The core values of AE Business Solutions represent more than a nifty graphic to post on the wall near the coat rack as many companies do, according to John Harris, the firm’s president.
Those 10 values run the gamut from practicing honesty and integrity to working hard and smart to caring for clients and family. And they motivate, engage and energize employees at the firm, Harris said.
“They embrace humility — personal and corporate. We exist to help clients and the values are geared toward helping others,” he said.
At the company’s large-group monthly meetings, employees give feedback about colleagues who have demonstrated commitment to those values.
“It’s not just, ‘He’s a great guy.’ It’s, ‘I’ve seen him upholding a certain core value — he’s working hard and smart and he went above and beyond for a client.’”
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AE Business Solutions aims to provide clients with a combination of information technology and people to help them find solutions to make them more competitive.
The company’s leadership also cultivates a culture of trust in its employees, 58 of whom work in Madison. “People have to feel like they are trusted, that they are empowered to make decisions and they want to be heard,” Harris added.
He added: “There’s a lot of competitors that do what we do, but the ‘how we do it’ sets us apart.”
The company also reaches out in the community through its AE Cares initiative, which includes charitable donations, community service projects and honoring veterans by supporting honor flights, placing flags on graves at Memorial Day and making nursing home visits.
The effort also aims to open employees’ minds to diversity through activities such as group book readings and activities such as a Juneteenth visit to Milwaukee’s Black Holocaust Museum and the Nehemiah Project’s 10-week Justified Anger course. It has also worked with Maydm, a nonprofit providing girls of color with training for the technology sector.
