Squared Away: The Story of SMC Squared—Our Founders Discuss Company Origins

Companies evolve, shift, and transform to survive and thrive. Evolution is built into SMC Squared’s DNA to ensure it can meet the global demands of its customers. SMC Squared’s Dr. Patricia Connolly, CEO & Founding Partner, and Steven Stephan, COO & Founding Partner, came together to discuss the company’s beginnings, how they address today’s needs, and what the future of the company holds.

SMC Squared views their customer relationships as strategic partnerships, a point of pride for Dr. Connolly. “I think we have this really interesting way of building, not just technology teams, but building an organization within and for a company that hits a home run on what their objectives are, but also meets their culture and their values and creates this very special, organic situation for them to grow and thrive,” Connolly said.

Global Capability Centers leverage the innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategies companies recognize as the new growth needs of today. But no model works without talent and attracting and retaining talent in today’s post-pandemic environment requires a strategy and best practices. “We come to the table with some core beliefs to build the team,” Connolly said. We don’t pull the team from a bench. We don’t look at those traditional ways to say, ‘who’s available, who can I fit on this project?’” The training and skills of a potential employee are important but ensuring a good cultural fit for the work environment is also essential. Paying attention to fit is something SMC Squared does from the beginning of the recruitment process.

“There is so much demand in this market, and the talent doesn’t sit idle,” Stephan said. And without career development, resources will come and go. So, Stephan believes it’s SMC Squared’s focus on developing talent and providing career opportunities that make them the desired place to work.

For more episodes, please visit the Squared Away Podcast series, and to learn more, visit SMC2’s website.