Company Culture of Acceptance and Inclusion is What Choice MD is About

I’m proud to say that Choice MD is comprised of a very small team of simply put, remarkable folks. However, it wasn’t always that way. I’ve certainly had my pitfalls of hiring people that weren’t an exact fit for the company. After years of struggles and learning the hard way,I finally feel I have created a company culture that I am so proud of that I’m happy to share the latest surprise and what it took to get here.

We recently had one of our biggest updates happen on our website. What usually happens is I will ask the developers for an update by describing the process and they magically come up with the solution. I am looped in at the stage where I get to discover all the shiny new updates and test them out. If everything is working properly we move on to the next update. I like incremental change and this way I am able to craft Choice MD to exactly what the community needs. 

Verifying Choice MD’s records up against the Florida Department of Health Registry.

This change was probably one of my most important updates as it would allow us to verify our records against the Florida Department of Health Registry to ensure all of the profiles within Choice MD are still valid, among many other things. Things got very complicated and I looped in many individuals in different areas of the company to figure some things out. What I didn’t know about was the WONDERFUL surprise I got when we finally got through the task of syncing both databases.

Folks, please see the email I received from our development team below:

But it goes further than that. Our entire team is intertwined with the same threads of company culture so I felt it only natural to share the news. After all, I am the newest Board member of the advocacy Network on Disabilities, and making sure everyone has an equal opportunity at employment is very important. I was super proud of the surprise, so I emailed others in the company to let them know and this is just one of the responses I got.

So what did it take for Choice MD to get here?

1. Start with the foundation. Take time to really think about your company’s mission and vision and create them on your own beliefs and experiences. That way when you are up against tough decisions you will always have your moral compass to guide you.
2. Invest a lot of energy in hiring the right people. Make sure these individuals not only have the skill set you are looking for but also understand what your company stands for and you would feel confident having them represent your company’s values.
3. Make sure your team knows that all major decisions should align with the company vision. Even better, if your company stands for a good cause, everyone will naturally feel fulfilled with their job, which leads to the next point. 
4. Job satisfaction, when your employees know that they are working towards a greater good, it gives them purpose and they will be happier. The payoff is employees end up being more productive too.
5. Take care of your employees, and this can present itself in many ways. Really you just have to have open communication and set an environment where employees know it's ok to experience difficulties and that teamwork makes the dream work.
6. Retain good people – listen to your employees, work with them through difficulties, find time to connect, and share stories.

In my opinion, company culture is the foundation your business is built on. Make sure to invest time and energy in establishing a solid foundation.