The Importance of Company Culture During COVID

Putting Employees and Customers First 

The pandemic took its toll on all businesses and organizations nationally regardless of size, not only due to lost business opportunities but also due to the impact it had on the employees. The pandemic posed a threat to employees’ physical health in an apparent way; however, the threat to their mental health was equally ominous but less obvious. To make matters worse, employees faced additional stressors manifested in the forms of a charged political environment, a resurgence of civil rights and socio-economic inequality issues and an enormous shift in their daily lives. Employees’ mental health was constantly in jeopardy while we attempted to balance the economic environment with our organizational needs. It was a call for compassion, vulnerability and self-reflection at all levels within all organizations. 

At Eastern Funding LLC, the leadership team chose to continually challenge company practices and ask what else we could do to support and care for our team members.  It was the theme of many meetings and internal conversations. The initial attempts at employee engagement and support were organic as a result of a strong company culture. With three committees already in place focused on culture and employee wellness, the company added activities such as companywide online yoga and Zumba classes, daily meditation sessions and virtual anniversary celebrations. In addition, the organization provided two rounds of financial relief for all employees. Eventually, leadership took more drastic measures by engaging a wellbeing consultant while also addressing some of the external events internally. Eastern Funding’s EVP posted an emotional video addressing the struggles of the African-American community while the CEO sent a heartfelt message in support of Eastern’s largely diverse staff. 


The wellbeing consultant focused on creating quarterly “pulse” surveys to continually measure the stress levels and specific stressors within the organization. The wellbeing consultant also held wellness sessions aimed at helping employees recognize their individual stress levels and identifying coping mechanisms. In addition, sessions for caregivers were offered addressing the additional stressors of virtual school and working while managing kids in the home. Lastly, work was done directly with all executives and mid-level managers, giving them the tools to identify when a team member is struggling, how to support them and how to offer services.  The wellbeing services were one of the best investments made as they conveyed leadership’s commitment to the employees’ overall wellness, dedication to a healthy company culture and the strength of the organization. 

The investments made towards the employees’ wellness in the form of the consultant, the engagement activities and the financial relief paid back priceless dividends. The general feedback from employees at all levels has been a strong sense of commitment to the organization’s success. Those levels of commitment were heavily leveraged during the execution of major projects. For example, Eastern Funding provided our customers with nearly 5,000 COVID relief modifications. To put that into context, the company typically completes about 400 modifications a year. Eastern also completed a full system conversion of the underwriting system, which will also serve as an enterprise system.  The conversion was a yearlong project for a specific team of people and it was earmarked as their full-time job for 2020. However, the conversion became a fraction of their workload due to the new pandemic related demands. In addition, the demands on the Originations, Sales and Operations teams increased significantly with continued new business. The same people who processed the relief modifications also processed the originations and tested the new system. Simultaneously, Customer Service, Collections and the Workout/Legal departments were inundated with customer inquiries and desperate requests for help. 

Ultimately, after a chaotic year no one saw coming, Eastern Funding proved to be successful through the most challenging year of its 24-year history. This success was a direct result of an organizational culture that had been carefully nurtured throughout the years. A culture of putting employees and customers first. A culture that ensured the company kept mental health and wellness in the forefront of every business decision. I couldn’t be prouder of my colleagues at Eastern Funding and the resilience, poise and hard work they displayed in 2020.