By: Ben Martin

​www.networkalliance.com/

My company, Network Alliance, Inc., recently was honored with the prestigious International Stevie Award for customer service excellence in computer services—for the fourth year in a row. 
 
What can readers of this blog learn from our experience delivering award-winning customer support?
 
First and foremost, excellent customer service must be driven by core values that place customer satisfaction and customer retention at the top.  In the Network Alliance company culture, our overarching value is to treat clients the way employees want to be treated. Our core values, developed following a bottoms-up, employee-driven process to ensure buy-in, are embedded in everything we do.
 
Our core values, in turn, drive our hiring process. Our multi-stage interview process helps us identify people with the right skillsets, who can technically do the job in customer service, but, more important, they also have the right personality fit with our client base. In a nutshell, we look for people who care.
But the right culture and the right people still aren’t enough. You also must have the right processes. Since our number one business objective at Network Alliance is client satisfaction, our operational infrastructure ensures that outcome. For example, since quick response is key to happy IT clients, our target hold times are 60 to 90 seconds. In addition, we build proactivity into our process by requiring our service assurance department to survey the client decision maker every quarter to make sure the entire organization is satisfied.
 
Beyond specific metrics, we encourage every member of our customer support team to make the effort to build a personal relationship with each client who calls in. Employees feel empowered to do whatever is right for the client.
 
When you put it all together—the right culture, the right people, the right processes and the right level of employee engagement—the results are, well, award-winning:

• In 2015, we sent out 14,732 customer surveys and achieved an above-industry-average response rate of 19.3%.  Of those surveyed, 98% of respondents rated Network Alliance 4 stars or higher (out of 5).
  
  
• Of those responding, 88% reported that their issues were resolved within 15 minutes. Altogether, 99% of service requests were resolved within 60 minutes.

At Network Alliance, we have no long-term client contracts. Our people earn the client’s business daily; there is absolutely zero focus on new business development. Because when we take care of the clients, business development takes care of itself. 

About the Author
 
Ben Martin directs IT support operations for Reston-based Network Alliance, Inc., which has been delivering high-quality, dependable and cost-effective solutions for organizations’ IT management needs for 18 years. A one-stop shop for IT solutions and services, Network Alliance provides a hosted desktop service for small and medium-sized businesses at a predictable monthly fee, eliminating costly downtime and maintaining the highest level of data security. For more information on Network Alliance and its services, please visit www.networkalliance.com

Outstanding Corporate Citizen of the Year (Small Business) Nominee
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www.innovation-health.com

​1. Why do you believe corporate social responsibility strategy is important for a company?
Improving the health of our community is in our DNA. We were founded as a unique partnership between Aetna and Inova with the main goal of working with local physicians and the hospital system to drive down costs. Preventative health measures, like exercise or getting the proper vaccinations, are a big part of that. That’s why when we are looking to give back we choose to support local organizations like Girls on the Run or the Marine Corps Marathon. Even our Innovation Health Wellness Days, which are free for all our members are intentionally designed to keep our members as healthy as possible. Investing in events and organizations that work to promote healthy living simply makes sense for us. The healthier our community is, the better off we all are.

2. What makes your company stand out compared to other companies participating in corporate social responsibility?  
Health plans and health delivery systems (i.e. doctors and hospitals) haven’t been on the same team in the past—often with the health insurance company seen as the villain. The fact is that with different goals, different incentives, and different approaches it’s no surprise there was tension. That environment made it difficult to ensure people and families had access to more affordable health insurance coverage that could improve their health. It also made it hard for health insurance companies to interact with the general public. By coming together with Inova and Signature Partners, our local physician network, we were able to reinvent the way an insurance company relates to the community. We know our members because we are our members. Ultimately, we know what they want most and what their biggest concerns and hurdles to accessing care are. As a company, we’re doing things that no other health plan has ever done.

3. Do you believe contributing back to the community allows your company to have a deeper connection with its clients/customers?  
Absolutely, it keeps our executive team and employees aware of the needs of the people we serve. Take for instance our Innovation Health Wellness Days. The entire company attends these events to get a better understanding of our member’s needs and to learn what barriers they are facing in accessing the care they need. Our CEO even goes through the entire screening process himself. Why? So he knows from beginning to end what the process is like for our members. We can’t improve or change things if we aren’t knowledgeable about them. The same goes for the organizations we support. Many of our employees have families in the area and attend local PTA and business organization meetings, so we know the organizations working to help improve our community’s health. This interaction is critical to ensuring we’re meeting the needs of our community.

4. What are some events or causes that inspire you and your team?  
Hands down our Innovation Health Wellness Days. Because these are funded entirely by Innovation Health we are invested in every detail of the process. This level of involvement allows us to really think about what our members need and meet with them onsite in a 1:1 setting. This kind of face-to-face interaction is priceless. Each member of our staff learns so much about the population we serve, and because we have full control of the events we can work to improve them each and every time.  We’re looking forward to hosting 11 more of these events this year.  

5. What advice would you give to companies trying to participate in corporate social responsibility? 
The first step is to learn what your employees are passionate about. Having an energized and engaged team to join in the movement will help make corporate social responsibility a part of your office culture. The second critical step is to get to know your community and the markets you serve. By tuning in to what your community needs and what matters to them you have a better sense of how your company can make an impact.  Marrying your employee’s passion with your communities needs is the best recipe for a successful CSR platform.

Outstanding Corporate Citizen of the Year (Small Business) Nominee

www.evansincorporated.com 

1. Why do you believe CSR strategy is important for a company?
Evans’ CSR philosophy directly relates to our mission:  Smart leaders conquering complex challenges with a human-centered approach.  Participation on the Evans’ CSR team provides leadership opportunities and an opportunity for employees to exercise their passions while creating ROI - Real Operational Impact toward causes that are important to them.

2.  Do you believe that the CSR work you participate in should be affiliated with the work you/your company does?
At Evans we have found a unique balance with what we do as an organization and the strengths of our employees.  The alignment of interests provides the platform for what we can help accomplish within our community.   Employees can also explore CSR passions in areas outside specific Evans’ affiliations, such as sports, scouts, and religious groups. 

3.  What makes your company stand out compared to other companies participating in CSR?
Evans strives to make CSR activities fun.  For example, Evans provides a charitable twist to March Madness participation whereby the company offers $250 to the bracket winner to donate in their name to the local charity of their choice.  In 2016, the winner donated to AFAC.  In the spirit of competition, Evans also matches food drive donation with financial contributions.

4.  Do you believe contributing back to the community allows your company to have a deeper connection with its clients/customers?
One of the great joys in life can be finding a common community bond.  To share a passion, whether as individuals or as organizations, unites us and creates that sense of family, of belonging.

5.  What are some events or causes that inspire you and your team?
Evans is proud of its contributions to the community.   In 2015, Evans Incorporated: 

• volunteered with the PMI Day of Service, serving as a project management Subject Matter Expert, donating time and expertise to assist a local non-profit healthcare organization develop a strategic plan to establish new funding streams.
• participated in the D.C. Talking Transition event designed to foster dialogue and collaboration amongst D.C. residents seeking to provide feedback to the incoming mayor.  Evans served in the facilitator role allowing residents to focus on sharing ideas and proposing changes to the mayor’s agenda.
• CEO, Sue Evans, served on the Board of a Vienna-based non-profit that provides comprehensive mental health services to women.  Her involvement as co-chair of the Governance Committee served to drive effective board organization through board composition and commitment.
• invested time and money through The Women’s Center, sponsoring the Leadership Conference and actively raising sponsorship donations to support operations.  
• mentored students at alumni events, and donated professional clothing, shoes, and accessories to Inova Fair Oaks Hospital’s thrift shop
• made a difference with AFAC by giving time, food, and monetary donations, and bagging over 1,000 pounds of produce for local families.  Evans’ CFO served as AFAC’s treasurer for six years.
• donated 4 crates of school supplies to NVFS and donated coats to Cornerstones for their annual coat drive.
• brought holiday cheer through the Salvation Army Angel Tree program, giving nearly $1,000 worth of toys and clothing to 11 deserving children in the DC area

6.  What advice would you give to companies trying to participate in CSR?
Listen to and follow the hearts of your employees.

Outstanding Veteran and Military Advocate Award Nominee 
Responses from: Denyse Gordon, Senior Manager–Veteran Support & Inclusion at CACI

www.caci.com/

1. Tell us why and how you support the region’s active-duty/reserve military and/or national intelligence community, their families and/or veterans. 
At CACI, we believe America’s military is the strongest in the world, and that our military veterans deserve every citizen’s gratitude and respect for keeping our nation free. As a business, we are honored to have supported our customers in the Armed Forces for the past 54 years.   We are also proud of our longstanding commitment to hiring veterans. We back this with robust veterans recruiting initiatives and a dedicated veterans recruiting team, and follow through with programs to mentor and support our vets when they join us. We recognize that veterans possess the talent, character, and dedication to duty that will not only advance our customers’ missions but also contribute to the teamwork and collaboration that drives our business success. Through volunteerism and financial donations we support charitable organizations that provide for veterans and wounded, ill, and injured warriors and their families.  

2. What makes your company stand out compared to other companies participating in CSR? 
Veterans will strongly identify with our mission to provide the information solutions and services America needs to defeat global terrorism and secure our homeland. In addition, both our Chairman and President/CEO are veterans who regularly communicate that supporting, recruiting, developing, and retaining veterans is a top CACI priority.  We also believe our CACI Cares program, an industry-recognized and company-wide effort to promote philanthropic activities, brings distinction to our corporate citizenship. Through CACI Cares, we bring employees together to give back to our communities and promote the spirit of teamwork. Our focus includes educating the leaders of tomorrow, fostering community citizenship, and serving those who served.

3. Do you believe contributing back to the community allows your company to have a deeper connection with its clients/customers? 
Yes, through philanthropic initiatives, CACI reinforces our commitment to our nation’s national security and serving those who’ve served our country – which also aligns with our customers’ national security missions. These volunteer experiences foster camaraderie and team-building among employees, both veterans and non-veterans, and help build a strong corporate culture that drives our business success.

4. What are some events or causes that inspire you and your team? 
We’re inspired by America’s veterans, community support groups, and young people who will be tomorrow’s leaders. For veterans in particular, through volunteerism and financial donation we are proud to support charitable organizations that provide for veterans and injured warfighters and their families. These organizations include United Service Organizations (USO), Final Salute Inc., Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). CACI is the primary sponsor of Comfort for America’s Uniformed Services (CAUSE) and has supported the organization since its inception. Additionally, several of our veteran employees volunteer as pilots for the Veteran Airlift Command, whose mission is to provide free air transportation to post 9/11 combat wounded and their families for medical and other compassionate purposes. CACI has also supported the Ms. Veteran America Competition and its beneficiary Final Salute Inc., which was started to help homeless women veteran and their children obtain safe and suitable housing.

5. What advice would you give to companies trying to participate in CSR?
CACI is committed to veteran and military communities in the national capital area, across the country, and around the world. We hope to make a difference with organizations to promote and advance philanthropic activities. Companies should align their philanthropic efforts with missions that are important to them and encourage employees to participate.  

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Non-profit of the Year Nominee

http://pir.org

1. What is your mission and vision? 
Public Interest Registry is committed to serving the public interest online and providing a stable online platform where everyone has a voice. We strive to empower the global nonprofit community to use the Internet to engage their supporters more effectively and tell stories of impact. This mission is more than a cause to us—it’s a calling. We always act in the public interest, even when it means going against convention. We always do the right thing, even when it’s unpopular. We believe that the Internet is a transformational force for change that must never be compromised. By collaborating globally in a multi-stakeholder governance model, we ensure bottom-up consensus, knowing that this collaboration is essential to building the foundation of our vision: an Internet in which everyone has a voice.

2. How does your organization achieve its mission? 
Like our partner organizations give back to our community, Public Interest Registry believes it’s important that every employee embody our core value of acting in the public interest. We believe that by embodying this ideal, our employees can harness their potential to become passionate, effective leaders and drivers of global change.   Through the embodiment of our core values, we have made tremendous strides towards this vision since .org’s inception in 1985. Since then, .org has empowered more than 10.3 million websites, serving as a reliable online venue for organizations, companies, clubs, and individuals to communicate with their core audiences about a shared interest, passion or cause. Last year, we celebrated the launch of the .ngo/.ong domains, adding over a thousand domain bundles under management.  We love to hear the millions of people we serve tell their stories and empower others to do the same. As long as we are here, the global community will have a platform to define their identities, and will be as it was always meant to be: connected and open.

3. How have your programs directly impacted the regional community?
The Nature Conservancy (nature.ngo), Arts Fairfax (artsfairfax.org) and Capital Area Food Bank (capitalareafoodbank.org)are just a handful of the many organizations in the DC area that are better able to tell their stories and connect with donors as a result of the ongoing work of Public Interest Registry. To date, there are approximately 135,350 organizations in the larger DC area that are served by Public Interest Registry domains. 

4. What inspires or drives your team to stay committed to your mission?
The people we meet and their stories inspire us! Our team has the privilege of meeting with nonprofit leaders around the world who are trying to better their communities in unique, meaningful ways.  At any given moment, you will undoubtedly find us traveling around the world attending conferences and exhibitions, or meeting with our registrars. This is how we get our inspiration.  For example, in 2015, we launched the .ngo and .ong domains with OnGood, a suite of online services for NGOs and nonprofits to strengthen their online presence, improve visibility and better connect with supporters. To prepare for the launch, our team traveled to more than 40 countries in three years to engage with more than 16,000 NGOs.  We love to hear the millions of people we serve tell their stories. As long as we are here, the global community will have a platform to define their identities, and will be as it was always meant to be: connected and open.

5. What advice would you give to other nonprofits trying to make an impact in their community?
Establish meaningful core values and live them every day.  For example, to better help our employees act in the public interest, on January 1, 2016 we launched our Employee Volunteer Program (EVP). The EVP awards full-time employees 40 hours a year to support community service initiatives. To us, volunteering is more than just a way for employees to seek personal fulfillment. Rather, it gives employees at all levels the opportunity to become agents of good by contributing positively to meaningful causes in the greater DC area and beyond.   

Non-profit of the Year Nominee
Submitted by: Ed Grenier,  President and CEO

http://www.myja.org/

1. What is your mission and vision?
Junior Achievement inspires the next generation to be financially capable, tenacious, and equipped with the 21st century skills to manage risk effectively, solve problems creatively, and welcome opportunity in the complex modern economy. Through our experiential financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs and capstone experiences taught by volunteer role models from the community, we empower our region’s youth to answer the demands of the 21st century economy with “ I can.” At JA, we believe that a student’s future must not be determined by where they came from, but by their desire and ability to work hard, dream big, and change our world.

2. How does your organization achieve its mission?
In partnership with our dynamic school system partners and volunteer role models, we create a continuum of knowledge throughout a student’s educational experience that takes learning beyond the classroom— education that is steeped in experiential learning that motivates students to learn, boosts interest in higher education and careers, reduces dropout rates, and improves academic achievement. This approach, punctuated with in-depth, capstone experiences at the middle and high school levels, as well as interaction with volunteer role models from the community, give students fundamental skills and perspective that they’d otherwise be unable to gain during their formative K-12 years and sets them on the path to workplace engagement and well-being. An example of our deep-rooted history of success in this community is the JA Finance Park® program. 

In Fall 2010, in partnership with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and the local business community, Junior Achievement of Greater Washington opened the doors to the first JA Finance Park® in Greater Washington in Fairfax, VA. JA Finance Park® Fairfax County brings in-depth, experiential financial literacy education to 14,000 8th grade students each year. In partnership with Prince George's County Public Schools, JA Finance Park® Prince George’s County opened during the fall of 2015 in Landover, MD and serves approximately 9,000 students annually. A third facility, JA Finance Park® Montgomery County is scheduled to open in 2018 and will transform another 12,000 students annually into Finance Park graduates. It will be located on the fourth floor of the new Thomas Edison High School of Technology building in Silver Spring.

3. How have your programs directly impacted the regional community?
In its 50 year history, Junior Achievement has inspired over 800,000 of our region’s youth with our innovative financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs. During the 2015-2016 school year, we’ll serve over 63,000 students through over 4,000 local volunteers from over 430 of our region’s businesses and organizations. Just through the JA Finance Park® program alone, we’ve transformed over 60,000 students from 8 area school systems into financially capable JA Finance Park® graduates, representing over 1 million hours of learning! Some examples of how JA programs have directly impacted our kids:

• 6 out 7 students who initially didn’t think it was important to manage their money, changed their minds in a favorable direction after participating in the JA Finance Park® program.
• Students who participated in the JA Finance Park® program are more likely to save they will seek higher education at all levels than students who did not take part in the program.
• Elementary students who participate in JA demonstrate significantly higher critical thinking and problem solving skills than their counterparts.
• 82% of high school students who take part in JA say it made them realize the importance of staying in school.
• 78% of JA Job Shadow participants agree that JA connects what they learned in the classroom to real life and their futures.
  

 4. What inspires or drives your team to stay committed to your mission?
Junior Achievement is driven by its belief in the boundless potential of young people—and in our desire to provide children from kindergarten to 12th grade with a clearer vision of what’s possible... a ladder from the classroom to the future. At the elementary school level, they need exposure to career opportunities and a foundation in economics. And, in middle school and beyond, when youth are developing spending habits and making decisions like staying in school and whether to pursue college, it becomes critical. Studies show that educational engagement is rooted in our ability to show students why their education is relevant to their future; to make education relevant, we must expose them to mentors and role models from their own communities. We must show these youth a clear vision that exposes students to a variety of professions and skills that are in demand and will help them succeed in a rapidly evolving economy. In doing so, we can close the gap illustrated by recent reports that an alarming 40 percent of students are prepared with the 21st century skills to be successful in workplace. We are driven by our belief in the boundless potential of our region’s youth—and in the idea that every kid is one caring adult away from a success story.

5. What advice would you give to other nonprofits trying to make an impact in their community?
Remember that our region’s success will be determined by our ability to come together to transform each of our missions into a true, regional movement.  Strength comes in numbers. When you think about your nonprofit, don’t think about what you want to do. Think about what problem you want to solve. Think about the knowledge, skills, abilities, and partnerships you need to solve that problem. Surround yourself with people who know more than you do about solving that problem... the smartest people in the room—and innovate to do it better than anyone who ever set out to do it. Be passionate. Be driven. Be tenacious—and never ever give up.