Convergint Technologies was built on a solid foundation of Values & Beliefs. One of these core values—“we believe in balanced lives”—supports Convergint’s view that it is important to balance time, energy, and commitments across family, business, and community. This belief empowers Convergint to act responsibly and generously in response to the needs around them.
In this interview, Convergint CEO Ken Lochiatto discusses the importance of social responsibility at Convergint Technologies, and how this drove Convergint to create STEP Up, its initiative for school safety.
What is Convergint’s STEP Up program?
STEP Up is Convergint’s way of addressing the alarming violence currently facing K-12 schools throughout the nation. To do so, we are providing free security services to schools in need and educational resources available for download online. This includes interior and exterior security systems installations, security upgrades, and security assessments.
What inspired Convergint to start the STEP Up program?
Our colleagues saw what was happening in our country’s schools, and we realized we were in a unique position as security integrators to do something about it. The safety of children heading off to school each morning shouldn’t be something parents have to worry about when they send their kids off. We wanted to do everything in our power to help make an impact on that growing concern. Enhancing school security can provide a vital level of protection for students, faculty, and visitors, and so in that spirit, we created our STEP Up initiative.
What have you and your colleagues accomplished thus far as part of the program, and what do you hope to accomplish in the coming year?
Over 238 colleagues of our colleagues in Chicago, San Antonio, Austin, Cincinnati, and Atlanta have worked with 8 schools to make them safer for students, faculty, and staff. We have provided and installed security cameras, tested and inspected fire alarm systems, updated antiquated systems, audited existing facilities, and provided security recommendations.
This year we plan to at least double our impact. On June 7th, we will be celebrating our 18th annual Convergint Social Responsibility Day, where we shut down the company for a full day in order to allow our colleagues to go out into their local communities and volunteer wherever they are needed. Many of our colleagues will be spending the day at schools doing STEP Up projects, and we are excited to have a day where so much focus will be dedicated to this.
What do you see as the ultimate goal of the STEP Up program?
For our part, we hope to do as much as we can to make an impact on our local communities by providing and upgrading systems that will increase the safety of our schools. But beyond that, we have a larger vision for the future of this program. We hope to see the rest of the industry “step up” as well, including our competitors. This isn’t about Convergint or any one integrator; this is about how the collective expertise of our industry can make a difference when it comes to this issue facing our nation. Convergint hopes to inspire other companies to do all they can to lend their time and talent, and we want to bring the rest of the industry into the program to make this possible.
Why is social responsibility such an important part of Convergint’s culture?
When Convergint was founded in 2001, it was found on a set of 10 Values & Beliefs, which are the heart of our company’s culture even today. One of those Values & Beliefs is: “We believed in balanced lives: family, business, community.” That was the source of Convergint Social Responsibility Day, and it drives our social responsibility efforts throughout the rest of the year. Social responsibility unites our colleagues as a team in a special way, and it gives us a greater purpose in our day-to-day working lives. Our colleagues truly care, not only about our customers, but also about their fellow colleagues, and about the world around them. This sense of responsibility is woven into the very fabric of our cultural identity as a company.