Back in 1992, our CEO wrote a letter to all Aquent employees outlining the four principles that guide us in the work we do. The first principle, and the one that has consistently spoken to me, is, "People make the difference."
OK. We're not the only company that espouses this value. In fact, we're not the only company for which it is true -- this slogan can be applied to many organizations, especially those which provide specialized services, such as doctors, lawyers, architects, tattoo artists, and so on.
But I'm on board with it as one of our guiding principles for several reasons. First of all, it's true in a literal way for us. We don't have a secret formula or patented product that makes us different or better. Aquent IS the people who work here and the people we represent.
Second of all, this is how our clients tend to see things. As I mentioned in my post on customer loyalty, the two things that matter most to clients of staffing companies, particularly niche-players like us, are (1) the people or talent represented by the firm, and (2) the relationship with that firm's representatives. (The latter also confirms the findings of Michael Lowenstein and others.) In other words, it's good to have a principle that actually reflects the interests of our clients.
Finally, although the principle in itself may not be differentiating, the people associated with Aquent actually are. As the principle states, "Products, services, and technologies can all be copied." What cannot be copied, replicated, or reproduced are the living, breathing individuals who work for Aquent. More importantly, the same goes for the relationships they build and maintain with living, breathing individuals all across the world.
I've begun thinking about this in another way. "People make the difference" can also mean, "Aquent's human-ness makes the difference." It doesn't make us different from other staffing firms, the specific humans who work here need to do that, but it does make us different from all the technologies colonizing the staffing space from job boards and their aggregators to vendor management systems. No resume filter or robot can review creative abilities or marketing acumen, pick up on the nuances of "fit," and connect a person with unique abilities to a company with unique needs. I'm enough of a sci-fi buff to believe that it might be possible in the future, but I'm also enough of a student of philosophy and human culture to believe it's highly unlikely.
For now, anyway, human-ness can't be faked or manufactured. And that's what we're banking on.
Image Courtesy of Nrbelex.
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