Eric Hansen is RedPeg's Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and all-around community advocate. With over 25 years of experience, he's led operations and financial planning for a number of finance and media firms, including Wells Fargo Bank, Henninger Media Services, Inc. and Congent Finance & Operations, LLC to name a few.

His reputation precedes him, specifically for his ability to successfully turnaround financial infrastructures. As a former COO for Henninger Media Services, he led the company to a successful turnaround and its best financial performance within its 30-year history, all within a three-year stint. He has negotiated million-dollar contracts, customized operational company procedures, and developed successful business teams.

Most recently, Eric has played an influential part in RedPeg's workplace culture initiatives, including Women of RedPeg and RedPegsters of Color. He launched a companywide Cost Savings Contest that the staff has actively enjoyed participating in, resulting in more than $2 million in savings over the last three years.  In support of professional development, he helped to support the education give back program, a reimbursement initiative that helps pay for employees' continued education. Eric is also responsible for the agency's charitable matching program, providing employees with a matched monetary contribution to donate toward their charity of choice, or timespend for community service.

While he is well-versed with numbers, Eric shines in his passion for service. He has co-founded an adoption ministry that advocates for children and facilitates the adoption process. He also has served on the board for the For His Children (FHC) organization, Arlington Little League, and regularly volunteers with RedPeg Gives Back, a RedPeg agency community service initiative.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Eric, as COO and CFO of RedPeg, also became the company's primary culture evangelist, and why he feels passionate about RedPeg's culture
• How Eric turned a cost-saving initiative into a popular and fun program and culture-strengthening exercise that has saved the company $2 million over three years
• How the cost-saving initiative's success has made a lasting impact on the organization and a permanent culture change within the team
• What kind of success RedPeg has seen from their relatively new committees for women and people of color
• Why solid, anonymous feedback has been a pillar of RedPeg's cultural success, and why having fun together is one of the company's core values
• How the RedPeg recruiting process is designed to ensure that new hires don't just have the right skills and experience but are also good culture fits for the company
• What Eric looks for in interviewees to determine if they truly are a culture fit and are excited about the culture at RedPeg
• Why RedPeg has Employee Experience personnel rather than Human Resources, and how those employees help create an experience that team members can thrive in

Resources:  

• Website: https://redpeg.com/ 
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erichansen28/ 

Additional Resources:

• Successful Culture International website: www.successfulculture.com