Since Sushil Jain, founder, president and CEO of Empyrean Services LLC, started his engineering management and technical consulting business in 2000, he has had a very collaborative and consultative leadership style. Using that style to build trust and respect with his employees and clients, Jain has developed a culture that puts people first.
“The more participative culture with focus on teamwork makes people feel more involved, more empowered and they feel more a part of the company versus just being an employee,” Jain says. “That quality is very important particularly in a small business.”
That culture has helped Jain grow Empyrean Services LLC to annual revenue of $20 million in 2010.
Smart Business spoke with Jain about how he focuses on people to grow his business.
What have been key factors behind your company’s growth?
Fifty to 60 percent of growth in the business over the last several years is attributed to the people that have worked for me. We go out of our way to treat them with respect. Whatever their needs are, we fulfill them. You have to work with people and work for people. Be firm and fair. Lay out the cards the way they are and people will understand that you are treating them with respect.
How can someone make their culture people-oriented?
If people are working together, it makes for a very cost-effective and efficient organization. You should have an open-door policy and make sure people feel comfortable that they can come and talk to you about anything. You have to build the level of respect and trust in the organization so that people trust not only you as a leader but also trust each other. You have to really take the time to listen to the employees. Everybody talks about having an open-door policy, but people have to really see that in action. You have to take the time to walk the floors and sit down at people’s cubicles and start to talk to them. Talk to them about what’s going well and what’s not going well.
How do you get employees to come to you?
When people come and talk to you and they have an issue, you listen and you do something about it. In a majority of cases, you’re able to do something about it, but in some cases, you’re not. You have to go back to them and say, “I know you had told me this or you had talked about this or you requested this, but this is the reason I cannot do it or this is where I am with this and it may or may not happen because of this or that.” People really appreciate that. You have to explain the reason for your decision.
As you grow up in management as you become a CEO, you are faced with making a lot of decisions on a daily basis. Some of those decisions are going to be unpopular. You have to communicate to the affected department or individuals why you are deciding it that way. Some folks may not fully agree or endorse that decision, but they respect the fact that you took the time to explain why you came to that decision. You have to take full ownership and accountability in your decision. That goes a long way toward building trust and respect in the organization.
How do you align culture with who you look to hire?
I think chemistry is very important. You don’t want to bring in a person who has a very different management style than what the organizational culture is because that can be very disruptive. The person may have the best work ethics, the person may have the best intelligence and knowledge, but they do not fit with the team and it could be like a bull in a china shop. That can create a lot of disruption with the team and their contributions could actually be negative rather than positive. The fit with the organizational culture is very important.
How to reach: Empyrean Services LLC, (412) 528-1573 or www.empyreanonline.com
