C-Forward takes pride in our ability to provide both our employees and customers with the quality work environment and services they need to succeed. Over this last year, C-Forward has been able to achieve a 100% employee retention rate. As difficult as this feat is, it would not have been possible without the amazing work of our Senior Vice President and COO, Mike Grout. Grout has been working for C-Forward for around 15 years and has climbed the ranks over the years. Beginning his career at C-Forward as a Network Technician in 2006, Grout was then promoted to Technical Services Manager, then Vice President of Technical Services, and now has been Senior Vice President and COO since 2017. He says that his role in the company revolves around business operations including staff and vendor management, service delivery, business strategy, process improvements, and time and cost optimization. Grout says, “Most of my days are spent leading and working directly with our team. Arguably, my most important job is hiring our new team members and making sure we continue to have a positive culture with happy employees so we can retain our talented team.”
Grout describes his time at C-Forward as an experience that brings him satisfaction on a day-to-day basis. He states, “My favorite part about working at C-Forward is being able to build and lead a team of smart and talented people who care about their work. I get great satisfaction when daily actions and coaching turn into visible improvements in our team and our business. I love watching our people grow both personally and professionally. I also love working in a small business where you can see individual efforts directly result in something being successful.”
One of Grout’s favorite experiences through his work with C-Forward is the knowledge he has gained through traveling. Grout says, “I’ve attended numerous IT conferences all over the country including the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and many small group conferences which host executives from the top 250 managed IT providers in the world. Not only do I enjoy the travel, I’ve been able to gain a wide variety of knowledge from these experiences that have made me a better leader and in turn strengthened our business.”
Grout is proud to be working at C-Forward and believes in the message that they hope to send out into the world. He states, “I’m most proud of the team we’ve built. We always try to do the right thing and put people over profits. One of our most common mantras is ‘Happy Employees and Happy Customers.” You don’t have one without the other. By surrounding ourselves with a great team, we’re able to add great customers who also share in our philosophy. We believe our mission is to make local small businesses and our community a little better every day.”
Mike Grout has been a critical part of the C-Forward team for over 15 years and we cannot wait to see what he accomplishes in the future at C-Forward.