When David King sent his staff home during pandemic lockdowns, he didn’t fret about losing customers, he worried about disappointing his employees.

The fast-paced pivot converted five offices, including the headquarters in Santa Ana, into 700, he said. That was no easy feat when you consider his employees handle the sensitive subject of tax debt.

“I got a lot of perspective of what matters,” King said. “And if anything, I’m just proud to be in this position and that the staff trusted me to get us through this.”

In the 10 years since he founded Optima Tax Relief, King has come to “cherish” his employees like family.

The Santa Ana company is a seven-time honoree in the Top Workplaces program, and this year it rose to No. 2 among all large companies surveyed. King’s first experience in the program in 2014 dealt a stinging blow when the young firm landed in 14th place.

What went wrong? King wondered. He had the best team, the best company.

“We weren’t listening.”

David King, CEO of Optima Tax Relief, at their headquarters in Santa Ana, CA, on Thursday, November 4, 2021. Optima Tax Relief is among the top winners for the Orange County Register’s annual Top Workplaces program in the large company category. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In the ensuing years, King and his team have flattened the organization so that every voice is heard. “I’d rather not have my title. I’m a worker here at Optima, like everyone else,” he said.

We asked King about cultivating a culture of trust at work while the pandemic continued its second year. His answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Has Optima found a new rhythm to making it all work, in the office or from home?

A: It was really difficult during the pandemic. I didn’t get that touch and feel of having employees around.

We are really proud of the way our team adapted. Having that agility, it really opened my mind. I never thought we’d be able to do that. I felt some guilt to some degree. Because we are so connected to our purpose.

We actually went from survival mode to what we call thriving mode. It didn’t happen overnight. Consumer sentiment took some time. There was a lot of uncertainty.

Q: How did you keep communication flowing to so many “satellite” offices?

A: We started an internal TV show. Since we had 100 essential workers coming in most days, we put together highlights of what the mothership was doing to keep people connected. We’d talk about events, having people come on-site to participate.

Optima Tax Relief employees Peter Steele, left, and James Stwaner sort through one-day worth of client IRS notices onTuesday, November 17, 2020 in Santa Ana. CEO David King is center.(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Q: Is the staff back on Optima’s campus yet?

A: From the beginning, back in March 20, 2020, I told my team, I’m not gonna put a date on that. One step at a time. You guys have proven to me you can do this. In this environment, if I was to say you’re coming back Oct. 1, then we’re going to lose folks. There was a lot of anxiety. Why would we force it if we don’t need to?  We did not want to add any stress to our cherished staff.

We’ve been able to have our in-person meeting again. It’s quarterly and it’s celebratory and about recognition and our vision and purpose.

Q: What lessons did you learn from the pandemic this year?

A: We made a goal to hire 200 people by tax season in Orange County. And we learned we are terrible at onboarding staff remotely. We are not good at it. We do our best, but from the employee’s perspective, it was not what it needed to be. When things were safer, we set up a 30-day on-site training program. We took some risk but we spread it out and it worked.

We combined the fragmented training platforms into one. It’s been very effective for us. From security to IT to HR. It aligns us as a company and has an ancillary benefit to the new hires. They stay together and that’s helped with retention and the overall employee experience.

Q: Optima volunteered to help with the Orange County United Way’s program VITA, which offers free tax help to low-income residents. Will you do that again?

A: It was a real positive for us. We had 100 people signed up to volunteer. It was so rewarding we had people going back to help the program without VTO. We think we can go even bigger this coming year.

Q: What’s the big takeaway for you as CEO during the upheaval of the pandemic?

We live and die by our culture. I’m so thankful that our team was able to come together when we needed each other the most, even when we’re apart. I told the staff, ‘guys, everybody stop, take a deep breath. I want you all to slow down. We’ve been in a frenzied state.’

Will we ever be fully back? Probably no. We’re finding a new way to re-onboard people who’ve been at home. Helping them to get back to their purpose and reconnecting is so important.

Optima Tax Relief

Founded: 2011

Headquarters: Santa Ana

Industry: Tax resolution

OC employees: 620

Website: optimataxrelief.com

Quote: “I don’t want to be the force from above. I want the team at Optima to do this because they’re connected to their purpose.” CEO David King

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