Michael Winwood, CEO

“Our strategy begins with people and ends with people. We focus an insane amount of time on hiring great talent,” says CEO Michael Winwood. It’s what they call The Who, which is tied in with Optomi’s core values. The first, genuine and passionate, candidates need from the start. “You can’t teach that,” Winwood says.

The company as a whole strives for the rest. It questions everything they thought they knew about working in the industry in order to be unique, even down to the technology they use. They are dedicated to providing a higher level of service than other IT firms.

And staff are expected to be connected internally as well as in the community via networking events and even charity. Employees use Yammer daily, posting when they make a placement or sale. They’ll use it to share videos of themselves as part of sales competitions. It keeps the excitement going, Winwood says.

The company puts its money where its mouth is in the community service department. For example, with every placement, Optomi provides a weekend’s worth of meals to hungry children in school free-lunch programs, who otherwise would not eat. Clients, consultants and staff feel they’ve made a difference with each placement. This year, Optomi expects to donate up to 15,000 meals. “Why don’t’ more companies do these things?” Winwood asks. “Instead of spending money on marketing materials no one cares about?”