SPG Blog

Being a values-based company has always had intrinsic value to me as owner and President of Sage Portfolio Group. I am proud of our company’s five values: ‘beauty and quality’, ‘innovation and science’, ‘absolute integrity’, ‘teamwork and collaboration’ and, finally, ‘frog pond’, which is my personal favourite and the namesake for this monthly column. We put these values front-and-centre in our materials and on our website (check out their full description at http://www.sageportfoliogroup.com/our-values.php).

Recently, I discovered some more tangible rewards associated with being a values-based business. I placed an ad online and in our local paper for an assistant and was amazed at the results. My desk was flooded with nearly 100 resumes for this entry level position, and the quality of the candidates and their alignment with our values was strong.

I got long letters from people who shared that they had been to our website and felt like they really fit our company culture. Some told me that sage had special meaning in their lives and that they already felt a connection to us. One lovely candidate brought homegrown sage to the job interview. We had incredibly talented–perhaps even overqualified–candidates who just wanted an opportunity for employment with a company doing meaningful work and living its values.

I have known for a long time that finding amazing talent is one of the best ways to create a company that does great work. This experience showed me how living—and advertising—our values has verifiable benefits to us for improving our talent pool. Our values not only provide a roadmap for where we are going, they also help us find amazing guides to take us there.

A warm welcome to Sage Portfolio Group’s two new hires: Catherine Silverglen and Marianne Sandvall. We hope both of you enjoy the view from the frog pond.