Every successful organization has them.
They are the people who arrive a little earlier than everyone else. They quietly solve problems before anyone even realizes there was a problem. They answer questions, calm frustrations, fix mistakes that weren’t even theirs, and somehow manage to make everyone else’s job just a little bit easier.
Ironically, they are often the people who receive the least recognition.
Their names may never appear on a leaderboard. They probably won’t close the biggest transaction of the year. Many clients will never know they even existed. Yet without them, everything begins to slow down. The experience suffers. The culture changes. Success becomes much harder to achieve.
I’ve always believed that greatness isn’t reserved for the people standing in the spotlight. More often, it’s found in the people standing just outside of it, asking, “How can I help?”
Every one of us has benefited from someone like that. Someone who stayed late to solve a problem. Someone who answered one more phone call. Someone who welcomed a new employee, trained a new agent, or simply showed kindness during a difficult day.
Those moments rarely make headlines, but they define an organization’s culture.
At Intero, we never want those contributions to go unnoticed. While no award could ever fully capture the impact our employees have on this company, our Employee of the Year program is one small way of saying thank you. It is our opportunity to recognize individuals who consistently demonstrate professionalism, collaboration, loyalty, reliability, problem-solving, and a commitment to the culture that makes Intero so special.
This year’s finalists, Kayleigh Zmoda, Kim Garza, and Jessica Gaetani, represent those qualities beautifully. While one person will ultimately receive the Employee of the Year award next week, the truth is that these three finalists also represent something much bigger. They represent the hundreds of Intero employees who come to work each day with the same commitment to serving others.
Culture isn’t created by a mission statement hanging on a wall. It is built one conversation, one act of kindness, one problem solved, and one teammate supported at a time.
So, this week, I’d like to ask each of you to do something simple.
Take a moment to thank someone whose work often goes unnoticed. The receptionist who greets everyone with a smile. The administrator who keeps everything organized. The marketing coordinator who somehow always delivers on impossible deadlines. The accounting team that makes sure everyone gets paid correctly. The IT professional who rescues us when technology refuses to cooperate. The manager who quietly coaches, encourages, and supports their team every single day.
Recognition doesn’t always have to come in the form of an award. Sometimes a sincere “thank you” can mean more than we realize.
To everyone who works tirelessly behind the scenes, thank you. You may not always receive the applause you deserve, but please know that your work matters, your commitment matters, and you are a significant part of what makes Intero such a special place to call home.
