New Technology, Old Fashioned Values
Earlier this month I returned to the once-familiar ticket counter at Whitstable station, for my first train journey in over 18 months. Kim beamed out from behind the glass, “Hello! I’ve not seen you in a long time! How’s the family? You don’t have Fig with you today?”
Simultaneously, a decade’s worth of muscle memory deftly types out my off-peak return to Bromley South before I’ve even had a chance to respond. The speed, skill and grace that Kim can process a rush hour’s worth of commuters - with their complex requirements, saver-cards and enquiries - is a sight to behold. I always know when it’s her day off, because the queue snakes out the door.
And yet if I were to ask the South Eastern Railways HR department what the “person specification” is for that role, I doubt I would see anything that correctly identifies what makes her so good at her job: permanence, connectedness, relationships, good cheer, experience, history. Sometimes, people are more than a list of their specific attributes. And sometimes, companies are too.
SARD is like this. In this brochure, you’ll find the specifics of “Why SARD?” - the features, the benefits, the products and the “value add”. But what’s really important, and what really brings value to the question “Why SARD?”, is in the broad character of our company.
We also seek permanence. We’re about long term relationships, building careers, getting to know our clients, their problems, their enquiries, budgets, and aspirations. And we turn our merry company’s wealth of experience towards solving those problems. We even do it with a cheery smile along the way.
When you plonk yourself at that desk on a wet, Monday morning, contemplating the need for that new report you have to deliver to the exec team, who do you want to pick up the phone to? The private equity firm with the bloated sales team, locked-in data, outsourced mercenary programmers and an army of shareholders breathing down their neck? Or the bright-eyed SARDinian, invested in you, content in their work, eager to help and backed by their technical wizard colleagues to make the changes you need? Because when the salesman heads home and the ink dries on the contract, you’re going to ask yourself,
“What did I just buy?”
Reality beckons. Suddenly, the big picture matters.
“Music is the space between the notes” as Claude Debussy says. Just as a piece of music is more than the individual notes that make it up, SARD is more than a collection of products and features. It’s an ensemble piece. And the melody is integrity, relationships, authenticity. It’s family. It’s old-fashioned business paired with new technology. And when that tune plays, you can’t fail to tap your feet along with us.
We look forward to working with you!
Kind regards,
Kevin Monk CEO and Co-founder, SARD JV
