The
Schroeder Group
finds time for community
Since
Stuart Schroeder started The Schroeder Group SC in 1998, he has
looked for dedicated, creative attorneys and staff to help enhance
the Waukesha-based firm.
In
exchange, the firm has tried to provide a flexible work environment
where staff can thrive, and it has supported an environment of
community involvement that plays an important role in developing
the firm's work atmosphere. The emphasis on involvement also helps
the firm give something back to the community where it is based.
"The
idea of community involvement and being involved in charities
— being involved in those types of activities individually
and as a firm — is a real strong component of why we have
been able to create the atmosphere," said Schroeder, whose
firm provides a wide range of legal services to closely held and
family owned businesses in southeastern Wisconsin.
He
credits office administrator Sandy McGee with helping to develop
the firm's work environment. The elements of that environment
have included an increased flexibility in hours and support for
involvement in community activities.
"When
Sandy joined as the administrator, her first charge was to create
the absolute best atmosphere that we could so people could work
very hard," Schroeder said.
"It
has worked out very well."
In
the past five years, the firm has grown from half a dozen people
to 25 attorneys and staff members.
"We
are looking for people who enjoy what they do and work hard at
what they do," McGee noted. "The thrust of The Schroeder
Group is that we are entrepreneurial. We are looking for people
who have that spirit in them."
Involvement
in community activities ranges from delivering lunches for Waukesha
County shut-ins to cleaning up a stretch of local highway. It
also involves participation in local community groups.
The
firm is involved with 11 different groups, but staff members also
are encouraged to participate in their own activities. Schroeder
and McGee both acknowledged that people who may want to be involved
in organizations face many outside pressures for time and commitment.
"I
think it's something that people want to do, and if the firm promotes
it, they realize there will be time for it," Schroeder said.
From
a business perspective, the efforts also make sense, providing
an opportunity to give back to people and organizations in the
community. That commitment to the community was substantiated
this year when the Waukesha Area Chamber of Commerce and Small
Business Times named the firm Top Business of the Year, McGee
observed. She noted that one component of the award was community
involvement.
"I
think it possibly will become that much more structured,"
Schroeder said. "It's evolved to where we are now without
any specific (efforts). People get a lot of enjoyment and comfort
out of doing things for the community. So I can only see it increasing."
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