FSIoffice continues to be a leader not only in the office products and furniture industries, but in employee retention as well. In fact, FSI has seven employees with 40 or more years of experience! But how does a local business nestled in Northeast Charlotte with branches across the Carolinas and Virginia produce such worker longevity and faithful customers? Well, by executing its core values every day: integrity, commitment, focus, endurance and change.
Building a lasting company culture is not easy and takes commitment to a vision higher than the individual. “We are blessed to have people on our team who have embraced these five founding principles and have helped build FSI over the last 58 years,” said CEO Kim Leazer. “It is rare to find those who have not only walked with you through all of the twists and turns in business, but life as well.”
In February 2021 at the company’s annual Recognition of Service, the FSI leadership team honored 135 employees with 10 or more years of service totaling 3,136 combined years of experience, or 23 years per person!
“I was once again amazed at how many people have been on the FSI Team for ten years or more,” said Leazer. “This group is committed to these five principles and has spent their careers upholding them.”
For this union of values to be the driving force behind business, each department must come together as a team to complete their tasks. See the ways in which the FSI principles came together for success just in the last year:
Integrity
The integrity of our leadership team is alive and well. Our executives lead with humility and kindness, and do not cut corners to get ahead. They seek the success of those under them and can be trusted as colleagues and friends.
Commitment
Our slogan is “You will appreciate our service!” and the commitment that we have to our customer’s satisfaction is why our customers return year after year. FSI Sales and Customer Service Representatives are constantly lauded with compliments due to good service from customers and other employees.
Focus
Focus can be seen wholly in our Furniture and Warehouse teams. Furniture Installers have been hard at work starting and finishing projects from the ground up. Their focus and attention to detail allows our customers to have confidence and assurance in their working environments. The same can be said about our Warehouse and Delivery teams picking, shipping and delivering orders with near-perfect accuracy. Amid the pandemic, these groups were on the ‘frontlines’ ensuring success and satisfaction.
Endurance
Whether in celebrations or periods of grief, the FSIoffice Family always sticks close to one another in support. Employees from all departments rally around each other when there is a surgery, family sickness or death, or in celebration like the birth of a child. The kind words, prayers and affections enable the difficult days to be easier and the great days to be sweeter.
Change
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic meant that FSI, like most businesses, had to make big adjustments. In the spring of 2020, the Purchasing department had to figure out alternatives to a jammed supply chain plus how to expand our product offering while Accounting sorted the new finances. Even the Marketing and Informational Technology departments showed resiliency in their efforts to cater towards the workforce working from home.
These are just some of the ways in which the FSI family lives out its founding principles. With the right people and culture, the sky is the limit!
Connect the Dots ... with FSIoffice 