At Voice System Engineering, one of the things we are proud of is many of our employees’ long tenure. We regularly celebrate milestone work anniversaries such as 5, 10, 15 years or more with VSE.
As we mentioned in the first part of this mini-series, how long your employees stay with your company can give vital insight into their satisfaction. When your employees are loyal to your company, they are more likely to succeed, be more engaged, and be happier. Here at VSE, we want our employees to enjoy their work and be encouraged to grow and strive for work-life integration.
Hear from a few more of our employees about what has led them to stay with VSE for over 15 years.
Meet Ellen.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
As a Drexel graduate with an MBA in Project Management from NYIT, I started my career with VSE 20+ years ago. I made a career journey from Business Intelligence Developer to the dual role of Business Intelligence Project Manager and Talent Acquisition Specialist. Each role is unique and equally rewarding.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
Company culture drives innovations and the use of cutting-edge technologies. Every day I enjoy learning through wearing multiple hats and hands-on experiences.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
VSE diversity and culture enabled me to become an independent and well-rounded professional with a powerful female voice. It continues to support my career growth with the company.
What has helped you create work-life balance?
Along with career development, company flexibility enabled me to be a wife and a mother of two sons. I was able to attend important school events and be a part of big milestones in their lives.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
In my opinion, company culture, company diversity, use of cutting-edge technologies, work-life balance, and flexibility are important factors to retain employees.
Meet Marc.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
As of April 2022, I have officially been with VSE for 15 years. I began as a Coordinator in Service Delivery, helping recruit new talent and communicating with all our contractors. After about three years, I started splitting my time working there and with Marketing in various roles, including launching many of our initial social media exploits. Eventually, Marketing won out and took me on full time. I currently hold two main roles – one as a Web Content Editor and SEO Specialist, where I research, source, edit, optimize, and set up article content for our website and the other is as a Product Feature and Details Specialist, where I help develop and manage the call flow and messages of the telephone Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service for Expert Link’s brands and call center.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
My favorite part about working at VSE is that VSE is different than anywhere else I have worked before – but that’s a good thing. I don’t consider the people who I work with as simply “co-workers” but rather friends and even family. I’ve attended concerts with them, been to their weddings, held their newborn children, and been a part of other important events. I feel like we are always there for each other in good times and bad to lend an ear and offer whatever encouragement or support is necessary.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
I think it’s because my roles are always evolving, and the work changes enough to keep me interested and challenged as I grow. Plus, the way our company is structured, I am granted the authority to make my own decisions regarding the work I do, but I still have a strong support system when I do need help with anything. Many times, those requests become learning opportunities to help grow my knowledge base and expand my skill set to be able to do similar work on my own in the future. I can really see how much I’ve grown over the 15 years in a variety of areas I never expected to be proficient in before!
What has helped you create work-life balance?
VSE has always valued taking time for yourself along with a flexible work from home policy (even before COVID) which made the unexpected transition both natural and seamless. We are trusted to manage our own time and aren’t on a clock where someone is watching us every minute. I may need to have some extra time off one day for an appointment but will make it up another day if I need it to make sure my work is getting done. We are NOT micro-managed at all, which really helps keep employees happy.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
Treat your employees with respect and fairness, and they will be loyal. Besides my 15-year anniversary, there are MANY other VSE employees that have been here even longer, and some not too far behind. That speaks a lot to the quality of employee VSE hires and their ability to maintain the same workers.
Also, allow time for fun. Work needs to be done, but employees deserve some downtime too. While it has been more challenging in the last two years because of the pandemic, we have still managed some fun and engaging virtual events. Before that, we would often have parties and events to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other big milestones! It is important that people have fun and a sense of community, and VSE has always been good about finding that balance.
Meet Lynette.
Tell us a little about your role at VSE and how long you have been working here.
I started at VSE in 2001, a couple of years after college. Newly married, I wanted to find a job closer to home, and a family friend doing recruiting for VSE asked me to interview. I started at VSE as an accountant, and I was promoted to supervisor within a few years. My roles within the organization have grown so much since I started, and I am currently the Controller of the company. I have been able to help implement different accounting software, financial reporting, and analysis tools. In the past 5 years, I have started working in Consumer Payments, and it has helped me see a different side of our customers. I am lucky to work in finance because you start to see how every area interacts and how changes can impact the business.
What is your favorite part about working at VSE?
My role always has the same accountabilities, but the way I do the work is always changing. It is exciting to me to always try to find ways to improve and automate certain functions of my job.
What has contributed to your 15+ year career here?
The people! I have formed so many relationships with both employees and vendors. There are days when I may not be excited about work, but I always look forward to interacting with my co-workers.
What has helped you create work-life balance?
Being remote for the past two years has changed my perspective of work-life balance. Prior to 2020, we had flexible work schedules, so I was able to attend my kids’ school activities and get them to their practices. While I always thought I was doing a great job balancing everything, the past two years have shown me I was missing out on the balance part of life. It isn’t just about getting to go to school activities but being present in the moment. It was always go, go, go, and I never took time to enjoy the moment. Now that I have a home office setup, it makes it easier for me to create a balance because I am not just opening the laptop to “catch up” on things. I have a designated space, and it helps me separate work from life.
In your opinion, what is important for employers to know to retain employees?
They need to trust that their employees are making decisions based on their expertise and that their goals are the company goals. If an employee feels like they are making an impact and their voice is being heard, they will challenge themselves every day and will continue to grow.
