It’s awards season time everywhere it seems. From eLearning to the Oscars, industries across the globe are celebrating the best of, well, everything. Here in Nashville, the Nashville Business Journal just announced the 2021 Best Places to Work winners, and I’m beyond excited to share that Rustici Software once again made the list. This marks our 12th time to win, and of any awards or accolades we receive, it’s the one we value the most.
Coming into the managing director role, there were 3 things high on my list of priorities that caused some serious angst and hand wringing. Those were to continue to provide an environment that supports our people and is a place they want to work, navigate the budgeting process, and maintain the streak of Rustici landing on the Best Places to Work list.
This third one isn’t on the list for vanity. It’s meaningful because the process used to identify winning companies is based on an employee survey that measures 10 key engagement categories, including team effectiveness, trust in senior leaders and manager effectiveness. In other words—what our people say in an anonymous format is the only criteria used and the questions asked are things we really care about.
Being named one of Nashville’s Best Places to Work during this time of disruption and displacement brings a bigger meaning this year. The idea of ‘place’ isn’t just about having a great office space, pick up pong games or limitless snacks. Of course those are great and we can’t wait until we can enjoy them again IRL together. But it’s not the physical space that makes Rustici a great place to work or the office perks. It’s the space we give each other to be exceptional in the work that we do, but more importantly, the space to be exceptional towards each other.
