Bergman’s first Core Value is “Passionate About Relationships”.

At first glance, it may seem obvious that we are referring to client relationships.  But the truth is, to be successful, we need to think about relationships in a much broader sense.  Visually, we picture relationships as three concentric circles of influence with the first being our client relationships.

The next largest circle is represented by another relationship that matters just as much to our business as those we are building with our clients.  It’s the bond we build with our employees.   Our team is our greatest asset.  Having a motivated and engaged team is vital to retaining client relationships.   And a key ingredient in retaining great employees is the company culture.  What does your company stand for?  What does it care about?

That culture question leads to Bergman’s third concentric circle of relationships:  Community.   Bergman has been fortunate to operate in Omaha, NE for 134 consecutive years.  It is our home, and we could not have grown and thrived without this wonderful community that has consistently welcomed our business, embraced our products and services, and provided us with a rich pool of driven, smart, capable, and committed individuals for generations.

Giving back is an important part of Bergman’s values and our culture.   The Leadership Team at Bergman gives their time, talent, and treasury to multiple not-for-profit organizations through leadership on boards and committees as well as special projects for many of those groups.

To integrate our community philosophy into our organization, we try to encourage everyone on the team to participate in giving back to the community in some way.  SHARE Omaha’s “Do Good Days” is a great opportunity to do just that.  SHARE Omaha helps connect the giving public with metro-area nonprofits as a central resource for giving, wish lists, and volunteer opportunities.    “Do Good Days” encourages the community to focus on a different aspect of support each day:

May 17:  Giving financial support

May 18: “Wish List Wednesday” provide nonprofits with specific needs they have.

May 19:  Volunteer Opportunities – make a commitment to show up and help.

At Bergman, we do our best to practice this.   In the past, collectively as a team, we have participated in opportunities to help by packing backpacks for school-age children at Food Bank for the Heartland, or collecting and delivering hundreds of clothing items to the Siena Francis House to clothe their residents.

Last week, in the spirit of “Volun-Thursday”, we closed at 11am and took the team to Towl Park, a public park near our HQ, where we spent a couple of hours picking up litter and cleaning up the park.   That is the equivalent of one person cleaning full-time for an entire week!

After that, we gave our team the rest of the day off as our way of paying it forward.  We encouraged everyone to take that time to make a commitment and plan how to best help our community in any way that moves them.   That could be through any form of volunteering: board leadership, event planning, serving meals at a shelter, collecting and delivering critical supplies…the opportunities to help are endless.

Inevitably, this is a positive feedback loop.  Doing good for our community helps to create a vibrant community that not only retains people but attracts new talent to feed our growing business.  And these are the people who help us attract, build and retain our client relationships.   Sounds easy, but it takes some real focus and heavy lifting.

One step at a time.  “Do Good Days” is really about simply “Doing Better”.  We all could.  And  Bergman is committed to continuing in that spirit for the benefit of our community.