How do you know if a company's values truly resonate with those it serves? Simple: ask its customers.

At HawkSoft, we talk about our Core Values a lot—they're not just words on a wall to us, but factors we consider during every project we work on. There's no question that our Core Values are important to us here at HawkSoft, but we were curious what agencies think about them. So during our 12 Days of Christmas campaign on social media in December, we decided to ask our customers and employees which HawkSoft Core Value is their favorite and why. We received almost 180 responses!

We were truly inspired by the heartwarming responses from our customers and employees, and we’d like to share them with you. We loved seeing what our values mean to you, and we're honored to see the difference these principles make in the lives of HawkSoft agencies. Take a look at some of our favorite things they have to say about each value!

See responses by Core Value:

• Do the Right Thing
• Attitude of Gratitude
• Work to Live, Don't Live to Work
• Deliver an Exceptional Experience
• Pursue Growth and Learning
• Sense of Community
• Continuous Innovation
• For the Good of All

Do the Right Thing

We conduct ourselves fairly and honestly. We honor our commitments with integrity and respect. Here at HawkSoft, we play by the rules, applying them consistently to ourselves and to others. We hold ourselves accountable, taking responsibility for our actions and decisions.

Ultimately, we do our best to do the right thing. By living this core value, we build positive relationships of trust which are vital to our success.

Responses featuring this value:

Highest voted value (63 votes)

“Do the right thing is something I have always lived by and it has served my life well. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard but in the end I am always rewarded far more than doing the easy thing. Plus it helps me sleep like a baby knowing I have done my best for everyone.”

Jamie (customer)

“Do the right thing! By doing the right thing you tend to get the same things back. Give value to people, help them, and they will often want to help you and give you value in some form. Not everyone will do it, but many will.”

Betsy (customer)

“Do the right thing applies to literally everything we do on a daily basis and if you live by it, you will naturally grow your business and personal relationships.”

Scott (customer)

“Do the right thing is my favorite core value at HawkSoft. I really think it's my favorite because I try to model my insurance career around that very core belief. I try to give that to every new client and policy I sell. It's not always a feel-good value because it requires you to have to sometimes tell the client not what they want to hear. It's not about selling a policy with state minimum limits just to get a sale. It requires you to tell them what they need in order to protect them properly, and being willing to lose that potential new policy when you know doing anything less isn't the right thing. When you do it the right way you build trust. Because whether it moves forward or not, you are showing the prospect you won't move forward if it's not in their best interest.”

Michelle (customer)

“Do the right thing, because when it comes down to it, if you strive to do the right thing, all the other things fall into place.”

Shirley (customer)

“Do the right thing! That has always been our way of doing business, we’d rather lose the sale than sell the customer a bad policy.”

Johanna (customer)

“Do the right thing, even when nobody is looking. The choices that you make in private define who you are as a person.”

Angela (customer)

“Do the right thing! You’ll never regret it. It may be hard sometimes and shortcuts may be alluring, but you’ll never come away from a hard situation feeling like you could have done better.”

Tiffany (HawkSoft employee)

“The value that means the most to me is Do the Right Thing. When we choose to do the right thing instead of what is easy - when we honor our commitments, hold ourselves accountable and take responsibility for our actions - we create relationships of trust.”

Helen (HawkSoft employee)

Attitude of Gratitude

We make a habit of expressing our gratefulness to customers, employees, partners, and colleagues in all of our relationships. Viewing our lives through the lens of gratitude allows us to be humble and recognize the tangible and sometimes invisible contributions of the countless people who have positioned us on the path for personal and professional success. The work we engage today and accomplishments we are able to achieve are built upon the foundations that these people have laid for us.

We view people and opportunities with an attitude of gratitude.

Responses featuring this value:

Second highest voted value (47 votes)

“Attitude of Gratitude! We should always be thankful and never take anything for granted. Every day is a gift... Hold it, unwrap it, cherish it, and most of all use it! ❤️”

Audra (customer)

“Attitude of gratitude is the key for me. It's important to show you are thankful. Sometimes the most important thing you can say is a simple thank you. You have no idea what the person or persons you are dealing with have been through that day. A smile and a thank you costs nothing and could mean the world to someone.”

April (customer)

“Attitude of gratitude. It’s refreshing to work with a vendor that is thankful.”

Jodi (customer)

“Attitude of Gratitude. When gratitude is a center, I believe you present yourself differently and can better serve those around you. Perspective is vital.”

Michelle (customer)

“Attitude of Gratitude is my favorite core value. It is important to be thankful for everything that happens in life, good or bad. The good things remind you that you are blessed and the bad moments remind you to be thankful for the good things that happen, big or small. Everyone we know has something they are struggling with, and we don’t always know.”

Sara (customer)

“Attitude of Gratitude - just starting with HawkSoft and so far they have been very friendly and act like they are grateful that we chose them.”

Alisha (customer)

“Attitude of gratitude because we are so blessed to be able to help others, to protect them, and to have tools like HawkSoft to meet that goal.”

Lynnette (customer)

“I would have to say Attitude of Gratitude. There are any number of other similar operating systems we could use, but HawkSoft seems to value our business. That makes all the difference.”

Gary (customer)

“Attitude of Gratitude. HawkSoft has always seemed genuine and appreciates their customers!”

Brenda (customer)

“Attitude of gratitude. Transforms the way you can appreciate things and make you happy. It’s a strategy that can transform your life for the better. It’s infectious to others.”

Peggy (customer)

Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

HawkSoft measures itself by the success of its employees as well as that of its customers. Recognizing the value of family and the importance of a balanced life, we implement plans and strategies to balance the needs of employees and customers by setting realistic goals and expectations.

We encourage our employees to follow their work schedule, to strengthen their knowledge through education, and to be involved in activities outside of the work place. Happy employees result in happy customers.

Responses featuring this value:

“Work to live, don't live to work means the most to me. Life is too short—this past two years has shown us that more than ever. Do things when you still can to bring joy to your life!”

Kelley (customer)

“HawkSoft allows our employees to keep a work/life balance, which is the most important thing to me. Now if I could just get them to take off more!”

Malena (customer)

“Work to live, don't live to work. To many of us get caught chasing the finishing line and forget that the race is the reward.”

Ryan (customer)

“The core value that means the most to me is work to live, don’t live to work because I’ve always gone through life telling myself to live like there’s no tomorrow, enjoy every bit of the day, every second of the hour with family, friends, or even work pals because if you dedicate too much of your life around your work, then you can potentially miss a whole lot of ‘living’ and even the lives living around you.”

Cathy (customer)

“I like the work to live, don’t live to work value. As easy as HawkSoft makes things, it seems this is really lived up to.”

Anessa (customer)

“A healthy work/life balance is something I strive for in my life. It makes me happy to see companies focus on not just their customers, but their employees too!”

Sydney (customer)

“Work to live, don’t live to work – HawkSoft has allowed us to do just that. We have cut back on so much paper and have been able to document so much faster and easier!”

Nicole (customer)

“Work to live, don’t live to work. Family is core here, that is so true. I love that and am thankful for the opportunity to work here.”

Rebecca (HawkSoft employee)

“Work to live, don't live to work. HawkSoft helps us to create a great foundation for balance in our home lives with our families and friends.”

John (HawkSoft employee)

Deliver an Exceptional Experience

We seek to deliver a positive experience to our customers, co-workers, and business partners by focusing on our relationships. Our goal is to provide accurate, timely, and knowledgeable support with empathy, humility, and a focus on empowering the individual. We take the initiative to make things better by taking ownership of our work. HawkSoft has grown by word of mouth because we strive to make every experience an exceptional one.

Responses featuring this value:

“Deliver an exceptional experience. This plaque hangs in our office where everyone sees it: ‘If we don’t take care of our customers, somebody else will.’ I think it about sums it all up.”

Heidi (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience is probably my favorite because there is so much client information in HawkSoft that it makes answering customers’ questions so much easier and delivers a better customer experience.”

Heather (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience - good customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated. It also gains their trust. It's rewarding as an account manager to help guide clients when they need it, educate them in insurance, and getting told our hard work is appreciated!”

Alexis (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience - always great to be able to provide the best service to our clients and HawkSoft is a great help to that.”

Tiffany (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience. Everyone at Hawksoft has been beyond helpful, professional, and exceptional every time I've needed help!”

Joni (customer)

“As a new user, I can say the most important to me is deliver an exceptional experience. I had been through a nightmare trying to set up with another management system. HawkSoft not only did it much more quickly, but I got the answers I needed before I even asked the question! Well done!”

Rebecca (customer)

“HawkSoft delivers an exceptional experience, every time. Whenever I've called, I've been so impressed with the level of service. Regardless of what the issue was, the tech was always patient. Also, they are informative and don't just fix the issue, they explained why it happened and how they were fixing the issue. So thank you to the staff, I feel that is the best and strongest core value. We appreciate all you do for us.”

Melissa (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience: I changed to HawkSoft this year from another vendor where I felt I was just a number. I have had nothing but prompt, friendly service so this one means the most to me!”

Deena (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience. If we do not deliver, we could lose our most valuable asset: our customer.”

Julie (customer)

“Deliver an exceptional experience - I see this every time I interact with a member of the customer service team. I’m blown away by how friendly they are and how hard they work to resolve issues quickly!”

Jasmine (customer)

Pursue Growth and Learning

It is only by continuing to strive to be better in our personal and professional lives that we grow as individuals and team members. We focus on the future and seek opportunities to achieve our goals through education, mentorship, and new experiences. HawkSoft believes in seeking out and providing growth opportunities to each member of our family to help them achieve their goals.

Responses featuring this value:

“Growth and Learning - You should always want to grow as a team/individual and in order to do so you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone sometimes to learn new tricks to better your team.”

Brooke (customer)

“Growth and Learning. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.”

Randy (customer)

“Growth and Learning. When you are always in a mode of enhancing yourself, enhancing your profession, it opens the path to do the right thing, attitude of gratitude, be kind to others, work to live, live to work, deliver exceptional experience.”

Dottie (customer)

“Growth and Learning. I feel like every day of my life I learn something new and amazing. It never ends.”

Krissy (customer)

“Growth and Learning. You must always continue your thirst for knowledge no matter if your agency is big or small. Being new to HawkSoft I love how the leaders take you by the hand at first to show you how to begin. It is a learning curve but we are ready for it!”

Vicki (customer)

“Growth and learning! Without this nothing changes. Always need to keep your mind growing and learning new things!”

Ashley (customer)

Sense of Community

Here at HawkSoft we value family – not only our individual families, but also the HawkSoft family. That family includes co-workers, customers, vendors, and our surrounding communities. Because we recognize that customers and vendors have a hand in our success as much as we have in theirs, we want all our communities to feel the positive impact of being associated with HawkSoft.

We strive to make the work environment a place where groups of people work together to reach shared goals, and our families are valued and celebrated. Simply put, our most valuable assets are the people we surround ourselves with.

Responses featuring this value:

“Sense of community. Love how everyone is willing to help each other.”

Dirk (customer)

“Sense of community - love to be engaged with my clients and understanding what is going on in their lives/my own. Makes me better at my job (understand/personalizing coverage they need in life) while allowing them a better understanding of myself (work ethic, beliefs, personality, etc).”

Baylee (customer)

“Sense of community. Everyone is always willing to help and has the best suggestions.”

Melissa (customer)

“Sense of community. No one lets their ego get in the way when it comes to a problem.”

Julia (customer)

“Sense of community because when we all work together anything is possible!”

Jessica (customer)

“My favorite is Sense of Community. Hawksoft isn't like any other business. I have been employed at Hawksoft for 7 months now, and the sense of community is unlike any other workplace. I am excited to come to work, because I know that we are all working to pour into each other to make us better as individuals, and as a team. And all with the goal of being the very best we can be! It really is an amazing blessing to be a part of the Hawksoft Family!”

Kinzie (HawkSoft employee)

Continuous Innovation

There will always be new needs to be met and opportunities for change and growth. By understanding the problem, processes, and pain points, opportunities for innovation will follow. Our eagerness to seek change — even when change may not be requested — allows us to stay ahead of our competition and our own perceptions of our boundaries on excellence. Growth comes from learning from our past to make the future better.

Innovation is woven into the fabric of every employee and their respective role in the organization. Our openness to fix even that which is not necessarily broken, for the sake of a better experience, is the basis of our drive to innovate, create, and continuously improve.

Responses featuring this value:

“Continuous Innovation. Always growing to improve. Being willing to change. Not sticking to something just because it's how it has always been done.”

Coral (customer)

“Continuous Innovation! Having technology and systems that stay ahead of the curve allows me to connect with my insureds in unique and meaningful ways.”

Roger (customer)

“Continuous Innovation: the insurance industry has so much technological potential that hasn’t been tapped yet, it’s amazing to see new innovations that help us manage our agencies better, giving the clients a better experience!”

Lexi (customer)

For the Good of All

Decisions that balance everyone’s needs will lead to greater benefit for all in the long run. These decisions can only be made through an effective exchange of ideas in an environment of mutual trust, respect, and empathy, which amplifies and transfers our strengths. Through open communication and teamwork we can take advantage of our strengths, overcome limitations, and find solutions for the good of all.

Responses featuring this value:

“For the good of all - helping others and being kind to others is very important in life.”

Heather (customer)

“For the good of all is our favorite core value here at Lehman Strickler Insurance. It pairs perfectly with our motto, 'Protecting What Means Most.' This impacts our families, work families, clients, and ultimately all people.”

Amy (customer)