Cover Story
Living values
How Mark S. Heaney uses culture to maintain consistency at Addus HomeCare
By Brooke Bates
Smart Business Chicago | February 2010
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They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but Mark S. Heaney thinks his company’s Web site is a pretty keen indicator of what you’ll find inside Addus HomeCare Corp.
The first thing you’ll notice on the home page is a collage of photos scrolling across the top of the screen — some of the employees who provide home care services for the company, along with a few of their clients. Above them, a banner proclaims their beliefs and values, from communicating to caring to celebrating everyday heroes.
You’d think you were watching a slideshow from a small, close-knit office where everyone shares a single coffee pot.
Not quite.
Addus is far from compact, with more than 12,000 employees scattered across 120 offices in 16 states. But that stretched geography doesn’t mean Heaney has to sacrifice the feeling of closeness.
“Our approach to every employee is that we want you to feel connected to this organization, even though you’re not here every day,” says Heaney, who was named chairman of the board in June 2009 and has served as president and CEO since May 2008.
He does that, first, by referring to headquarters as the support center rather than the corporate office. But he really keeps employees connected by reinforcing a consistent culture founded on the beliefs and values that headline the Web page.
Heaney could rely on policies, procedures and centralized processes to do that, and does when he can. But he also faces another challenge — because Addus provides Medicaid Personal Care Programs, each one is subject to state-regulated requirements, from the name of the program to the qualifications of the provider.
So Heaney isn’t after absolute conformity when it comes to all of the details. Instead, he keeps the employees aligned on culture. Already, he’s grown Addus from 2007 revenue of $195 million to 2008 revenue of $236 million.
“So what becomes important is: How can you maximize your efficiency and effectiveness — and maximize your margin — while you operate in all these different states under different sets of rules, which affect your operation?” he says.
Here’s how he does it.
