How VGM built a feedback culture that actually changes how people show up.
Employees
States + Canada
Business customers served
VGM Group is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, with ~1,600 employee owners across 41 states and Canada, serving 25,000+ businesses in the healthcare and professional services space.
Assessment fatigue, and then a convert.
When Cloverleaf was introduced at VGM, one of the most senior leaders in the company gave the reaction many people give: "Hmm. Another assessment." He'd seen these before. He wasn't interested.
Then he actually did it. He started getting his daily tips. And he came back to a meeting and said something that surprised the team: "Boy, was I wrong."
That moment cascades down. When a senior leader becomes a champion, the rest of the organization pays attention.
One of our most senior leaders was resistant at first. Then he came back to a meeting, and said, 'I had no idea this would be this helpful. I'm so glad we brought this to VGM."
- Sara Laures,
Chief People Officer, VGM Group
7:30 AM. One tip about yourself. One tip about a colleague.
The integration with Microsoft Teams made daily coaching automatic. Every morning at 7:30, one coaching tip about yourself. One about a colleague you're going to interact with that day because Cloverleaf looks at your calendar. By the time the meeting starts, you've already thought about how to show up.
It really does help me prepare to have a better day and have some insight."
- Sara Laures,
Chief People Officer, VGM Group
Feedback that's clear and kind.
VGM teaches a principle: clear is kind. When it comes to giving feedback, preparation matters. Understanding how a person likes to receive information, what they need to hear feedback well, is what separates a productive conversation from a defensive one.
Every Friday, the team kicks off their recurring meeting the same way: share one Cloverleaf insight that's been meaningful this week and tell us why. It turns what could feel abstract into a common language.
Clear is kind. Understanding a person before you interact, if you're delivering feedback to them, is a critical way of getting your message across."
- Sara Laures,
Chief People Officer, VGM Group
Building better project teams.
Cloverleaf is also being used to form project teams and stretch assignments — leaning into what will make a team succeed by finding people who show up in different ways. Diverse project teams. Intentional partnerships. The platform can even suggest who to partner with for mutual professional betterment.