Whether it’s a startup, a Fortune 500 company, or a group working remotely from different points across the globe, the adage proclaiming that “teamwork makes the dream work” rings true more often than not. Success, growth, innovation, and momentum are reflective of the collaborative efforts of team members committed to the same goal. From CEOs and high-level executives leveraging their expertise to develop new strategies to entry-level personnel implementing them, business success occurs as a result of the team’s collective efforts. Through hard work and completion of independent projects, collaborative troubleshooting and development, and team-oriented tasks, employees often hone their own niche skills and parlay those skills for the betterment of the team.
Because staffing is such an important part of long-term success and continued growth, many entrepreneurs dedicate great amounts of time, resources, and thought to the ongoing task of building teams that work well together and a company culture that allows them to thrive. Dallas-based businesswoman, civic leader, and entrepreneur Nina Vaca has considerable experience in the development of a dedicated and highly skilled employee base that works to maintain a supportive company culture. As the founder of Pinnacle Group, Vaca has thoughtfully curated her team since the company’s inception and remains committed to maintaining a positive corporate culture.
When considering prospective team members or interviewing candidates for Pinnacle, Vaca seeks an entrepreneurial spirit that will translate in professional situations to the ability to work autonomously or in a group setting, spearhead projects, and seek personal betterment through continued learning.
At Pinnacle, Vaca worked to create a company that would not only provide much-needed services to an underserved customer base, but also develop a space where leaders could excel and associates would feel professionally satisfied. By focusing on employees, Vaca recognized how employee satisfaction translated to increased output and long-term employee retention. Essentially, she set out to create a workplace that talented individuals wanted to be a part of. Since then, she’s seen interns transition to associates and watched executives spearhead their own successes parallel to the company’s growth.
When companies consider the needs of employees, those employees provide better service to clients, which leads to an ongoing cycle of success. With this in mind, employee development and wellness are ingrained in the company’s business model. Through company-wide wellness initiatives, such as fitness challenges and health fairs, Pinnacle Group has made well-rounded employees a business goal in and of itself. As CEO, Vaca sets the example by exemplifying the core values she wants to instill in all employees through her actions.
In addition to providing the tools needed for continued professional development, Pinnacle Group aims to invest constantly in tools that will benefit employees on an immediate basis, as well as long-term. By implementing state-of-the-art technology intended to simplify or automate mundane tasks, the company helps associates make the most of their time. Rather than spending hours completing extensively routine “busy work,” associates can focus on larger projects, long-term endeavors, and work that is personally motivating. Employees are brought on to join the team for their entrepreneurial spirits, autonomous motivation, and desire for self-betterment. They’re able to better utilize these skills because of the company’s continued investment in streamlining operational practices.
At Pinnacle Group, a strong and well-developed company culture dictates expectations, allows team members to feel involved in team operations, and provides a sense of pride for motivated employees. As a baseline for client management, the company continually strives to “overdeliver.” This expectation has also helped shape the culture of the company, attracting individuals who are motivated by the challenge of constantly anticipating and meeting client needs and expectations.
With a standard of “going the extra mile” as Pinnacle Group’s operating norm, the same concept is applied within the company. Vaca’s dedication to her team’s long-term success and happiness is constantly proven with extensive employee training, ongoing team member success management, opportunities for professional development, a strong focus on collaboration to remain cohesive across various teams, and a general focus on teambuilding and growing stronger together. With college tuition reimbursement and access to thousands of online learning courses, Pinnacle Group rewards self-betterment efforts and invests resources into the individual. By focusing on each individual’s contribution to the overall success of the team, employees gain a deep understanding of the efforts of their counterparts, ensuring that each team member feels valued, validated, and a part of the overall structure of success.
Vaca understands the necessity of high-quality employees and the integral role they play in company expansion. During a critical period in Pinnacle Group’s growth, it responded to an expansive RFP for a major national corporate client, which was seen as an aggressive move by the growing company. The move paid off, however, and Pinnacle Group signed the account, relying on strict financial practices, swiftly expanding infrastructure and the ability to attract talented team members to support the sudden need for national growth. During this growth spurt, Vaca trusted her expanding team to exhibit customer service expertise and ongoing adaptability. With a core team of effective leaders, this crucial growth period was met with tremendous success, cementing Pinnacle Group as a national industry leader.
At the helm of one of the fastest-growing female-owned businesses, Vaca has recognized the transformative power of active listening and forging long-term client relationships. Often overlooked within the traditional corporate structure, Vaca has touted this practice as crucial for maintaining positive client relations. In every business setting, retaining existing clients is more cost effective than constantly seeking new ones. From this perspective, client retention remains an integral part of cost control, business maintenance, and overall successful operations. To successfully retain clients, business leaders must understand the basic need to keep clients satisfied. However, in order to do so, forward-thinking entrepreneurs like Vaca believe that active listening is key to providing unparalleled customer service.
Vaca encourages all client-facing staff to exercise active-listening and other proven methods to yield exceptional results. Prior to engaging with any client, Vaca stresses the importance of researching the client’s background, potential needs, business history, and other pertinent information that may be conducive during a client interaction. With such extensive preparation, Pinnacle Group employees are armed with appropriate and meaningful questions, potential answers, and a slew of background knowledge to get the most out of those initial interactions. By asking well-developed questions, client-facing leaders can then actively listen to the critical answers.
Vaca transforms traditional client responses into executed personal touches. Effective leaders can use client feedback to find appropriate solutions. Not only does every successful client-facing leader need to be well versed in the practice of active listening, but they must also maintain this standard throughout the entire duration of the client/service provider relationship in order to anticipate further needs and overdeliver on customers’ expectations. Active listening should be viewed as a long-term strategy, rather than a one-time concern.
Whether the goal is to gain new clients, maintain the overall happiness of long-term clients, or secure the success of team members, active listening can be an incredibly useful tool and applied in a variety of settings. For Vaca, a consistent corporate culture and a focus on staffing successful long-term team members have become cornerstones for continued growth. From thoughtful hiring practices that attract talented and loyal leaders to the understanding that employees can truly dictate the success of a growing company, Vaca’s focus on employee quality has translated into the acquisition of thousands of quality long-term Pinnacle Group partners. By carefully curating a company culture centered around employee wellness, the importance of team building, and continued entrepreneurial spirit, Vaca, and Pinnacle Group, have proven themselves worthy of the recognition they’ve received. Serving as an example of the transformative power of “people-first” leadership, Vaca and Pinnacle Group look forward to continued growth, success, and long-term business development.
About Nina Vaca
Nina Vaca is an entrepreneur, civic leader, and businesswoman. As the founder and CEO of Pinnacle Group, a renowned workforce solutions firm, Vaca has implemented a highly effective leadership style which has taken the company from fledgling startup to global powerhouse. With humble beginnings in 1996, Vaca rapidly expanded the company through unparalleled customer service and an unprecedented focus on corporate culture. Pinnacle Group expanded swiftly and began offering nationwide workforce solutions by 2007. The company entered the Canadian marketplace two years later, with global expansion immediately following. Ranked by Inc. magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the country for over a decade, Vaca’s continued dedication to expanding Pinnacle Group, developing the infrastructure to support growth, and building a robust company culture has paid off.
As a female entrepreneur, Vaca has garnered vast recognition for her ability to inspire, empower, and champion women in the corporate business world. Vaca serves on the board of the Dallas-Fort Worth Steering Committee of the national 2020 “Women on Boards” initiative, which aims to increase the number of women on U.S. company boards. Additionally, Vaca serves as one of the inaugural members of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship program, for which she was selected by then-President Barack Obama. An esteemed honoree, Vaca serves as an inspiration for women and minority entrepreneurs and champions inclusive opportunities for all business owners. As the founder of At the Table: Women in Business and Leadership, Vaca supports female Latina entrepreneurs to find success through education, empowerment, and a supportive community spirit.
Vaca was selected as a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Vaca continues to spearhead Pinnacle Group’s global expansion efforts, as well as the implementation of intuitive technology to streamline job market initiatives.
Exposed to the merits of entrepreneurship from an early age, Vaca entered the workforce by working at her parents’ travel agency in California. Armed with a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University, young Vaca began her career in IT in New York City before moving to Dallas, TX and founding Pinnacle Group in 1996.
Throughout two decades as a successful business leader, Vaca has created systemic change for future entrepreneurs who are traditionally underrepresented within the corporate sphere.
