SafetyCall International (SCI) and Pet Poison Helpline (PPH) are turning fifteen this year! To mark this important milestone, we wanted to look back at what’s made our company so successful, as well as see what’s in store for the future.
While our company’s roots stretch all the way back to 1984, the SCI and PPH of today officially launched in 2004. Since then, with more than three million cases under our belt, we’ve not only been the leader in adverse event management and reporting services for humans and animals, but also a powerful force for change—helping to improve overall product safety, and keep people and animals healthy and safe.
According to our CEO Dr. Leo Sioris, two main keys to the companies’ success are its people and its leadership team. “The people who have stayed with us and grown with us over the past fifteen years are a big part of who we are,” he says. “Our core leadership team and healthcare professionals bring years of experience and expertise. And our founders have been together for over thirty years.”
From the very beginning, we’ve stayed committed to our core values, core competencies, our purpose, and where we’re going. This has helped the leadership team consistently make great decisions along the way, keeping the company on-track and true to its values, mission, vision, and strategic goals. This continuity has made a big difference over the years and has helped both SCI and PPH maintain momentum by staying focused and disciplined.
One of the values that’s made a big difference over the years is caring. We care for our clients, for each other, our callers and pets. It’s this high level of care that drives us to constantly improve—while making the world a better, safer place for both people and animals.
Another reason for our success over the years is our unique culture—one that brings human and animal specialists together to form a diverse, highly experienced group that collaborates well together. “Beyond our professional relationships, I think another aspect that makes us very unique is the fact that we really like hanging around with each other and we enjoy each other’s company,” Dr. Sioris says.
It’s a supportive environment that’s committed to continual improvement, learning, and doing everything possible to help each other succeed. “We have to make ourselves better every day as individuals and as a company,” says Dr. Sioris. “We really, really are committed to being the best at what we do—independent from outside influence. And we consider this one of our enduring core values.”
Fortunately, the nature of our business provides plenty of opportunities for continuous learning. “New and challenging things happen here every day,” Dr. Sioris says. “And so you’re forced by the environment to learn; forced to get better. And it keeps things interesting. It keeps us on our toes. You can’t get complacent.”
But it’s certainly not all about hard work. We like to have fun, too. “We treat all of our staff as family,” adds Dr. Sioris. “Also, hospitality is very important to us in how we treat our clients and guests. Moreover, we support and celebrate all kinds of successes.” Which is why so much effort is put into company activities, celebrations, client appreciation events, and more.
As a testament to our special, one-of-a-kind culture, SafetyCall is a nine-time recipient of the Star Tribune Top Workplace award, based entirely on employee feedback. This loyalty extends to our clients as well, many of whom have been valued partners for many years. “Our clients and professional trade associations continue referring us and speak very highly of us,” Dr. Sioris acknowledges. “We also have a very strong reputation and working relationship with pertinent government regulatory agencies. I don’t think a lot of companies can say that.”
And so, what’s in store for the next fifteen years—and beyond? “In the future we will continue to be a valued partner as well as a trusted and progressive resource to all of our clients,” says Dr. Sioris. That includes transitioning to new leadership, maintaining talent to meet the needs of the market, expanding globally, and continuing to be true to our culture, enduring values, mission and vision.
From a practical standpoint, the future includes embracing new technologies and learning how best to benefit from them. We are exploring areas like artificial intelligence, emerging call center and communication technologies, and learning to structure our data for maximum impact.
It all helps fuel our culture of constant learning, improvement, caring, and excellence. It’s a culture that’s contributed heavily to our past success—and will no doubt lead to many more great things to come.
