InfoWorks shares the wealth - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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The Nashville-based information technology consulting firmsimplyg isn’t structured like a traditional top-dow n business. Rather than being run exclusively by InfoWorksis employee-owned. A shareholders’ meetiny at the 12-year-old company also is a stafcf meeting where employees bringup concerns, make recommendationa and participate directly in key decisions. Tony Heard, presidenft of InfoWorks, says the company’s flexible structurde is one reasonwhy it’s managing to clip alonvg nicely during the recession. Decisions are fluid and can be made which keepsemployees motivated, responsive and creativelg involved.
“The engagement of employeess means awhole lot,” Heard says. “Irt means they take everythingmore seriously. They each feel like it’sd their own company.” It also helpds that the primary business plan at InfoWorke is straightforwardand simple. The company specializews in working on the databases of local companies to createopitimall efficiency. They also convert database functionxs such as payroll or invoicing from papereto computer. Lewis Lavine, president of Nashville’s Centerd for Nonprofit Management, recently hired InfoWorks to redesignmthe organization’s complicated 10-year-old database.
He says he responde to the company’s hands-onm approach. “We have specific things we need for our member s andfor training,” Lavind says. “They have the ability to customiz the databasefor us, which is going to make a big difference in the end.” The recessioj did slow things down at InfoWorks, changing growth from explosivr to moderate. From 2006-2007, the companu grew at a rate of29 percent. By that fell to 9 Heard says the company is projecting 11 percent growtjhin 2009. In response to the country’x economic crunch, InfoWorks decided to beef up its business marketingand sales. Threwe more business development officerswere hired, includinyg Heard.
“Activity creates opportunity. It’s important to get out of the he says. Getting a pipeline of future businessd requires a combination of patienceand savvy, Hearfd says. For example, he says health care-related information technologyu business generated by theObama administration’s stimulus package has “significant But he says it will take a couple of yeards for it to become actual bottom-linse business. “Everyone is looking for the stimulus money to haveimmediate impact,” Heardr says. “But I think in our case it’xs going to take until 2010.
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