Blog | Eastridge Workforce Solutions

[Episode 36] Culture First: Using HR as a Strategic Growth Engine

Written by Cynthia Contreras, Marketing Manager | Aug 13, 2025 5:48:54 PM

Michael Wong, Chief Executive Officer at Genea, recounts transforming a near-insolvent firm into a smart-building innovator. He explains why selecting the right market, recruiting high-performance teams, and elevating HR to strategy level fuel sustainable growth. Michael details culture surveys, prescriptive onboarding, and remote-first hiring as keys to scale.

“You can fix technology with good team members, but poor team members will make a company mediocre, even with great technology.”Michael Wong

Michael Wong highlights how culture-driven hiring turns innovation into sustained revenue growth. He explains why pairing product-market fit with prescriptive onboarding and biannual culture surveys gives HR the data and influence to scale talent fast, reduce turnover, and keep Genea ahead in smart-building automation.

Key Takeaway:

  • Culture-fit hiring converts innovative products into revenue faster
  • HR data (surveys, onboarding metrics) informs every growth decision
  • Remote flexibility widens the talent pool without eroding cohesion