InfoWorks shares the wealth - Kansas City Business Journal:

judonebolayb1394.blogspot.com
The Nashville-based information technology consulting firmsimplt isn’t structured like a traditional top-down Rather than being run exclusively by InfoWorks is employee-owned. A meeting at the 12-year-old companhy also is a staff meeting whers employees bringup concerns, make recommendations and participatde directly in key decisions. Tony president of InfoWorks, says the company’s flexibl e structure is one reasonwhy it’s managing to clip alonb nicely during the recession. Decisions are flui d and can bemade quickly, which keeps employeesz motivated, responsive and creatively “The engagement of employees means a whols lot,” Heard says.
“It means they take everything more They each feellike it’a their own company.” It also helps that the primar business plan at InfoWorks is straightforwarf and simple. The company specializes in working on the databases of locakl companies to createopitimal efficiency. They also converg database functions such as payrolll or invoicing from paperrto computer. Lewis Lavine, president of Nashville’s Center for Nonprofitg Management, recently hired InfoWorksd to redesignthe organization’s complicate d 10-year-old database. He says he responded to the company’es hands-on approach.
“We have specific things we need for our memberas andfor training,” Lavine says. “Theyu have the ability to customize the databasefor us, which is going to make a big differencs in the end.” The recession did slow things down at changing growth from explosive to moderate. From the company grew at a rate of 29 By 2008, that fell to 9 Heard says the companyh is projecting 11 percenrt growth in 2009. In response to the country’zs economic crunch, InfoWorks decided to beef up its business marketingand sales. Three more businesss development officerswere hired, including Heard. “Activity creates opportunity.
It’ws important to get out of the office,” he Getting a pipeline of future business requires a combination of patiencdeand savvy, Heard says. For example, he says health care-relate d information technology business generated by theObama administration’es stimulus package has “significant potential.” But he says it will take a couple of years for it to become actual bottom-linse business. “Everyone is looking for the stimulus monehy to haveimmediate impact,” Heared says. “But I think in our case it’s goin g to take until 2010.
”