Teamwork Technology MD and GM on why they protect the company’s culture at all costs

James Borg and Nick Carter at the IT solutions provider explain why they hire on personality not skills.

For Sydney-based Teamwork Technology, workplace culture is a mindset and they aim to protect it “at all costs”.

Teamwork Technology is an IT solutions provider that works in the dental and medical industry with offices in Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

As the company has continued growing and expanding over the past 10 years, James Borg, managing director and founder, and Nick Carter, general manager at the IT solution provider have made sure the culture they’ve built has kept intact.

Borg said him and Carter don’t make themselves into an “ivory tower”, they are always available to their staff and work side-by-side with them.

For both Borg and Carter, culture is a mindset.

“Everybody says that they want to improve their culture, or culture is number one. Culture, to us, it's a mindset,” Borg said.

“You can have somebody that will say culture is the most important thing, but they themselves are toxic. They're yelling at their staff, and they're losing their s***. You can't yell at people.”

Carter noted that being a part of the culture means being involved in every part of the business.

"We're involved every day. At the same level, every day. We help, we still get our hands dirty. Nothing's beneath us,” he said.

Borg added, “If we need to clean out a toilet, we'll clean out a toilet. If we need to fix a computer for a customer, we'll be doing it.”

Carted added that both him and Borg are intertwined and invested in their staff’s lives.

“That's the most important thing. It's the one thing we protect at all costs, is our culture and our people. Because I spend more time sitting beside [Borg] than I see my kids and my wife,” he said.

Borg’s wife works within the company highlighting how Teamwork Technology really is a family business.

“We get along with each other. All that matters is how we care for each other. If we care for each other and we look after the team, then they'll look after our customers,” he said.

Carted added, “It shows through to the end product. You focus on [culture] and then everything else is just a byproduct.”

Hiring practices

When it comes to hiring staff, Borg and Carter are very strict on who becomes a part of the team. In a hiring interview, Carter said it takes 38 seconds to a minute for them to make up their mind about who they are hiring.

“We've skipped [technicians] in the hiring process because they just not going to deal with the team. And that is the single most important part,” he said.

“Sometimes people skip our radar and when it does, we cut them out very quickly, because it's the most important thing we hold on to that [culture] and defend it.”

Interviewing someone recently, Borg knew they weren’t the right fit almost instantly.

“I knew very quickly that the candidate wasn't the right candidate in the first 38 seconds, believe it or not,” he said.

They’ve even gone as far as canning acquisitions due to the culture in another business.

“We've had opportunities to purchase businesses in the past, and every single time, the reason we've stumbled the last minute or everything looks good on the outside, it's [because of] the culture of the people, and how would they fit in with our team,” Borg said.

Ultimately, Borg and Carter, they love what they do and liken it to an “adult daycare”.

“That's the only way to live it and we get to sometimes make a profit. But we get to live a comfortable life in the process, that's all that matters,” Borg said.

"We focus on the people. I've picked team members up from the hospital after they've had procedures, because the family's busy, or their girlfriends are not around.

"You're there to serve them, you serve them, they serve your clients and the things that you would think are beneath you are definitely not.”