Jonathan Holfinger: Rethinking Culture from a "Great Place to Work," to "Excellent Customer Experience"

In the middle of an economic downturn, Jonathan Holfinger, CEO of Northwest Title, a 21-office company in Ohio and Kentucky, found himself facing a critical realization. The focus on being a "great place to work" was inadvertently pulling attention away from something even more vital—exceptional customer experiences. With over 130 employees and growing, Jonathan saw a gap between internal culture and what truly mattered to their clients.

"We were proud of our workplace culture, but it was too inward-looking. We needed to focus on the people who kept our business thriving—our customers," Jonathan recalls. This shift in perspective emerged as the company started losing deals to smaller competitors, despite Northwest Title's resources, talent, and technology. "It frustrated me," Jonathan admits. "How were these three-person companies outpacing us when we had everything at our disposal?"

The answer, Jonathan realized, was not about competing on size or resources but on agility and responsiveness. Northwest Title needed to simplify its organizational structure, empowering leaders to act faster and with more autonomy. Jonathan made a bold decision: he flattened the company hierarchy, reducing the layers of management between teams and their clients. This restructuring mirrored the principles of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and his "two-pizza rule"—small teams with big impact.

"We cut out two levels of management," Jonathan explains. "We went from having a VP, a regional manager, a branch manager, and then the team, to just a director and the team. It’s helping to make us faster, more agile, and more accountable to our customers’ needs."

But something surprising happened. The focus on customer experience didn’t just benefit clients—it also revitalized the employees. "When you prioritize the customer relationship and experience, the team’s purpose becomes more clear," Jonathan says. "It’s not always about making the work easier for us. Sometimes it’s harder. But when we make it easier for the customer, everyone wins."

This shift towards smaller teams and customer-centricity is having some early, positive returns. Northwest Title has seen an increase in customer relationship development activity, in place of focusing on process improvement.  While Northwest had grown to be the largest title agency across the southern half of Ohio and Northern Kentucky, perhaps the focus had become tilted too much towards internal operations and managing its growth. “We realized we couldn’t just focus on being a great employer, or having outstanding training resources, or having great knowledge of real estate title.  We had to be the most valued partner to our customers as well. That meant focusing on what matters most to them – trust, communication, and availability.”

By reducing hierarchy and keeping the customer front and center, Jonathan believes that Northwest is finding the bullseye where team satisfaction and customer experience meet. “Our team will gain fulfillment by knowing how to solve problems for our customers and feeling like a trusted partner.  Reducing layers and team size within our company allows our knowledgeable and experienced Directors to get more hands-on with helping both our customers and our team members.  That can improve both internal and external relationships, which are the foundation of a successful title company, no matter its size.”