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I appreciate your kind words about the ECRS team members. We do have a highly intelligent team, which is intentional. I also appreciate you mentioning that ECRS has “great resources to learn from.” As an information-based company, we take a great deal of pride in building a learning culture, particularly for younger information workers, who are just entering the workforce. We have a sacred obligation to help guide and place each person on a successful career path. In some cases, that path is not with ECRS. Frankly, ECRS is not for everyone, we have an intense performance-based culture, we always hold each other accountable for results. In cases where we do not have a good fit, both parties hopefully have benefitted from an equal exchange of value during our time together.
You are correct to say that ECRS has a hands-on CEO, and I appreciate you noticing. I founded ECRS and have run it for over 34 years. I enjoy my work, and I enjoy working in every aspect of the business. Most of all, I really enjoy working with team members who take ownership, and I tend to leave those members to run with the ball. We like to promote based on the team members' desire for leadership and or a desire for more challenging technical work. I have many people who help me run the business, which I appreciate very much. For example, my daughter Caroline is now the President of ECRS, with the responsibility of profit and loss. She worked for ECRS for over 10 years, in many capacities, before she was promoted to President. At its core ECRS is a family business, with four family members, out of 200, working full-time in the business. Being a family business has many benefits. These benefits are felt by our team members, because they have a better sense of our commitment to them, to our customers and to the community we live in.
ECRS competes every day with NCR, and with many others. We win more often than we lose, by an extremely wide margin. We have been prospering for over 35 years, with year over year compounding growth. ECRS is successful by almost any measure. For example, unlike NCR, we have never had a layoff and we have zero debt. I would never want to be what NCR has become, and I am certain most of my team members feel the same. As a certified Evergreen Company, I believe in steady pragmatic growth. My goal is not to be the biggest, just the best at what we do.
ECRS turnover is extraordinarily low, under 1% a month, for both voluntary and involuntary. More importantly, the average tenure of an ECRS employee currently stands at 5.5 years, with 19% having over 10 years of service, which I am immensely proud of. With so many high tenured employees, my sense is that ECRS is a wonderful place to work, and many at ECRS remind me of this regularly. More importantly ECRS employees highly rank ECRS as an excellent place to work. For example, on a scale of negative -(100) to 100, ECRS has a net employee promoter score of 60. These results are from a December 2023 survey, completed by the Tugboat Institute. If you are not aware, a net promoter score of 60, for a 200-person technology company, is extremely high. Noting also, that even on Glass Door, 80% of employees would recommend ECRS to a friend, which is in line with our recent Net Promoter score.
In closing, you have listed yourself as a current employee at ECRS, which if true is sad. As recently as my 2024 CEO kick off letter, I stated the following:
“It is my goal to build the absolute best team in our industry, the “Elite Team” if you will. I am only looking for the smartest, hardest working, and most professional individuals to occupy every position at ECRS. Just as important, I only want team members who are passionate about being their absolute best, and who genuinely love the work they are doing at ECRS. Look, your career is too short not to love what you do, and frankly you do not have time to waste. In 2024, I personally ask you to fully commit, to seize your place and make a difference. Leave nothing on the table and strive to be the best version of yourself. “
I hope you will embrace this challenge or move on; life and careers are much too short to do otherwise.
For those considering working at ECRS, anyone who thinks they can just get by, just by showing up, will soon find disappointment. I would advise such people to find other work, as they will not succeed at ECRS. However, if you are a very smart person who is also extremely hardworking person, then we might be just the right kind of place for you. The 40-hours a week you put in at ECRS will be challenging and brain draining work. However, in most cases you will have more responsibility faster and learn more working at ECRS than any other opportunity out there. In other words, it is not easy work, but it can be extremely rewarding. Just as important, ECRS pays well, the more you contribute to helping our customers succeed, the better we pay.
Most important of all, at ECRS, you will always be treated as an individual and as a respected adult. Your happiness and success matter to me, regardless of if you stay or move on.
All my best.
Pete