Can you imagine this world without people? If you take away people, there’s no life. Life only happens because of and through people. People create life and we are not meant to live this life alone. We are meant to live in communities full of happiness, connection, and support. In the movie “Passenger”, Jim awakens Aurora after his pod malfunctions because he can’t bear the thought of living the rest of his life in isolation. We all need the feeling of inner connection with other human beings. People are the reason that life exists. They should always come first.
When you look at any organization, whether it’s cultural, religious, political, etc., at the finest granular level it all comes down to people. At In Time Tec, we follow the motto “People first.” Every decision, every structure, and every idea is created with people as the very top priority. When we say people first, we mean to live life on the basis that without people, life, and similarly companies, cannot exist.
Our priorities at In Time Tec look like this:
We think, plan, and execute every activity by thinking of our people before the project, process, or profit. Because of the clarity of our priorities, we have no problem sacrificing projects, processes, or profit in the interest of people. We are committed to our team being happy, joyful, peaceful, and loving, and we will do what it takes for that to be what’s so.
Our people first motto is lived out through everything that we do.
Compensation
When our company profits, we look at what part of that compensation we can share with employees. We generate wealth to distribute wealth instead of hoarding the wealth for personal benefit.
Celebrations
Every Friday we have snacks, drinks, and games at 2 p.m. to celebrate all of our small and large successes that happened over the week. This ensures our people know we care about them and we acknowledge them for what they are up to in life.
Language
We use a language of love rather than a task-oriented language. I ensure that our employees are valued as human beings and not being treated like cogs in a machine. As a senior leader, I ensure that every day I am staying in touch with the employees and making sure they are happy and taken care of. I make sure that every employee is set up for success.
Take a look at the chart below to see the difference of language used in people-first, vs profit-first driven organizations.
| People first organization |
Profit first organization |
| How are you doing? |
How is your project doing? |
| What is your being state? |
Is your project going to be done in time? |
| Do you need anything from me? |
What sales have you made lately? |
| Let’s get together to learn, grow, and contribute. |
Let’s get together to crank things up and finish the work. |
| Is this a reasonable scope and timeline for our people to take on? |
How much money are we going to make on this project? |
Hiring
If one of our employees knows someone and thinks they would be a great addition to our team, we listen to them. At times, we don’t even conduct interviews. One of our employees, Paul, had a friend come into the office a while ago to learn more about In Time Tec. That very same day, I joined the two of them for lunch and told Paul’s friend, “If Pauly believes in you then so do I. How much do you need and when can you start?” When we are interviewing, we pay more attention to if they would be a good team fit rather than have skills that fit. We hire them for who they are as a human being and can teach them the skills needed for the project.
Brand Promise
Our brand promise is “ROI or you don’t pay.” Our partners are people too, so we put them before the money we make out of them. This gives our partners reassurance that they are people first and will only pay for work that creates value. We look at how we can have a win/win with our partners before taking any project on.
Work- Life Balance
We give our employees the flexibility and freedom to do what is required in other areas of their life. This allows for employees to leave work early to run an errand or work from home for a week to care for their sick child. We ensure that employees are able and encouraged to take care of themselves, their families, and their loved ones.
Ripple Effect
Not only do we put people first but we also encourage our employees to put people first in every aspect of their life. This creates a ripple effect of putting others first and is one of the ways that we Create Abundance on this planet.
If you are not taking care of your people inside the company and creating something for people outside of the company, it is inconsistent and inauthentic for the reason the company exists. In order to ensure you are making a larger impact on this planet, whether it's through technology or any other means, you must make sure the people that are enabling that to happen are taken care of first.
When you look closely at life, whether you are a child or adult, stay-at-home parent or entrepreneur, just starting in the workforce or a seasoned professional, what are you living your life for? Is it about the projects and processes, or is it about the people that you live with, work alongside, care about, and are living on this planet with you?
Wherever people come first, life happens. At In Time Tec, we are committed to making life happen and that's why we say, “In Time Tec is a platform for Creating Abundance, we just happen to build software!”