Culture is a fickle concept, nearly impossible to pin down. What does it mean to be a Belgian, a Fleming, or even an employee at your company? When I first applied at ITQ, that was the topic of a riveting conversation with HR. A few months later ITQ published the final results of their culture exercise, and despite my initial reservations I had to admit: it was spot on!
I ultimately joined the ITQ family on Valentine’s day 2022, as a Business Developer (you can call me Sales). And that Culture (yes, capital C) is what allows me to thrive. There’s our consultant’s passion during customer meetings, explaining in detail how VMware solutions might lead to their desired business outcomes if only they let us. It’s there during internal meetings, with each department speaking from their experience but always with the ITQ end goals in mind. Any existing customer I speak to has nothing but praise for our past work. And last but certainly not least, our sales team is allowed the breathing room to build relationships with our customers, to listen and focus on their preferred outcomes. I’ve always worked this way, but at ITQ Solution Selling is the norm – which fits like a glove.
This is not a coincidence. Embedding the right for consultants to learn and grow only attracts those with a passion for quality and ownership, a logical result of ITQ’s DNA. The 2009 decision to focus on VMware solutions only helped us work towards the same end goal, allowing Authenticity and Quality to become part of our brand.
For me, that’s what makes a dreamjob. There’s ample opportunity to learn from my consulting colleagues, nourishing my hunger for knowledge. I can blindly trust their judgment – even when the customer might not like the message at first. My sales colleagues are always there to share their experiences - and jokes of varying quality. I can help customers with their business outcomes, as the sales spider in the web connecting the right people to the right challenge – because the right people are always there.
And then there’s the family part. Easy enough to proclaim family values as a company, but the proof is in the pudding. When a co-worker needs to take a step back for health or personal reasons, is there a foundational trust allowing for the necessary breathing room? When someone (not me of course – ahem) smashes the send button a bit too soon, is there understanding for a mistake made? And can we as ITQ’ers trust our management has a clear long-term vision and open communication channels? The past year at ITQ, the answer was always a resounding yes on all accounts.
A dreamjob is not just about what a regular Tuesday workload looks like. It’s just as much, if not more, about finding the right environment. Let’s just say I’m here to stay, although someone (totally not me!) might proofread his future emails a bit more thoroughly…
