The “new” normal we talked about last year has simply become “normal” here at KDG in 2022. Since successfully transitioning to a hybrid workplace, we’ve been able to hire people from all over the country…from the mountains of Utah to the coast of North Carolina and everywhere in between. This reach has greatly expanded the diversity of our team in both experience and skillset, allowing us to bring a more flawless customer experience to you!
This year not only saw new faces. It also saw new achievements, new clients, new projects, and plenty of new experiences.
Becoming a Best Place to Work
Despite the challenges COVID-19 and hybrid work brought, we found our stride in 2022 and were honored to be named one of the Best Places to Work in PA! The finalists in these awards were determined by employee feedback, company benefits, and overall engagement. Below are just a few of the highlights that helped us reach this awesome achievement!
Office Days & Celebrations
Even with our employees spread out around the country, there were plenty of opportunities to bring everyone together. This year saw the creation of monthly Office Days, days when employees were encouraged to come into the office, meet new faces, and get back together with some familiar ones! Meals were catered by the best local restaurants, there were games, exclusive swag, and plenty of other surprises. Plus, we held our annual KDG Day Celebration at Bear Creek, saw the return of “Yappy” Hours, and even had a day celebrating our Best Place to Work achievement! Our office days became quite popular this past year. Our friends at the Wall Street Journal even remarked on our office gatherings again this year!
Back to School
After polling our employees, there was one commonality among nearly all of them: whether they were heading back to campus or completing certificates online, many were pursuing continued education outside of KDG. To help them develop their professional skillsets and achieve their own personal goals, we implemented a tuition reimbursement program in 2022 that would cover a portion of an employee’s tuition costs. Q1’s trial run was so successful, we made this program a permanent benefit for all employees. One of our values here at KDG is striving for excellence and humility. We love seeing our team bring that value to life through their studies.
Getting Fit with KDG
The unfortunate truth about our industry is that most of us spend 8+ hours a day at our desk, so getting a walk in during the day is important to both our physical and mental health. To encourage this, we continued with our Fitbit challenges in 2022. KDG got moving! We accumulated 12+ million steps over the course of the year! We had teams race “across” the country and back, we participated in a virtual Turkey Trot race, and we even had a team participate in the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in nearby Bethlehem, PA.
Becoming Leaders
In 2022, we had made an effort to better support our employees and their growth. We more than tripled the size of our leadership team, hiring new team leads from within and outside of the company to oversee continued education, training, and client engagement. The employees we hired from outside KDG wasted no time in bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas to the team, many of which you probably saw over the year! Here at KDG, we believe that everyone can become a leader. The changes we made this year to our structure and job ladder make leadership within reach for many of our talented folks.
Lights, Camera, Action!
This year, we were excited to bring you behind-the-scenes of KDG! Take a look at some of the videos below to meet the team and some of the clients they’ve worked with.
Looking Back
There was a lot to cheer for this past year. Explore some of our team’s highlights!
UI/UX Design
Drexel University’s Day of Giving this past year raised over $1 million thanks to our expert UI/UX design team. Additionally, the team helped redesign a few long-term clients’ websites to provide more flexibility and ease any pain points they had from their previous website.
Accounting Services
Accounting had an increase in variety when it came to clients this past year, from clients in manufacturing and e-commerce to logistics and education. To keep up with this demand, the team expanded and added new members that have experience in a wide range of fields and industries.
Custom Software Development
Lots of new clients asked for the help of KDG’s custom development team this past year. Some needed help rescuing their current projects while others needed a partner who better understood their needs. The development team took in several projects and helped piece together software that would leave our clients satisfied and heard. When it came to integrations with Zoho, Custom Development found the bridge that would connect the software to our clients’ platforms.
Support Services
Support Services started offering a fantastic new service this year: IT Network Security Assessments. Our team examines your network’s security, inspecting for any vulnerabilities where hackers can steal data. Then, we report on your weaknesses and propose strong new solutions to improve your security. The best part? These assessments are 100% free! No cost, no catch, and no commitment. To request your own assessment, click here.
Zoho Development
KDG was on the road this year and flew out to Los Angeles and New York to represent the company as a Zoho Premium partner at Zoho’s first in-person event since 2019. Additionally, the Zoho Development team showcased a brand-new webinar demonstrating the capabilities of Zoho Creator 6 (You can watch it here!). Two different members of the team were promoted to Lead Zoho Developer and since then, the leadership on the team has strengthened greatly. Since the start of 2022, the Zoho team touched over 50 different projects and can’t wait to do more next year.
Giving Back
We remain committed to honoring and respecting everyone we work with, and that includes the community we are a part of! This year, we were proud to support The Arc of Lehigh & Northampton Counties, Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley, and New Bethanny Ministries by sponsoring their various events. Through our feedback system, we were also able to give back to some local and national nonprofits. For every piece of feedback we received in 2022, we made a $1 donation to an employee-chosen charity.
Jumping into 2023
KDG is always trying to become better, and the only way to do that is to grow even more than we did in 2022. We’ll do our best to improve how we operate, to ensure that our employees are the happiest they can be, and to give our clients the very best we have to offer.
Have a wonderful new year! We look forward to seeing you in 2023!
