Brooklyn Park’s York Solutions Named to Top Workplace List
What makes a workplace tops? York Solutions, a Brooklyn Park IT consulting firm, recently made the list of the Star Tribune’s 150 Top Workplaces. The answer may come down to understanding who you work with.
“Our business is very competitive and it’s very intense,” says CEO Richard Walker of York Solutions.
At York Solutions, employees work to find and recruit good IT people for corporations across the country. But what fuels this company is a powerful principle called “relationship equity.”
“If you do the right thing by people, working one-on-one or working with a group, then good things happen,” says Walker. “That’s the foundation to our organization is make sure you’re doing the right things, and you are going out of your way to make someone’s life a little bit better.”
York Solutions Uses Personality Profiles
Teamwork is key to the job at York Solutions. Making sure employees understand each other’s personality type can go a long way in creating a good working environment.
The company uses a behavior assessment tool called DiSC to determine a person’s personality profile. Each employee goes through the training, which has four quadrants: dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness.
“This has really allowed me to identify who I am as a person, in terms of my communication style, and to understand who my team is, so I can better alter my approach with them,” says Andrew Turner, who oversees recruiting efforts at York Solutions.
Turner knows he’s a “D,” categorized as direct and results-oriented. But he’ll adjust his style when working with a “C,” a conscientious type who is more analytical and reserved. The company directory lists each employee’s style.
“It’s understanding how people think differently that promotes the mutual respect to ultimately get the job done,” says Walker.
A Mix of Work Spaces Also Important
Walker also believes creating a good work space is equally important.
“If you can create a comfortable setting, you create an environment where people want to be, it’s much more productive,” says Walker.
A mix of open work spaces and private rooms are part of the office space. But there’s also an in-house golf club. Dubbed the “York Golf Club,” it’s a space with a golf simulator, pool table and room to have lunch or socialize with co-workers.
“I wanted to create a physical space where people can blow off steam, have some fun, but not just have fun, have fun with their teams,” says Walker.
Creating a good work place is a puzzle. The trick is getting all the pieces to fit.
