s pretty much on everything we have, whether it be a literature or a letterhead or website. And that is people first technology second. And I can honestly say that with feeling and meaning without it just coming across as a motto, because I truly experienced what people first technology means at JMARK. But Tom, why don’t you describe how you would describe it to a prospect that doesn’t know JMARK?

Tom:

Well, I think Todd, you nailed it. I think it starts inside of our organization. When I was in the Navy, I worked for this Lieutenant and candidly, he was the biggest asshole in the world and he taught me exactly what leadership is not to be. And so from the very beginning of my involvement with JMARK, our focus has been to make sure that we created an environment where people want to be there, where they take pride, where they’re recognized for their success, where we empower people to do what they love to do. And then we know that if we empower people to do what they love to do and where they want to do it, that that’s going to translate into great value for our clients. And so that fundamentally is step one. Step two is making sure that we focus on our solutions around our people, because organizations all day long can sling shiny things and sell technology.

Tom:

But if they don’t have the expertise and the training and the capabilities to back it up and support it, then it doesn’t do any good. And so there’s hundreds of technology companies out there that are focused on the technology and that’s fine, but we’re focused on people. And then that translates out to our customers. And when you think about our clients who support billions of dollars in revenue on an annual basis and the impact that they make on the lives of their people, in the lives of their clients and customers, I think it becomes a pretty, a pretty awesome story.

Tom:

Whether it’s a bank who is in a fortunate situation to give a family a loan on their first house and, or a young lady or a young man, who’s able to buy their first car, whatever that story, those are special moments. And oftentimes it’s technology that helps to facilitate their ability to deliver on these special occasions and these life changing moments that people have. And when we remember that our job is to create these experiences and these outcomes, then it helps us to know that what we’re doing makes a bigger difference than the shiny technology thing of the day.

Todd:

So I’ve been with other IT companies before in my career. And one thing you said was really struck me in that, on all the places I’ve been, it ends essentially when the technology is fixed, like the collaboration, you get a ticket that comes in, you fix the issue on the computer or server or whatever it is. But at JMARK, it’s not about fixing the problem. It’s about empowering people. And when technology is operating at an optimal level, when things are prevented from happening on your computer, in the middle of the night, and you come in the morning and just get to work. When a security event that could have destroyed your productivity just doesn’t happen because somebody was working to make sure it didn’t happen. That is what JMARK is about.

Todd:

And that’s how we basically turn it into the people and make sure that people are successful, make sure that they’re productive, make sure that they’re happy and that people’s organizations can be, their culture can thrive and then their productivity can thrive and their innovation can thrive. And like you said technology, isn’t the end all, it’s the mechanism to help people accomplish great things. And whether that is a school that’s helping to deliver education, or like you said, with bankers and video and doing different things, there’s so many examples in the world where technology is being used to ultimately help people be happy, be successful, be healthy, and just live a better life.

Speaker 3:

I think that most people, when they start a business, start a business to solve other people’s problems. And that’s usually the core of what people want to do. And then that translates eventually to those people become your customers and you’re serving your customers and technology can help you do that in so many ways. And we’ve seen that a lot right now, and the situation we’re going through, where businesses are trying find ways to serve their customers in new ways and give their customers what the customer wants. And you’re using technology to help facilitate that. Tom, you mentioned the banks giving people loans and doing that over videos or Todd, you mentioned about teachers and teaching their classes remotely. Manufacturers trying to find ways to be more, to run more efficiently so that they can make up for those gaps where they’re struggling right now, since supply chains have been disrupted and things like that. And all of these things that people are looking for ways to implement technology in order to take better care of their customers, who are people, the people that we’re talking about.

Todd:

And I think one thing we have to… Oh, go ahead, Tom.

Tom:

No, you go.

Todd:

I was going to say one thing that I think we have to, for people who are listening or watching, we tend to use the word technology at JMARK to mean a lot of things, but technology could mean process in a way. It could mean a software tool. It could mean a strategy to using technology. It’s not really the processors and the memory and the screens and everything, although all that maybe part of it, but essentially the idea of helping people through technology. It’s that whole holistic view of technology, it could be the strategy. It could be us meeting with our clients on a quarterly basis, more to talk to them through their strategy. It could be how we make sure that their budgets are in line. It could be how we analyze their security and analyze their operations and perform preventative maintenance. And all these things aren’t about just fixing the technology. They’re about ultimately empowering people through this big holistic view of technology strategy.

Tom:

Right. I think it fundamentally, it comes back to two pieces of that, and that is connectedness and relationships that especially now the technology has become the mechanism that we use to stay connected to the relationships that matter most, whether that’s family, friends. I mean, you’ve seen online the birthday parties on Zoom, the family meetings and the family get togethers through those mechanisms. But the same is true in a business environment and how our customers are staying connected to their customers and the differences that they’re making. And so when you realize that what we’re doing in the preventative maintenance and the security management and the plans that we put together is we’re serving people who serve people. If you think about the communities that we’re in as great, big tribes at our heart, we’re kind of pack animals and we need those relationships. And so when we bring people together to do great things, it makes a phenomenal difference.

Tom:

I think probably one of the biggest ones that we need to brag about not of ourselves, but of others, of what’s going on in the healthcare community right now. They’re on the front lines having to do some really tough things and be away from their families and at times having to isolate themselves so that they can go serve others. And with technology, they’re still able to stay somewhat connected to their family. And we’re proud to help to facilitate some of that on the back end and how in a long-term care facility someone who’s staying there might be able to see their family, that they haven’t been able to see face to face for months at a time. And that makes a difference in those environments. And so helping the different industries realize what the people, things are, the people triggers are, the emotions, the connections that are necessary out there. That’s at the heart and soul of it all, that’s what people first means in our environment.

Todd:

A lot of organizations too, that we’ve seen who did have things right, in terms of their strategy that were able to pivot during this time quickly like manufacturers in providing more mass or ventilators and more things to ultimately be helping these people. And from the, I wouldn’t say the lowest level, but the one thing that I thought was inspiring, as I’ve seen a lot of kids who had a 3D printer at their house and they were printing the little things for the masks. And I’ve seen thousands of those things being donated. There’s people that are making masks and all these things. And a lot of this stuff is through the sharing of technology and through having a strategy that allows you to pivot so that you can help people. And it’s important to… You never know when your organization might have to pivot to help somebody else in need.

Todd:

There’s times when, I mean, there was a tornado in Oklahoma several years ago, and JMARK sent a team of people from Missouri to go help clean up. And I mean, we had a skeleton crew for about a week and we could handle it because we were prepared for that kind of thing. We didn’t have in our strategy to go clean up yards and things like that. And it was just part of having that strategy in place to make sure we can pivot, we can operate, we can communicate, and we can keep things moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. And I think that extends beyond we talked about this situation and we’ve talked about people helping their customers but Tom, you’ve mentioned a couple of times, it’s also about people taking care of their employees. And the companies that were able to pivot to working from home and keep all their employees working and be able to take the work that they were doing and move it and do it from home and keep the collaboration going. They have the technology tools that kept them in touch and kept them working together and allowed them to share the work that they were doing. And without any disruptions, and then keep those workflows going and that’s important because when you’re taking care of those people, you’re also taking care of people. Tom, you talk about this a lot, and I know this is on your mind all the time, the dependent, you’re not just taking care of JMARK employees, you’re taking care of the people that are dependent upon those employees. And I know that’s on your mind a lot.

Tom:

Yeah, absolutely. As in, I think for most business owners, that’s the case that they’re worried about making sure that they’re taking care of their teams so that their team can take care of their families and provide all of those things. And when you have that pride, it’s important to put the fundamentals in place. And that starts with things like the right pay for the right amount of values somebody brings and health insurance and maybe retirement, but at the same time at the fundamentals of all that is the technology piece. And how do you empower people to be productive, to create value so that they can produce the revenue inside an organization? And so when we think about our world, is one of the tools that’s necessary to empower people then… Sorry, love this road. It really, it helps to back up what Simon Sinek says all the time it started with why and he wrote his whole book on it. And our why is around people because our job is to empower people to be successful.

Speaker 4:

I think that’s a big part of what makes JMARK successful too.

Tom:

People take pride in that. And those are the kind of people that we want to be a part of our company. And it’s the feedback that, to brag on ourselves a little bit. It’s the feedback that we get from our clients that, “Your people are awesome. I love interacting with them. They’re fun, they solve my problems quickly. They’re knowledgeable.” It’s that kind of constantly awesome thing. And that’s when we get that feedback, it’s like, “Oh, we’re doing the right things.” We love that.

Todd:

We were out at a bank, the marketing team last year, we had this client road show we did, we were going around filming clients. And we were talking to this bank president and the interview ended, but she kept talking and the first words out of her mouth, I asked her, “Is there anything you want me to take back to the office?” And she said, “You guys don’t realize how awesome you are.” Just like that. And then she talked for another 30 minutes off camera. Of course, we still had it rolling, about all the great things that JMARK does. And that’s refreshing on the marketing theme side, because we don’t experience, we don’t see what all the good things that are happening on the client side until we get into those situation where we can talk to them. And it’s absolutely amazing. And it’s so true to the point that when somebody can say with passion, not just rate you well in a survey, but can say with passion and get on a video, how wonderful and how you have helped the people in their organization. There’s something strong there.

Tom:

And that becomes a fundamental, or has always been the fundamental belief system of our organization. If we do a good job taking care of people, then our business will grow and we’ll be successful. And from the very beginning, we focused on that, starting with our own team and extending that to our clients and making sure that we take pride in the outcomes that they get to realize. And that’ll never change. It’s all about people.

Todd:

Great conversation. Well, we could talk about this for a while, but we will continue on to exciting and more awesome topics. Till next time.

Tom:

Thanks. See you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for attending this podcast. We hope it has been informative and helps convey that at JMARK, we are people first and technology second. To learn more and discover additional content relevant to your business. Please visit us online at jmark.com or at LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You may also call us at 844-44-JMARK. Thank you for your time. And we look forward to seeing you again.