When Steven L. Gerard joined CBIZ Inc. in October 2000, he faced a few challenges.
The professional business service provider was in disarray, operations were unstable
and the company was not making money.
The company had grown quickly over the past five years through acquisitions, but now
the leaders of these acquired companies wanted to know what he was going to do to get
things back on track.
What the company needed was some direction, a common vision that everyone could follow. Gerard, the company’s chairman and CEO, immediately put a series of standards in
place for all associates to follow. He communicated his vision for the company, the goals that
would need to be met to fulfill this vision and the strategy they would need to follow to meet
the goals.
One of the changes was to put an emphasis on increasing sales to existing customers
rather than attempting to constantly identify and sell to new ones. The idea was to create
an environment where strong customer relationships in one practice can be leveraged to
drive another practice’s revenue.
Relying on his calm, steady leadership style, Gerard established monthly reviews of all
the company’s business units to get the finances turned around. He worked hard to boost
the company’s image in the industry and internally with his own employees.
But Gerard did not simply issue edicts for how things would be done under his leadership. He built a culture of inclusion in which employees can bring him their concerns and
know that he will listen. The culture also supports employees and their efforts to hone
their skills, learn new tasks and be rewarded for their achievements.
His hope is that the implementation and continued success of the company’s aligned
structure will leave the company well-positioned for the future. Employees who embrace
the culture will be able to develop their own abilities and be more prepared to step up
when needed and assume a more prominent role at CBIZ.
HOW TO REACH: CBIZ Inc., www.cbiz.com or (216) 447-9000
