Chicago's Top Technology Integrator Recognized for Its Commitment to Excellence 

Each year, CEDIA honors integrators, manufacturers, and individuals who have made significant contributions to the custom technology industry. The awards go to those who elevate the standards of home technology integration. While there are some for specific installations (like media rooms or smart homes), we're proud to announce our recognition for our standout services across the board.

Barrett’s Technology Solutions was named the winner of the 2024 Excellence in Business category, which recognizes companies that showcase strong business practices, outstanding client service, great workplace cultures, and strategic planning. 

"Barrett's has been a proud member of CEDIA for many years, and we are truly honored to receive this prestigious award," said Barrett's President, Brian Perrault. "It stands as a testament to the hard work our team puts in every day, as well as our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service and ongoing support to our clients." 

SEE MORE: Barrett’s: Your Elite Smart Home Company Partner in Chicago 

A Commitment to Growth 

One of the criteria for winning the award was demonstrating our company's commitment to growth. This criteria is a top priority for CEDIA since many integrators are small operations that struggle to learn how to scale their business. 

We’ve significantly transformed over the past six decades. Barrett's Technology Solutions started in 1966 as Barrett Magnavox. What began as a small shop on Main Street soon expanded to multiple mall locations during the mall era of the 1980s and 1990s. As demand grew for more sophisticated entertainment, Barrett's Technology Solutions pivoted by creating a home technology department focused on home theater projects. 

Over time, we expanded our offerings to include full-home automation and custom technology solutions. Today that is our primary purpose, and we are expanding our regional reach while increasing our work with trade partners. 

"Our team has put in a ton of effort over the last 10 years to successfully transition our business from primarily retail to fully integrated systems," said Barrett's Technology Solutions VP of Operations, John Cook, who has seen the company's growth firsthand over the past eighteen years. “It's gratifying seeing that recognized by our industry peers."

In the past decade, Barrett's Technology Solutions implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System, which holds us accountable for annual goals and breaks down smaller objectives for each team member that align with the overall company goal. This focuses on steady, long-term growth to secure financial stability and success. 

Crafting Innovative Business Practices 

The implementation of EOS has been vital to our company’s success. Since then, the company's leadership and management have become more streamlined, and the team has clearly defined roles and responsibilities that align with the overall company values and goals. This leads to not only greater efficiency but also greater employee satisfaction. 

That is largely due to the L-10 meeting structure associated with EOS. This framework allows every employee to have a voice and provides us with a platform to identify, discuss, and solve any challenges or issues our team members may face in their respective roles. By creating an environment where everyone is encouraged to voice their opinions and concerns, small issues that need to be addressed can be solved before they become large issues. 

When conflict does arise, it happens in a controlled environment. These L-10 meetings include scheduled team bonding time, time to update the status of tasks, and time to prioritize issues. In some meetings, the department will complete twenty small or medium issues and other times, they allocate the time to one large issue. While that transpires, new tasks are created and delegated in a central system. EOS has allowed us to stay firm to many company goals, which has enhanced our business practices. 

There’s no better proof of EOS's success than CEDIA’s recent award. It makes a point to showcase not a specific project but the company's culture as a whole. 

“It’s an honor to be recognized by CEDIA for this award,” said Senior Technology Consultant John Wettlaufer, whose dedication over the past thirty-six years has been integral to Barrett’s success and who has embraced the EOS system as a valuable asset to the company’s growth.

For example, we know how important it is for people to experience our technology before installation. So, we've invested a lot of money and effort in building our design center and lighting lab. They're great places for our trade partners and clients to get a first-hand experience of the immersive nature of our solutions.  

Focusing on designers, architects, and builders has been a top priority in recent years. Beyond our design center, we engage with them through continuing education events that help them stay up to date on home technology trends. Not only can they incorporate this new level of understanding into their projects, but they also gain continuing education credits or learning units. These partnerships, in turn, help us stay ahead of the design trends, advancements, and regulations that our project managers navigate on a daily basis.

Always Putting the Customer First

What sets us apart is not just what we do but how we do business. Our Advanced Systems Implementation Process is at the core of that. It allows our team to deploy each project efficiently while reducing installation and troubleshooting time while our expert installation team is at the client's property. This pre-installation process identifies potential challenges early and delivers a smooth experience to our clients. 

Through detailed pre-installation planning, off-site system configuration, and rigorous testing before we arrive on-site, we minimize disruption to our clients' lives and make sure every system works from the moment it is installed. This comprehensive approach delivers a luxury experience to our clients, who expect custom high-quality products and excellent service.

Barrett’s Technology Solutions has grown over the years, and with that, we were able to create a dedicated service team. This allows us to give our existing customers the attention they deserve. Many companies have an installation team that doubles as their service department, which means scheduling complications. Our long-standing clients have access to our dedicated service team, while our new clients have uninterrupted, high-quality installations.

Our team would love to meet with you to help you with all your technology needs. Want to see firsthand why we were awarded CEDIA’s 2024 Excellence of Business Award? Schedule a tour of our design center and meet our award-winning team. Just call us or fill out our contact form to get started. 

If you want to learn more about our services and why we're Chicago's go-to custom home technology experts, give us a call or fill out our contact form.