For Rooted Software, Leadr offered a solution that was simple to onboard, easy to engage with, and answered questions like, ‘how do I focus on people in a one-on-one and not get caught up in only the to do lists and project management?’
Their heart for customers is evident through their work, and it made sense for them to live out that belief not just externally but also internally.
“When a customer comes to me with a laptop with steam coming out of it, I know I have to be part counselor first,” Toby said. “Something is going on here - they’re stressed. I can help them with their technology, but I need to focus on the humanizing part first. We had to ask ourselves, what does it mean to have remote workers and intentional relationships? Are our managers and leaders equipped well to care about employees as people and not just do the work in front of them?” - Toby Weiss, CEO and Co-Founder
Leadr’s software is a versatile tool that will grow with Rooted Software.
With staff spread out of over 10 states, four teams and several very different lines of business, they needed a solution that worked for remote employees and leaders with varying degrees of management responsibilities and experience.
Rooted offers managed IT, a service desk, app development, and systems consulting. With teams working in different ways and on very different projects, the needs for development and communication vary. But, they also wanted a way to share an inclusive sense of culture and vision for the company, where each employee confidently knew how their role fits into the big picture, regardless of their role or location.
Although they tried several tools that worked for a time or served a specific purpose, they hadn’t found something that checked all of the boxes.
Toby said that while solutions like Slack messages or project management apps were okay between members of the same team, it was hard to find something that built a connected, development-focused culture from the top down.
And maintaining performance reviews and feedback in a Word document wasn’t sustainable in the long term.
“I’m used to everyone being in one office,” Toby said. “When that was the case, my method was to take employees to coffee and get to know them one on one and spend a lot of time investing in each person. But with a lot of remote work, it’s hard to know what to focus on in terms of growth, development or even correction at times. We couldn’t grow our people as fast as the company was growing. We found Leadr - or Leadr found us - at exactly the right time.” - Toby Weiss, CEO and Co-Founder
Leadr has helped Rooted be more thoughtful and intentional about their people - their most important asset.
Toby pointed out that it’s easy to forget the high points of leadership meetings, especially when you’re experiencing rapid growth. The focus becomes the work ahead of you. In turn, one on ones were just project updates and talking about what an employee was working on.
But with Leadr’s software, intentional question prompts like “Tell me the best and worst part of your week?” or “How can I help you improve in this area?” leads to deeper and better conversations, where the employee feels both known and supported in their role. That support transitions easily to employees who aren’t just thriving, but learning to lead as well. It also communicates a sense of care and value that is vital to continued productivity and growth.
The goal feature - where goals set are always at the top of the page - reminds Rooted employees of the big picture as they work through the process to reach those goals.
The little things built into the software such as offering employees a chance to answer questions about their development, provide feedback, or interact with leadership post-all-hands meeting all add up to an intentional focus on people, not just the work.
Those details have also accelerated buy-in and enthusiasm about the tool from the team. They know that their interactions with their manager or upper leadership is not just about the work that they’re doing - they are genuinely cared about as people. That helps boost morale, an especially important component of remote work where face-to-face encouragement happens less often.
“Leadr is all about people,” Toby said. “If the thing in front of you is project management, then that’s what you’re going to talk about in a one-on-one. But that’s not really where you should start and end a conversation.”
“It can be tempting to focus on performance, but what we often forget is that developing our people is what drives performance. Creating a culture early on that focuses on valuing and caring for the team is a core part of who we are, and Leadr helped us elevate that.” - Toby Weiss, CEO and Co-Founder
Leadr helped Rooted ask the right questions for optimal growth.
The first question Rooted asked before they even dove into what tools they would need, was, “What are we trying to get out of our business?”
That led them to develop a statement of culture that reflects not just how they treat customers but how they treat their team. For others considering Leadr as a tool, Toby emphasized that asking the right questions led them to choose a tool that would sustain and foster growth in the long run.
Their goal, even though they are a technology company, is to care more about people than technology and to have people leave better than when they arrived. That vision helped them zero in on the how - how do you measure that? How do you implement that?
For Toby and his team, just saying “This is our culture” wasn’t enough. They needed a tool to implement the habits behind their beliefs. Leadr is a practical and tangible tool that helped them clarify the “why” and move forward with the “how to,” translating to long-term success in development, sustainable growth, and employees who look forward to growing alongside the company.
Leadr will help you clarify and take action by focusing on people first so you can grow without limits. Our people development software provides you with the roadmap and tools that you need to raise up the next generation of leaders.
Request a demo to find out more about how Leadr can help your team scale for success.