(Editor’s note: This is the 12th installment in a weekly series on how Cooley Group is managing the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of its CEO. See part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10 and part 11 here.)
Cooley Group is not a complicated operation, but it is a highly complex one. Our success is driven by our ability to manage that complexity effectively and efficiently. This ability is directly correlated to our leadership’s willingness to include the voices and ideas of all our employees regardless of their level or function within the organization.
In a surprising turn of events, COVID-19 enabled Cooley’s effort to build on its collaborative, inclusive culture. By openly sharing challenges throughout this pandemic, Cooley employees became closer, an unexpected and ironic result considering we are all required to social distance.
For Cooley’s office staff, work is no longer a compartmentalized part of our life. As we continue to work from home, our work is literally taking place in our homes. Kids pop in and out of video calls and we hear the sounds of our colleagues’ neighborhoods and see the interior design of their homes. Outside of our typical office environment, we all became more intimately acquainted with one another’s personal lives.
With Microsoft Teams video calls being the norm, checking in on a project status starts with a check-in on the colleague’s family, including everyone’s mental and physical health. Most people work for small- and middle-market companies because they don’t want to be just another one of 10,000. They don’t want to be lost in a bureaucratic, hierarchal organization but prefer a role where their work is noticed and necessary, where their decisions and actions make an impact.
For example, during the pandemic, a Cooley credit and collections manager saw the importance of his decision to extend payment terms to customers needing financial support, a decision his sales and customer service colleagues appreciated because it further strengthened their relationships with Cooley’s customers. The team also recognized that manager’s dedication despite having to manage through the personal anxiety of having a spouse who, as an oncology nurse, is in a very stressful job. The interconnectedness of our roles in the organization and the knock-on effects of our decisions were more apparent as we managed our way through the novel coronavirus than they ever were before.
The effectiveness of our culture is directly attributable to ensuring everyone is included in the decision process. We even built an oversized meeting facility that could accommodate larger group meetings. By giving everyone on project teams a physical seat at the conference table, the whole team can be seen and heard during cross-functional team meetings.
Our operations personnel have carried the burden of physically coming into the factory every day despite the health and safety risk of the pandemic. By giving our operators a voice in the safety decision-making process, they adjusted quickly to the safety parameters imposed on them. They adjusted to the discomfort of wearing a mask in a hot and humid environment because they chose the masks and eye protection they wear.
The result of the operators’ inclusion in health and safety decisions is attributable to Cooley Rhode Island receiving one of Providence Business News’ 2020 Healthiest Employers of Rhode Island Awards, for companies with fewer than 500 employees, and Cooley South Carolina celebrating 1,200 days of safety.
As we live through a time of uncertainty and in a country debating inclusion, at Cooley there is no debate. Everyone gets a voice and a seat at the table. Their voices are heard, and their safety is paramount.
Daniel Dwight is CEO and president of Pawtucket-based Cooley Group.
