When the COVID-19 crisis began, Rohana Meade and her company of 50 employees at Synergy Technical were in a unique position, since their job often involves training clients to use Microsoft Teams across the country and across the world.
But even her office felt the loss of water cooler conversations and had to recalibrate. “It’s easy to get into a silo and not interact with others in your office,” Meade says. “We’re scheduling a group meeting for 15 minutes at the end of the day, every day. And we’ve recommended that to all of our customers.”
Being mindful of her staff members’ personal well-being and growth is central to Meade. “My philosophy always has been to groom people for their next step in their career,” she says. As team members gain technical certifications, she offers merit increases. The company also supports healthy pursuits outside the office. “We reimburse up to $1,000 per employee per year on race and other types of entry fees,” Meade says. “I think you can’t be happy unless you feel healthy.”
And Meade embodies that. She got into running in her mid-30s and now is working toward her first Ironman in the fall — a 140.6-mile race in Louisville, Kentucky.
Encouraging staff members to strengthen their skill sets inside and outside the office is part of the DNA of the company, which was recently named Microsoft 365 Security Deployment Partner of the Year for excellence in innovation, integration and customer implementation.
Meade and her teammates also support about 20 nonprofits, including The Next Move Program, Lutheran Family Services of Virginia, Operation Smile and Winrock International.
“I tease that Synergy Technical is the most successful unknown technology company,” Meade says. “And my job is that I work for everyone else within the company.”
