Powered by People

The tagline for QTS Data Centers is Powered by People.

I invite you to be skeptical. 

After all, countless CEO’s proclaim people as their most important assets, but it takes only a few minutes with many of these leaders to confirm the insincerity of their comments.

Operating data centers isn’t as people-intensive as running coffee shops, hospitals or fire departments. Buyers of data center services often make purchasing decisions on things like space, power, location, economics, data security, etc. – not exactly ‘people’ stuff. 

So why would a data center company choose Powered by People as its tagline? 

Because without people nothing works – even automated data center services start with people working tireless hours to create innovation that makes our services easier to use and interact with for our customers. 

As QTS’ Chief People Officer, it’s my mission to defend and promote Powered by People, and it’s a vision I have embraced my entire career – in fact, it’s the primary reason I came to QTS two years ago. 

Business Case

I’m extremely proud of our efforts made with regard to our Net Promoter Scores (NPS). NPS is an industry-recognized rating system of how companies serve their customers where a score of 0 to 6 are detractors, 7 to 8 are passives, and 9 to 10 are promoters of the business. NPS is calculated by taking the percentage of promoters and subtracting the percentage of detractors. It’s the toughest rating system I’ve seen.

The standard NPS score for the technology industry is 58. We have improved our NPS score the past two years over 50% to an industry leading 75. 

Sticking with It

QTS has people-related opportunities just like every company. We are not perfect, but we are committed to getting better every day. 

Ask any of our exec’s if they would change our tagline, and they’ll flatly tell you, “no way.” 

I’m guessing there are some marketing gurus who might say Powered by People is an unwise tagline for a data center company, but we’re sticking with it. 

You see, Powered by People is part reality, part aspiration – it’s our #1 OKR, and we purposefully set the bar to be the highest in the industry.

Straight from the Top 

Powered by People is not a cliché from our CEO either; he is the sponsor of Powered by People, and he believes it at a visceral level like few other business leaders I’ve known. His resolve flows through every part of our organization and even finds its way to our vendors and trusted suppliers.

Customers Don’t Mince Words

In the last 18 months alone over 400 customers have recognized various QTSers for a job well done. 

Here are just a few of the things our clients say about QTSers:

• “Customer Service was EXCELLENT!” 
• “I have dealt with multiple data centers during previous engagements and in my opinion, QTS is steps ahead of the competition.”
• “No other place in America has better employees that care about their company like QTS.”
• “Unlike a previous provider, we felt like we were treated like the customer and our needs came first. Great/timely technical assistance.”
• “QTS has excellent customer service. They work with you to ensure that you are satisfied and treat the equipment received with care. It is at times difficult to trust others with your equipment. When QTS is handling the service, I have no concerns.”
• “It's (the) difference between someone working just to get a paycheck, or someone who is passionate about their work.”

There are hundreds of quotes like these. Ultimately, the proof of Powered by People rests with individual QTSers making a positive contribution to our clients every single day of the year. QTS is 24x7x365, so there is ALWAYS a dedicated QTSer at work and ready to make a difference.

What Employees Say

I love these comments from clients, but I like to hear from employees even more:

• Yolanda, a nine year QTS veteran says it this way, “QTS is known as a company that’s Powered by People, and it should also be known as a company that gives employees the opportunity to Power Up their communities. It’s a gift that helps people and heals hearts.” Yolanda goes on to say, “Working at QTS has helped me grow and develop my career. I’ve had the opportunity to fulfill different roles and have been mentored by many great leaders in the industry.”  
• Nitza, another long-tenured QTSer says, “I’ve been given the tools and knowledge to be able to provide each individual customer with an exceptional level of customer service causing such impact that makes QTS unforgettable when compared to other companies.” According to Nitza, Powered by People means, “Going above and beyond to meet customers’ needs not once but every time, and putting customers’ needs before your own.”
• Ally describes a time recently where a hardware company gave a QTS client incorrect information during an implementation. Even though the issue was not caused by QTS personnel, we had a team of people working through the night on a Saturday to ensure the implementation went off without a problem. Ally says, “We’re now signing a second deal with this new client due to a large part to how impressed they are with the strength and quality of our people.”

As with the client testimonials, there are hundreds of stories of QTSers who do amazing things every day.

It’s the Real Thing

In the end, Powered by People is a way of doing business for us at QTS – whether it’s serving a customer, another employee, or the local community. 

Powered by People isn’t perfect, and it never will be (we are people, after all), but it is a commitment to getting better every day, doing things the right way, and creating differentiation through the power of our people. 

I know you’ll enjoy working with a company that respects your business as much as you do, and we hope to earn your business at some point if you aren’t already one of our 1,000+ customers in our 6.1M square feet of Data Center space.