It all comes down to caring about people

Building a successful remote enterprise is dependent on connecting on a personal level.

When the world became remote in 2020, Program Productions was uniquely prepared to weather the storm.

For more than 30 years, our company has been an always-on-the-road, always-traveling, always-gone organization. We are not typical. We don't keep "regular" business hours and there would never be a day where every employee would gather in our company's headquarters in Lombard.

So going remote was not foreign to us. It is how we have built the broadcast industry's largest labor management firm. Simply put, Program Productions provides expertly trained staff and technology to assist in the production of sporting events for nearly every major broadcast network and for every sport.

We were on-site during the NBA's Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder game that sent our country into a shutdown because of the pandemic. Our first concern was not tied to business logistics. We were solely focused on our employees and ensuring that our production team was safe.

The notion of caring about people seems simple, maybe even trite, but it is the driving engine of a successful remote organization.

We excel because we don't just take care of business details, we take care of our own.

We don't deal in inanimate objects; we deal in humans. It's everyone's responsibility at Program Productions to foster a positive workplace environment - wherever that may be - for our employees. Our most valuable assets are people, not the millions of dollars in equipment they run every day.

We have to nurture an environment where everybody on our team understands that they have intrinsic value, regardless of their rank or location. Everyone needs to feel like they're in the same boat, rowing in the same direction.

As leaders in our organization, we strive to set clear goals and avoid silos of communication. We are open to constructive criticism and we are fully committed to tackling challenges together.

If there is a problem, we focus on a solution, not assigning the blame. We devote time and resources to provide genuine support to each and every team member.

We have an established partnership with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, a world-renowned provider of addiction and mental health treatment, and are one of the industry's largest contributors to the Sports Video Group's Broadcasting Fund, designed to offer financial support for industry professionals who find themselves in a difficult financial situation due to calamity, illness, injury, or loss of life.

If you're in the people business, the day you lose your compassion is the day you should close your doors. People make mistakes. But no one is who they are on their worst day.

Some people call it second chances. We call it good business. We call it compassion. People mistake empathy for weakness, but if you can shine a light on situations, you help change people's perspectives. That chain reaction lifts us all up - and an optimistic view of the world pays off dividends.

•Bob Carzoli is chairman of the board & CEO of Program Productions in Lombard.