December 8, 2017
By Eric Belcher
In the continuing tradition of the ONWARD spirit, I wanted to share with you today some voices from our company. I put on my journalistic hat and asked some of our employees to think about Cast & Crew, what it means to them to be part of this team and what they hope for the future … through the lens of Who, What, Where, When and Why. Here’s what they had to say:
Who?
“We are a customer service oriented company.”
“We are a technology-focused company.”
“We’re all about the people. Our customers … and our co-workers.”
“We are a group of dedicated people who care deeply about what we do. Original team + new team = in it together!”
“Who? People that have a passion for what they do, and the industry that we all work in.”
To me, we are – perhaps now more than ever – evolving at an even faster pace into a combined company force. We are developing our core customer service focus with the delivery of digital solutions and technological tools that are transforming the way we do business.
What?
“We are a company that delivers payroll every day!”
“We are a company that is working with our customers to solve their problems and address their pain points … to enable our customers to get their jobs done faster and more efficiently.”
“Cast & Crew is a company willing to take the challenge. Willing to deliver great service. Willing to invest to build great products.”
“We’re an amazing payroll company that has continued to grow, but we’ve been able to hang onto the core values that made us a great company in the first place.”
“What? We provide exceptional service to our clients!”
“We are all about evolution, and the “what” we do is evolving.”
To me, we are growing and transforming from a strictly business processing company into a products company. We will never lose sight of the core of our payroll business, but it is an exciting time to see how digital products can enhance the ways in which our clients capture time worked and onboard their employees.
Where?
“Where are we? We are expanding the use of digital products in our industry, and as a result of the CAPS integration, focusing on new and exciting segments including commercials, live events and music tours.”
“We are wherever our clients need us…”
“In the cloud!”
“A brand new 40-year-old company!”
I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating, we are at an interesting crossroads of which technology is advancing our business processes. Not only are our digital onboarding (Start+) and our digital time capture (Hours+) products seeing some real adoption by our clients, but we’re excited for what our product roadmap has in store in the coming months.
When?
“When? The core of our service is to provide timely and accurate service, every time.”
“For a time such as this.”
“24×7”
“We’re an on-demand kind of business.”
And the time is now. Now, more than ever. The future is here!
Why?
“We are determined to deliver innovative solutions for our clients in the entertainment industry transforming the way we, and our clients, conduct business.”
“Why? To become the industry’s undisputed leader in size and scope, but most importantly, in customer service.”
“Because we have the passion to do what we set out to do.”
“We exist to serve our clients, employees and the industry with top-notch service including payments, residuals and accurate reporting to the Unions.”
Why are we changing and evolving? Simply stated: we must. I was inspired by a lot of what my fellow colleagues had to say about our company, and excited to hear so many expressing their same enthusiasm for our evolution and transformation. One of our team members recently said to me, “It’s such an exciting time to work at Cast & Crew as we evolve from a payroll services company to delivering digital products.” While they may have taken that directly from a tagline or boilerplate … I completely agree!
Another colleague wrote to me and said, “Cast & Crew is an incredible company filled with amazing employees who strive to provide excellent service and products for our clients. We are at a pinnacle of bringing forward-thinking solutions to an ever-growing industry, especially as we all consume media differently.” Again, couldn’t agree more … but getting to that pinnacle is not an easy or simple challenge. We all know change is never easy – and often painful – but without change we will never grow. If we don’t push ourselves towards excellence, we will never be the leader.
As one of my favorite quotes recently overheard, “Cast & Crew has been my life for half of my life, so it means a lifetime of memories.” So, here’s to me pushing you, and all of you pushing me, towards that pinnacle of excellence. Let’s go make great memories together!
ONWARD!
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Eric Belcher is Chief Executive Officer and President at Cast & Crew Entertainment Services. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the motion picture, television, publishing and new media industries.