Mix work and play. It helps if you really like
what you are doing. If I have an operation
in Eastern Europe, every third trip, you
might add a country onto the trip for a couple of days. I love to golf, so if I can get a
customer to golf, that’s a win-win.
I’m a runner, and our company sponsors
an 8K to raise money for a woman’s shelter
every year. If you look at what you like to do and how you want to do it, you can find
lots of ways to intersperse that in your life.
As you grow and get a good team around
you, it creates opportunities for you to take
a vacation, take off early and play that
round of golf, or take the dog for a walk. I
think balance is a bad idea, and I just don’t
think it’s realistic. That doesn’t mean you
can’t have a life.
Get involved in the community. It’s the obligation of the corporation to do that. It’s good
for your employees. They can participate
or they cannot participate, but it sends a
message to them that the business does
have an obligation to do this.
A lot of people, that’s the type of company they want to work with. It gives them an
outlet. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to figure out how to get involved on their own.
But, if their company does, then they can
participate.
Then, from a benefiting-the-company
standpoint, it does make recruitment
easier. It gives you other reasons to
strengthen relationships with your customers if it’s a shared activity and something else besides business you are
working on.
We’re pretty particular about what we
get involved in. The first thing we say is,
‘Does it fit in to the category of the type
of organization we want to support?’ The
second thing we do is we’ll look at, ‘Does
this align with something a customer has
asked us to do?’
Then we’ll look at it and say, ‘Do we
have the budget to do it?’
Culture has to start at the leadership level. We
believe every position in the company is
equally important. A customer once told
me, ‘For a good size company, you are
the huggiest company I have ever met.’
We all see each other and hug. It’s ridiculous. Our customers do it, too. You have
to start at the top and really care about
people.
You have to be willing to say, ‘Thank
you. Nice job,’ and recognize that there
is nothing wrong with having a little bit
of silly fun. You have to be comfortable
enough in yourself to do that.
In the corporate office, we have a
workout facility and showers; a really
nice kitchen. Each branch picks what
works for their teams.
In our world, people are going to work
really hard. If you can create an environment where they are working hard, they
feel like they are appreciated, can get a
good workout in and fix their lunch, then
the work they provide is going to be better and provide a higher sense of loyalty.
They are people; take care of them.
HOW TO REACH: Strategic Staffing Solutions Inc., (313) 843-1243, (888) 738-3261 or www.strategicstaff.com