Shelly Tisius Is Putting Employee Satisfaction First As She Builds MT & Associates
Having spent her entire career in leadership and human services, Shelly Tisius developed a strong understanding of the needs of businesses. With a passion for the Deaf community, Tisius has also been working and socializing in it since 1998, allowing her to gain an understanding of their needs as well. “Most interpreting agencies only have a background in sign language interpreting when they open a business,” she says. “I have experience and formal education in business and sign language interpreting, which allows for a well-balanced and educated approach to the business and interpreting demands.”
As an experienced interpreter, Tisius realized there was a void in the industry when it came to quality customer service that clients received. She felt like she could fill the gap.
The result is MT & Associates, a sign language interpreting service Tisius founded four years ago.
Today, with her unique training, understanding and passion, she doesn’t view her role as management but more so as assisting clients, interpreters and staff with considering all the facts before a decision is made. “Our company name being MT & Associates represents the partnership position staff have over business practices so we can focus on community needs rather than what a traditional management model desires,” she says. “This enables us to focus on processes to enhance the quality of services rather than leading with a bottom-line focus. Service to our community always comes before the business, and it’s working because our business continues to grow, interpreters love working for us and our clients are always satisfied.”
The keys to the company’s early success come from seeking help and guidance, according to Tisius. Early on as an entrepreneur, she contacted SCORE and began working with a mentor, Tom Cornwell. SCORE provides free small business mentoring to entrepreneurs and small business owners. SCORE is a non-profit, volunteer organization, whose mission is to promote the success of small business in the St. Louis area.
“I found SCORE through my work with the SBA when I first got into business,” Tisius said. “I met with Tom and then we met again. He said some owners never come to a second meeting. I knew I needed to be persistent to get the most out of the mentoring SCORE was providing.”
For Tisius, her SCORE mentor became a great sounding board. “It was nice to have someone I could bounce ideas off of and gain feedback on those ideas,” she said. “Having an outside the box perspective is really important when you are growing a business. The great thing was that Tom wasn’t in our industry. Everyone giving me advice seemed to be tied to the industry in some way. It was refreshing to get an outside viewpoint on the ideas and issues I presented to Tom.”
Tisius said her SCORE mentor has helped her with a variety of issues, everything from how to grow the company, interacting with clients and customers, etc.
Another key to the company’s success has been her commitment as boss and mentor to her staff.
Over the years, Tisius has learned a lot about people and the diversity of the individual by being a boss. “For example, if you provide me a challenge, I can likely see it from various perspectives,” she says.
While she says this skill is a burden when she’s trying to narrow down what to eat for dinner, it’s an invaluable asset when working with internal and external clients. “It has also shaped MT&A’s business model of only working with the highest-quality interpreters and staff,” she says. “We not only have a vast amount of in-house expertise but also a highly diverse staff to meet any hearing or deaf client’s needs.”
To build a positive culture as Tisius has at MT&A, she recommends that employee satisfaction always come before current business needs. “Only hire people for positions that are a good fit for them at that business,” she says. “I find that experience in the basic skills for a job are crucial, but most important is the character, demeanor and work ethic of the individual. Work processes can be taught, but soft-personal skills are much harder to teach. After you’ve got the best people, then provide them guidance and let them spread their wings/take their own initiative. There are many ways to do the same process, so allow for creativity but stay connected for when they need you.”
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