From the QWANtify Blogs
Supplier Diversity is very important to many of our customers. Alliant Energy Corporation, of Madison, recently received the 2008 Edison Electric Institute’s Supplier Diversity Innovation Award in the area of supplier diversity. Between 2002 and 2007, Alliant spent more than $133 million on products and services supplied by certified minority and woman-owned companies.
The EEI Supplier Diversity Innovation Award recognizes EEI members for their innovative approaches to diverse supplier development. The EEI panel judged over 60 Utility Supplier Diversity programs in the following areas:
• Supplier Diversity corporate policy
• Spend goals
• Achievements in 2007
• Demonstration of how the supplier diversity program is woven through the organization (i.e., communication to business units, reports, training and accountability)
• Outreach to diverse suppliers
As Bill Harvey, Alliant Energy’s CEO says, “Supplier diversity is more than an expression at Alliant Energy. At our company, supplier diversity is a way of doing business that adds value to our company and helps us achieve long-term growth.”
It is wonderful to work with a company that recognizes the value of working with diverse workforces and vendors.
Filed in: Company Insight
One of my favorite authors is Cory Doctorow. He writes some great science fiction that is both relevant and contemporary. Cory is somewhat unique in that while he publishes his books in dead tree format through major book publishers, he still gives away the text of his works and podcasts his works in audio form all under a Creative Commons license. A few years back he worked for the EFF and he still lectures and writes about electronic freedoms.
His newest novel was just released at the beginning of the month. It is a young adult novel titled “Little Brother”. It’s a story about a high school hacker who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was accused of being a terrorist. The novel recounts how he fights back against the Department of Homeland Security for taking away freedoms. Cory put up a website for the book [1] that contains news about the book, his tour schedule, links to download the text of the book, and even a place to submit remixes of the book. One of my favorite tie-ins is an RSS feed written by the main character from the book at the website Instructables [2]. It’s a bunch of how-tos for various things from the book like how to screen print t-shirts and how to avoid digital camera noise signatures. Fun stuff.
[1] – Little Brother Website
[2] –w1n5t0n’s Instructables feed
Filed in: Team Member Blog 2instructables, 2little brother, 2cory doctorow, 2sci-fi
Project Home, a Dane County not-for-profit organization, sponsors a program every spring called Hammer With a Heart. QWANtify’s Community Involvement Committee selected this worthy cause to be involved with this spring.
Today we worked in the Allied Drive neighborhood on apartments owned by Project Home.
Our QWANtify team split into two teams. Half of us painted basements while the other half planted bushes and mulched around the playground equipment and buildings.
Meeting around 7:30 am at our office, on a cold misty day, we enthusiastically embarked on our day-long mission. Upon arrival we were greeted with water, soda and donuts. By 8:00 we eagerly began working.
By the time we broke, at 12:30 for lunch (pizza, burgers and chicken sandwiches), our work was complete.
We hung around a while for conversation, pictures and the meal before returning to our office and going our separate ways for the remainder of the day and weekend.
I count myself lucky for many reasons. I’m fortunate to work with an enthusiastic team who comes up with and embraces such great community and team building activities.
Our team continually reminds me we’re building is something pretty special.
Filed in: Company Insight
Our Accountant, John Bird, is an amazing man. His unselfish generosity and willingness to give back to his community is something everyone should strive for.
John works tirelessly with the hundreds of customers he serves while also serving several local organizations (i.e., Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital, Vermont Township, District One EMS, Yahara House, to name a few). In John’s spare time he donates thousands of hours of free accounting assistance to Yahara House members. On April 8, 2008 John was awarded the Community Citizen Award, by NAMI Dane County, “in recognition of his outstanding achievement supporting and advocating for people with mental illnesses”, for his Yahara House volunteer services.
I became acquainted with John three years ago when he became QWANtify’s accountant. In the last three years John has taught me a lot. Some times he probably felt he’d need to knock me over the head to get me to understand what he was trying to teach me. Ever the patient mentor, he kept at it until I caught on.
Through John’s generosity and community involvement I am continually reminded of our very important core values (giving back to one’s community and treating others the way we all want to be treated). These are the values I try to live by and pass on every day of my life.
Congratulations and thank you, John!! You’re a wonderful role model.
Yahara House began in 1976 as an aftercare program designed to help persons who had lived in psychiatric institutions move back into the community. In the mid 1980s, we became the first clubhouse model in Wisconsin. In 2001, Yahara House was chosen as a national recipient of the Lilly Reintegration Awards. Today, Yahara House is dedicated to advancing cultural competence, community reintegration, and consumer recovery. Yahara House is part of a private, non profit organization, the Mental Health Center of Dane County, Inc.
Filed in: Company Insight
I briefly spoke with a colleague of mine today and he was checking his messages on his new work cellphone. It was one of those new-fangled Blackberry devices. He was telling me about some of the things it can do. In jest, I pulled out my year-and-a-half old flip phone. No camera, no keyboard, I don’t even know how to download a ringtone for it. I just want my phone to be a phone. That’s probably too much to ask as the cellphone industry is going further and further towards creating devices that can do everything. I already have devices that can do the other things: a digital camera and a laptop. I like having the ability to leave things home when I don’t want to be bothered. I just don’t feel the need to be constantly connected.
There was a time when I’d get excited about the newest techno-gadget on the market. Miniaturization and packing in features are keys to getting people excited about products (my cellphone runs my website, has an 8MP camera, and does my laundry… it’s the size of a credit card!). But, nowadays, I’d rather have simplicity. I like my iPod because it plays music really well (though I can’t stand iTunes, fortunately I can use gtkpod) not because it can also bake bread.
I like to extend the thoughts of simplicity to my programming. It’s sometimes cool to come up with the entire kitchen along with the sink in a couple of lines of code, but I’ve found that it’s better to just keep it simple and clean. It usually works out better if the code is easy to understand even if it takes 20 lines to create that kitchen sink.
But then again… sometimes IT IS cool to throw in that kitchen with 2 extra lines of elegant code.
Filed in: Team Member Blog 5simplicity
WPS Health Insurance, one of our clients and the state’s largest not-for-profit insurers, is leading a campaign to recruit one million new organ and tissue donors in Wisconsin through their ORGANize to Save Lives initiative. QWANtify has joined forces with WPS to help this important national effort. We believe with the leadership of Wisconsin businesses and organizations like ours, we can truly make a difference in the lives of those in need. We are working toward the goal of signing up one million new donors by 2010!
Right now there are nearly 100,000 men, women, and children across the country waiting for a healthy organ to replace a failing kidney, heart, lung, liver, or pancreas. Every day, 18 die waiting. Together, we can change that, andORGANize to Save Lives can help save thousands, even tens of thousands of lives.
We made organ donor stickers and other information materials available in our Human Resources department, included stickers and aFAQ sheet as a payroll stuffer, and provided a “Get a Dot. Save a Life FAQ” sheet. WPS has also made available an informational video, featuring actual transplant recipients and donor families, by visiting the WPS Web site by tuning in to Charter Cable Channel 999.
Each new organ donor has the potential to save or enhance the lives of 50 other people. We encourage everyone to help give the gift of life to your friends and neighbors in need. Get your dot today!
Filed in: Company Insight
I haven’t posted anything for quite awhile, but rest assured that even though I haven’t posted anything I have been busy writing. I’ve been working on a couple of longer articles plus a number of shorter posts. I’m also working on a new presentation which I hope is ready in some form for BarCampMadison2. On the topic of BarCampMadison2, there will be another planning meeting on Saturday, March 29 at 1pm at Escape Coffee House, so if you’re still interested in helping out please show up to the meeting. We’re still working on trying to find a venue to hold the BarCamp. Because of this we do not have an official date to hold the BarCamp. The website is up and functional at http://barcampmadison2.org.
Filed in: Team Member Blog
Having detailed corporate hiring policies and processes is necessary and invaluable for corporations of all sizes. Our policy is very rigorous. Our recruiter interviews potential candidates, we have them technically interviewed by an expert in their specific field of expertise, and I meet with them. In addition, we conduct reference and background checks.
Once a new employee comes on board, we review our policies with them, provide them with our handbook, ask that they acknowledge reading the handbook by providing us with a signature stating they read and understand our policies. When they begin working on a client project, we insist they review client policies as well.
Sound processes and policies are important for many reasons. They protect clients and company owners when misconduct is alleged. If a potential claim arises, it is much easier to defend when policies and processes are in place and followed.
Imagine how clients would react if misconduct was alleged, and it was learned the company they worked with did not have or follow appropriate corporate hiring policies and procedures. If the consultant violated client policies or their own employer’s policies, it may be harder to defend a potential claim.
Be vigilant and rigorous about reviewing and maintaining updated corporate hiring policies and always follow them. Don’t be lulled into bypassing policies and processes because of past working relationships. If one thing is constant, it is change and events influence different behaviors in everyone. Following stated policies and processes may not always catch character flaws, but it goes a long way toward doing so.
Filed in: Company Insight