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Culture

Jan 26, 2017

Why Both Talent and Character Are Essential

Ricky Zorn

Ricky Zorn

Why Both Talent and Character Are Essential

At our annual state of the office meeting, our CEO Rob Borrego told us about his vision to double the size of the company by 2020. An ambitious goal, it was made even bolder by Rob’s commitment to maintain our high bar for talent and character, the two characteristics by which each employee at Credera is evaluated prior to receiving an offer. With such a high goal for 2020, I wondered if we could reach it.

But then I thought about my time at Credera, and I realized that while our goals are lofty, they are not unattainable. In my first year, we grew from 200 employees to 270—an incredible rate of 35%. Most impressively, as Rob promised, we did not sacrifice the talent or character of our employees for the sake of growth.

Talent

At Credera, talent begins with our leaders, and it continues down to the lowest levels of our firm. It also takes on many different forms. In just my first year, I have worked with former CEOs, rocket scientists, teachers, debate champs, military officers, published authors, and so many others with incredible professional and educational experiences who are all excellent at what they do.

Character

But talent without character would not amount to much. We believe that to truly be great, we must combine talent with living out our core values of humility, integrity, professionalism, and excellence. Some of my favorite memories at Credera demonstrate this. Whether it was winning a 12-person, 180-mile relay race from Fredericksburg to Austin, picking up more needles in a crime-ridden alley in West Dallas than any other volunteer group, or watching one of our principals give up his personal time every Friday to revamp a mobile app for a minister and long-time friend—our core values motivated us to do the right thing the right way.

Bringing Talent and Character Together

Because of our combination of talent and character, we believe that we are best positioned to serve our clients. While talent makes us competent to handle our clients’ toughest challenges, our character makes us committed to the success of the project and our client.

At Credera we want to encourage talent and character growth in our employees because we believe it is the right thing to do and critical to our continued success. Our Peer Bonus Program rewards individuals monthly who provide excellent work and service to their peers. Our “Living the Core Values Award” annually recognizes the individual who best represents the values of our firm. Through actions like these, we continue building an environment that attracts talented individuals of character while encouraging the development of it in our employees.

As a consultant at Credera in my second year, it excites me to know that I work at a company that does not neglect talent or character, and that there are so many great examples of others around me who demonstrate these qualities daily. They inspire me to be a better professional and person, and they make life at Credera a continued joy and blessing.

LIFE AT CREDERA

We’re “open-sourcing” the Credera culture in a series called Life at Credera. We are sharing an authentic perspective on what we are learning and where we are growing. We are talking about friendships and fungrowth, higher purpose, talent and character, leadership, and communication.

We hope this series is a helpful resource on the continuous pursuit of a great culture. And we hope the results are encouraging to our company, employees, clients, and friends.

Looking for more? Check out these great Life at Credera perspectives:

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