Core Values - Do the Right Thing

I sit here thinking with a smile on my face. When I was chosen to write a memo on Do The Right Thing, I am sure most of you were expecting a long boring dissertation about accounting and the importance of GAAP accounting, and how I try to do the right thing in keeping our books and records accurately. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Most of what I think about every day involved you – our team members and what you do all day. With the pandemic going on for almost 18 months now and people just returning to some sense of normalcy I think about how much harder our jobs have become and how many new structures we have had to put in place to do the work that we normally would do. If we had a question or a problem, we used to be able to just talk to the person next to us in the office. Now working from home, we have to be much more proactive and reach out – in some cases to new colleagues we just met on a Teams call.

Each of you are a point of light for our company – you point the way by solving customer problems, you point the way by doing work in a compliant manner, keeping our IT systems running, etc. In all these cases you do it by Doing the Right Thing even when shortcuts would be easier, shortcuts would be quicker and shortcuts would allow us to get on with the rest of the to-do list.

For those of you who are old enough to remember the band Aerosmith “Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you”.

Thank you for all that you do, keep moving forward, and always remember Do The Right Thing.

In late 2019, I left my last job expecting to take a short break and then start looking for my next challenge. COVID had other plans for me, but the extra time off gave me time to contemplate what I wanted out of my next company. After some deep soul-searching, I identified that my most important requirement for joining a company was that they 'walk the talk' regarding their values. I wanted my views to align with the company's views and actions on the day-to-day treatment of employees and their engagement and empowerment. I also wanted to believe in the purpose behind the work my company did. I'm grateful to have joined the DISA family because I believe our views are entirely aligned.

So how does DISA 'walk the talk' and live up to our 'Do the Right Thing' core value? There are plenty of examples from the last year during the pandemic.

DISA took extraordinary steps to limit layoffs and furloughs while ensuring those on furlough maintained their benefits coverage cost-free.
DISA trusted employees with the flexibility of remote working to handle personal challenges while staying safer.
The company paid the annual EBITDA bonus to all full-time employees despite a pandemic that changed our targets mid-year.

I believe these few examples highlight a company looking out for their employees' best interest and wanting to 'Do the Right Thing'!

We have also been working on what our post-pandemic "New Normal" will be at work. This week we are rolling out the all-new "Work Location Policy," which provides guidelines for leaders and employees on how we work remotely, in-office, or a hybrid of both in the future. This new policy is based on our trust in team members to "Do the Right Thing" regardless of where they are working or whose watching. When balancing work location flexibility with continually improving our high-performance standards, we trust our team is up to the task!

I am also very proud to announce that we are "Doing the Right Thing" outside of DISA and choosing charitable organizations across our communities to support financially. While our usual in-person volunteerism has slowed, we will be donating $14,000 total to several different organizations voted upon by DISA employees.

"Do the Right Thing" means choosing the more difficult but right option over another option that might be easier. Sometimes that can be a big decision, but our everyday choices often make a more significant impact. For leaders, this may be having a challenging conversation with an employee to improve their performance or calling out a growing issue. It would be easier in the short term to let it slide and avoid the tough talk, but worse in the long run. It means consistently following procedures, even when it's more complex than a shortcut, or doing the right thing when no one is looking. One example from our DISA HR Team is when we receive questions or requests we can't resolve. Instead of responding with "that's not an HR question/responsibility," we proactively connect people with the right team. Consistently doing the right thing for every small decision can be a game-changer throughout an entire organization!

Finally, I am so proud to be a member of Team DISA and the leader of our DISA HR Team. I am eager to continue learning about the work we do that makes people safer and embracing our core values as we 'walk the talk.'

Do the Right Thing

Thoughts on "Do the Right Thing" from Mark Mayo

Thoughts on "Do the Right Thing" from Amber Dossey

Do the Right Thing

Thoughts on "Do the Right Thing" from Mark Mayo

Thoughts on "Do the Right Thing" from Amber Dossey

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