If you have ever seen my office, you know I am a book nerd. Not just any books, but ones that make me think about how to be a better leader, how to deliver a better product.

I was thinking about one of my oldie-but-goodie favorites recently, after CapRelo received yet another Baker’s Dozen Award for Outstanding Quality of Service from HRO Today.

As Russ Henneberry recently said, “Everyone understands what Quality is and everyone knows it’s a good thing. Here’s the challenge: when all is said and done, people have to spend THEIR money before they can test YOUR promise.”

So how has CapRelo been so successful in delivering on its promise of quality?

The answer brings me back to the book. Back in 2010, Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies, flipped the “customer first” narrative we were all taught in business school in his book “Employees First, Customers Second.” His premise is that to put customers first, a company must first create in employees a culture of trust and shared values that puts employees first.

It really all centers around those core values. I have been around a lot of companies that had their core values on posters or on their website. But no one ever talked about them. It was not a culture; they were just words.

Talk the talk. Walk the walk.

When I came to CapRelo, I found for the first time in my career a company where the core values are truly part of the culture. And the culture is all about people.

For example, “It’s my job” is a core value here. That means embracing accountability and taking ownership of actions whether an employee supports an internal group or the customer. We talk about it. We give badges out to recognize it. It is a big deal to us.

Another value is to be caring and courteous. I call this one the ‘no jerks’ rule. The way we treat our team members and the way we treat our customers is also a big deal to us.

To make sure we are delivering a quality product and service, we employ both the human touch and the tech touch.

With our technology, the transferee on their phone, laptop or other device can use our green/yellow/red status emoji to let our account managers know in real time how we are doing. If we see a transferee indicate a yellow emoji status, that targets a call, enabling us to proactively address potential or emerging issues. If we see a red face on an account, or team goes into DefCon 4!

We also routinely use surveys to measure and monitor our service during and after a relocation, evaluating everything from expense management to the mover’s performance. Mixing that kind of data analytics with the human element built on an “It’s my job” and “No jerks” culture creates an undeniable customer-first, quality-first, people-focused organization.

There is no secret to why CapRelo was awarded HRO’s Baker’s Dozen Top Service Quality for the second year running. It is all about instilling shared values and trust in our employees first, and that will always translate to delivering on quality of service.

Let’s face it. Relocating is among the top three most stressful things one can experience in a lifetime, following death and divorce. It is our mission to make sure we are wrapping our arms around the people who are relocating, and that we are caring and respectful before, during and after their move.

If that is the kind of relocation management company you are looking for, contact CapRelo.