SPREAD OUT BUT KEEPING THE CULTURE TIGHT
How IntelliGenesis manages distance
As a government contractor divided between two HQs, and with a lot of its workforce embedded within the Department of Defense, IntelliGenesis has faced challenges in building a strong company culture. But its playbook stresses the basics: strong, deliberate communication, plenty of online chitchat—and killer parties.
PUT DOWN ROOTS BEFORE YOU ARRIVE
In 2012, while pursuing a military contract in Georgia, Lienert took a leap of faith. She planned an office in Augusta, Georgia, home to the U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Gordon and 600 miles from IntelliGenesis’s headquarters in Maryland. She knew the territory—she’d met and married her husband and co-founder at Fort Gordon—but the company hadn’t actually won a local contract.
Still, IntelliGenesis began laying down roots, developing a presence in the community while scouting locations. Lienert met with local organizations, including veterans’ groups, technology organizations, and the local chamber of commerce and economic development corporation. IntelliGenesis began supporting the local military transition assistance program, known as TAP, and Soldier for Life, another nonprofit. This was part foundationbuilding, part ensuring the company would be able to staff locally should Lienert win a contract.
Today, IntelliGenesis has 16 employees in Augusta—including one in the state-owned Georgia Cyber Center downtown. As in Maryland, team members are spread out with various clients. Lienert has deliberately bridged the distance between the two offices. She flies to Georgia quarterly and sends out a monthly companywide newsletter with birthdays, anniversaries, milestones, and news. She hosts breakfasts with groups of employees offsite, at the offices of clients, so employees who work together get to know one another—and have regular face time with their boss. “It’s important they can get the feel for the larger scope of the company,” Lienert says. “And just to make sure that they see my face and I can build that rapport.”
CHATROOMS ARE THE NEW BREAK ROOMS
Corporate training is frequent, and mostly virtual, over Skype, and employees gather, all day, in various chatrooms, which Lienert describes as a mix of “problem-solving, networking, and chitchat.”
Each office has a big gathering roughly once a month—a dinner or a movie screening or a family-friendly sporting event. “We coordinate it so that no matter where employees are, we make sure they have access to that,” Lienert says. The lone employee in Alaska gets flown in for major events—like the epic holiday party—and for important meetings.
Next up: San Antonio. IntelliGenesis has one employee there already, and more are eager to relocate. This time, Lienert won a piece of business before opening the office.