Convergint Technologies: A Healthy Culture from the Start

In 2001, Dan Moceri, Greg Lenihan, and eight senior executives left their secure jobs at Siemens to start their own business, which they named Convergint Technologies. Why did they take on this risk? Their response was frustration with the culture of a large corporate bureaucracy. They wanted to work in a business that had an entrepreneurial spirit, offered great customer service, and empowered its leaders. Most of all, they wanted to create a company that lived by a set of values that would make it a special place at which to work. From its inception, Convergint identified its core values and hired leaders who believed in these values. Before they had their first customer, these executives designed the blueprint for how they would operate their newly formed company.

Convergint is a systems integrator, designing, installing, servicing, and maintaining security and safety systems in a variety of industries and settings, such as schools, hospitals, transportation and commercial structures, to name a few. The company pairs local service with a global reach, with over 120 locations around the world, each with empowered colleagues driven by its culture.

So, what is its culture like? According to CEO Ken Lochiatto, who considers himself to also be Convergint’s “Chief Culture Officer,” it starts with values. From its inception, Convergint created 10 principles that continue to guide its culture today--what the company calls its “Values and Beliefs.” Convergint’s culture can be summed up within three major areas. The first is personal accountability for living up to its values, taking individual responsibility for personal development, and making responsible decisions. The second is being the best service provider to its customers and doing so with results and with integrity. The third is to balance family, business, and community, including celebrations and plenty of fun and laughter at work. 

To reinforce these values, Convergint refers to its employees as “colleagues.” To become a colleague, the company has a rigorous hiring procedure. Candidates are screened to evaluate their fit with the Convergint culture. This is followed up with an onboarding process that reinforces the company’s culture with its new colleague. The company prides itself on “making a daily difference,” which it reasserts constantly. It reinforces its culture through its Nation Meeting that encourages communication between its local offices, and training. An annual survey is conducted to assess colleague perceptions of how the culture is working. Colleague performance reviews are conducted on a scale that evaluates their reflection of the 10 Values and Beliefs of the company.

A clear sign of how important a role culture plays in a company is how that company it deals with colleagues who do not live up to its values. At Convergint, such colleagues are coached, and, if this fails, they either resign or are asked to leave. Total turnover in employment for Convergint is 10 to 11 percent. Given its decentralization, this is a remarkable statistic.

The company takes seriously its dedication to helping the communities in which it operates. Once a year, the company ceases operations for a day so that colleagues can volunteer in their local communities, for which they still get paid. Colleagues can volunteer for any number of projects, such as working with a local school to upgrade its security and safety systems or preparing and delivering meals to a local food bank or soup kitchen. In 2018, the company delivered over 19,000 meals, donated close to $1 million from payroll, and helped 61 nonprofit organizations. There is little question that Convergint believes in giving back to the community.

Further evidence on how its culture supports its colleagues is shown in the story of a colleague who was a key leader in the company for many years and passed away suddenly. He was known as a person who would always help others in need. In his honor, the company established an emergency fund, administered and supported by colleagues, to provide for those colleagues who face unexpected situations and find themselves in need. The fund lives on and has since raised nearly $750,000 to help Convergint colleagues.

Another criterion of a healthy culture is how management aligns with colleagues on job security.  In responding to how the company handled employment when there was a loss of business, it was apparent that the company took its responsibility to its colleagues seriously. An example can be seen in how the company handled the shutdown caused by fires in the oil sands that devastated the community of Alberta, Canada. One hundred-six colleagues were not able to work for eight weeks due to the damage caused by the fires. Convergint carried all 106 colleagues at full salary while the local office regrouped. The cost to Convergint was $1.2 million in lost wages. One hundred-four of the 106 colleagues returned to work when the office reopened. A similar experience occurred when the company lost a contract in servicing New York City’s camera system. Colleagues were able to move to other jobs. Some were compensated to help the business office to close. This commitment to job security has led to a strong alignment between colleagues and Convergint’s leadership.

How successful is Convergint as a company? Here are a few measures of its success. The company is 19 years old, and its current sales are $1.3 Billion. It has experienced double-digit growth in every year of its existence. EBITDA has also grown steadily, and each of its 120 locations shares in the EBITDA growth. Growth has been both organic and through acquisitions. To fuel this growth, the company took on a private equity investor. Unsurprisingly, the company paid as much due diligence in choosing an investor as it does in hiring its colleagues. Both processes are aligned around the company culture.

The company also measures success by surveying customers. Its annual survey gives the company high grades across the board. The areas of evaluation include responsiveness, attitude, quality, problem resolution, and, most important to the company, whether or not Convergint is the customer’s best service provider.

Convergint Technologies is a shining example of a company that has succeeded in creating a healthy culture. Based on its values and the unwavering support of its founders and current leadership, the company has managed to maintain its culture while fueling its growth in sales, EBITDA, and being recognized as the best at customer service. Culture is at the heart of every decision the company makes.