smartdept. inc. celebrated its 12th anniversary earlier this year! I’ve been fortunate to be part of this company for the past 7 years—and during this time, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of many exciting moments. Today, I’m honored and excited to announce the launch of our new website.
When companies redo their websites, usually a lot of time goes into thinking about the company brand. We were no different. We found ourselves asking a lot of questions about the message we wanted to convey:
Are we the same company that we were 12 years ago?
How have we grown?
Who’s been there to share these experiences?
I had a lot of fun working through these questions, and I’d like to share a few thoughts about them as we launch our new site.
I think the core ideals that Eric and Michelle Pairitz started the business with still hold true today: They believed in running a company in which all clients, candidates and employees would be treated with respect.
We still don’t have voice mail, because we want to be approachable during and after business hours. And we’ve worked with many of the same companies and candidates since opening our doors, too, because building long-lasting connections is important to us. For our internal teams, we’ve had office makeovers in both Chicago and Seattle, giving us a great environment to work in. But I have to say I’m most thankful for Eric and Michelle’s willingness to take risks. Whether it was starting a Marketing Division—or adding to our company insurance so we could work with larger clients—Eric and Michelle have given smardept. inc. every opportunity to be successful.
smartdept. inc. has also been fortunate to work with many terrific organizations over the years. We truly value our client relationships, something that’s pretty evident in the longevity achieved with many of our clients. We’ve enjoyed getting to know you both professionally and personally, and have been happy to be there during the good times as well as the bad. You’ve helped us attract better talent, grow into a much bigger company, and drive us to do our best—because we never want to let you down. Whether we work with you once a year or every week, each client is equally important, and we’ll never lose sight of that.
I especially want to tell you how lucky I’ve been to work with a lot of great people over the years. Our Chicago and Seattle teams are made up of dedicated and caring people with whom I look forward to working every day. I’m very proud to have had such a stable team over the past few years, and to see them grow within our company. I’ve also enjoyed watching them grow personally, as we’ve shared in weddings, the birth of babies, and the growth of families. From “beer-thirty Fridays” to sunny afternoons at Wrigley Field, I’ve enjoyed all the fun perks of being part of this team—those little things that make it so unique!
So, as we launch our new website, it becomes clear: Our success and growth have been all about people. From our internal team and leadership to our clients and talent, I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by great people. And while we’ve grown into a larger, more sophisticated company over the past 12 years, we will never change our “niche” company ways. We’ll always be the company that’s approachable, reachable and cares about your needs.
We’ll always be smartdept. inc.