Creating a Culture of “Kaizen” for Your Company
Keeping pace with advances in technology requires a continuous hunger for education and a passion for professional development—not only for myself but for our entire organization. This is especially true as a technology company in ID and screening. I live and lead by the Japanese business philosophy Kaizen, which means “continuous improvement” in all areas of life. I look for professional development at every turn during the day, and over the past 28 years, this style of leadership has resulted in InfoMart becoming one of the top 10 largest ID and screening companies in the industry.
My span of topics to keep abreast of within the background screening industry is expansive: PII, biometrics, data breaches, cybersecurity, cloud access, global data, and compliance changes both domestic and abroad—just to name a few. Additionally, as an entrepreneur, there is the additional knowledge required in finance, business development, and marketing – all functions of running a business.
Here are some of the ways in which InfoMart has woven education into the fabric of our company culture of Kaizen and kept professional development a continuous process in our organization:
IM Growing – We have an employee-led committee, IM Growing, specifically charged with the professional growth of our employees. They design and implement training and development opportunities, including certifications, Lunch & Learns on services or soft skills, and the coordination of our annual, company-wide FCRA certification program. We bring in experts and vendors to lead training sessions on their services or products. We ask our speakers to not only explain their product but present their competitive differentiators, compliance needs, potential product issues, and solutions, as well as forecast the future of their industries, keeping our team ahead of emerging trends. All skills and training provided by IM Growing events go on to help our employees in their personal professional development, as well as adding overall value to our company’s expertise and aptitude.
Top Down Distribution – My contacts and experience grant me access to multiple information sources. For example, I receive daily invites to free webinars on topics ranging from advancements in drug testing to biometrics, plus white papers on industry-specific topics and strong personal messages. I distribute email invitations widely, and from the top down I support and encourage employees to take the hour to listen in or read. This provides access to exclusive webinar content and a broad spectrum of industry knowledge. We also have Google alerts for clients, competitors, and industry trends divided throughout a large group of employees. Each day the assigned person reviews Google alerts, and if it is worthy info, it is shared.
Build Our Own Resources – When one of our teams is doing a presentation—whether it be high-level or niche—we record the webinar. We then make the content available on our intranet portal as a resource for training on the specific subject matter for anyone in the company who is interested in learning more. These materials establish educational opportunities as well as lines of communication that might not have previously existed. We create new communities of individuals working in different sectors of the company learning together and thriving together. This also propagates the confidence in our employees to ask questions, either for their own benefit or for others.
Communicating information for professional development is key to everyone participating while avoiding an overload of information.
A matrix of our subject matter experts is available to the entire company, which identifies the people responsible for sharing knowledge with the larger team. You will always have people that don’t “share their Legos.” However, with a team approach, they begin to look uninformed if they are not regularly sharing knowledge and educating the team. A culture of Kaizen promotes continual improvement by taking a top-down approach to emphasizing, sharing, and communicating. A desire for continuous learning develops without effort within a company culture of Kaizen.
Originally published on wbenc.org.
About Tammy Cohen
Tammy Cohen, an industry pioneer and expert in identity and employment screening, founded InfoMart 30 years ago. Deemed the “Queen of Screen,” she’s been a force behind industry-leading innovations. She was most recently the first-to-market with a fully compliant sanctions search, as well as a suite of identity services that modernizes talent onboarding. Tammy revolutionized the screening industry when she stepped into the field, developing the first client-facing application and a due diligence criminal search that has since become standard for all background screening companies. Cohen has received national awards and honors for her business and civic involvement, including Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 Women-Owned Firms in Atlanta, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Enterprising Women of the Year award, the YWCA of Northwest Georgia’s Kathryn Woods Racial Justice Award, and a commendation in the 152nd Congressional Record. To learn more about Tammy, visit www.tammycohen.com.
About InfoMart
InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global background and identity screening industry for 30 years, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association, and they have achieved PBSA accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 45 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit www.InfoMart-USA.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.