Reinforce the culture
Once you’ve hired the right people and forged relationships with the right partners who can help you grow your business, you need to continue to promote your culture through regular communication and interaction.
Dabish and his corporate leadership team promote the culture throughout the Powerhouse Gym organization through twice-yearly meetings that bring executives and franchisees together. Upper management reinforces the cultural principles of the organization and franchisees share what has been working at their respective locations as well as areas that need improvement.
In essence, it’s a giant information-sharing session focused on the culture and promoting best practices.
“The first half of the day is really our corporate office addressing everyone in attendance,” Dabish says. “Then we break up after lunch and have individual workshops where we share ideas and share best practices. It’s one of the ways we stay in constant communication with our network. If someone in Tampa has a new product or a new service that has taken off, if there is an exercise class in California that is working well, if there is a new sales promotion that really seems to work, we want to share it with the entire network.
“That is one of the main benefits of keeping everyone involved in a communication network. Everyone is able to stay connected with each other and with the corporate office. If you own multiple stores, management needs to stay in constant contact with the managers of those locations. If it’s a franchise situation like we’re in, you need to stay in touch with those store owners on a regular basis. The key is to maintain constant communication and keep networking with each other.”
If you have the opportunity to bring your managers together, whether in person or via electronic media, you need to make the most of the opportunity. That means having a clearly focused vision for the future and a process for how to achieve that vision. Without a clear focus, no one in the room will be able to focus their efforts in the right direction.
“A focused vision should be one of your main goals,” Dabish says. “You need to have your executive-level people focused on a common task. If you have a formal goal that you are launching with a common purpose and mission and you get your team to buy in to that purpose or goal, that’s what makes things work. People have to buy in to what you’re preaching. You have to practice what you preach in order for it to work.”
The final key aspect of focusing people on a uniform set of goals is to create a sense of familiarity among your company’s decision-makers. Dabish picked up an idea from some employees who used to work for the Ford Motor Co., and it’s helped build positive relationships among managers before they even sit down to talk shop at a company meeting.
“We have a welcome reception at our company meetings,” he says. “During those receptions, people get to know each other and put a name with the face. That way, the following day when we start to talk business, people have already gotten to know each other a little bit and have gotten a chance to speak with each other. We’ve been doing that for the past four years. It’s an opportunity not only for our owners to speak with each other but with vendors. And a lot of times, it’s the first chance our corporate office managers have to meet with people from other locations.
“You can get to know each other in a formal setting, but it can also be a great help to break out for cocktails or hors d’oeuvres in a more casual setting. Many times, that’s the best way to get to know the people you’re going to be working with.”
How to reach: Powerhouse Gym, (248) 476-2888 or www.powerhousegym.com
