About five years ago, Rick
Foley recognized that Delta Community Credit Union needed to change.
At the time, the organization
had very centralized authority,
and people felt like they could-n’t do much on their own.
“I just knew that for our
future, that couldn’t be the
case,” says Foley, the company’s president and CEO.
He knew that if he wanted the
organization to grow, he needed
people to feel like they mattered
and that they weren’t just doing
a job. As a result, he’s spent the
last five years fostering a better
culture, and his 530 employees
can tell the difference — and so
can customers. He says that the
key to creating a great culture
in your organization is to look
beyond the money.
“Money lasts 10 minutes, and
then you’re looking for the next
check. So you’ve got to do
more than money,” he says.
Smart Business spoke with
Foley about how to create a
culture where employees feel
valued.
Appreciate your people. Your staff
is what makes or breaks you.
The management team is just a
catalyst to get them to do that.
First, you have to be willing
to and actually communicate
with people on an ongoing
basis. It can’t be sporadic.
You have to do it on an ongoing basis, and you let people
know you respect what they’re
doing and respect them
enough to give them information that, directly or indirectly,
they can use in how they handle their own business. You
have to have a philosophy
yourself that you appreciate
what your staff does.
You can’t just ride on top of
somebody and steamroll them,
because it won’t last long.
They’re not doing it for themselves, they’re doing it for you
and the organization; you have
to appreciate that. When people know they’re appreciated,
they’ll do a better job for you.
Then you need to surround
yourself with people who will
also convey that attitude to the
staff that what they do is
appreciated.
Hire good leaders. I have a HIT
program — honesty, integrity
and trust — and you have to hit
on all three cylinders. I look for
people that have that and display that, not only in their business dealings but in their personal lives, because if you live it,
you don’t have to show it. It just
becomes automatic.
Look for people who display
that atmosphere, and that
atmosphere just spreads out to
the whole employee group.
When I’m talking with somebody in a detailed conversation,
no matter what somebody says,
you can read their face. You can
read their eyes and know
whether or not they’re sincere
or if they’re just using words.
