Peter T. Dameris learned about leadership from a man who made company Christmas parties all-inclusive.
“It could be the mailroom clerk or it could be the receptionist or it could be the division president, but he treated them all the same,” Dameris says of a man he started working with 20 years ago. “When they were coming up and saying thank you for the party, he could make that person feel like that was the only person he wanted to talk to in the room.”
On Assignment Inc. was founded on a culture like that, but too many closed-door meetings and subsequent cuts had deteriorated trust in the management and the company itself.
So when Dameris took over as president and CEO in November 2003, he had to give ownership back to his 1,000 employees. At the helm of a staffing firm that places scientific, IT, engineering and health care professionals — in other words, a people business — Dameris knew giving employees a role in the company’s success would be paramount to achieving it.
“It’s easy when you’re doing top-down management just to pontificate with people … and constantly be behind closed doors versus facing your customer,” he says. “There were a lot of closed-door meetings trying to figure out how can we cut [selling, general and administrative expenses] another 15 percent. That’s not how you grow a business.”
His plan, instead, was to involve employees. He needs their input to stay on top of changes in the marketplace and to make decisions that will position them to serve those changing needs.
“People want to be valued, and it’s not all about what you make or what your responsibilities are,” Dameris says. “If people feel that you value them and that you want to speak with them, they’re going to approach you. Otherwise, they’re going to keep their distance.”
So his goal was to build and sustain an inclusive culture that spans beyond Christmas parties into every aspect of business.
“The hardest job of a CEO is, if you’re building a good business, you have many intelligent, articulate, passionate, persuasive people who all have a separate opinion,” Dameris says. “At the end of the day, you have to evaluate all these disparate opinions and proposals and come up with the right decision.”