Reward people
Olympic Steel gives out several awards to recognize attendance,
safety and company culture efforts as well as performance. It is
also active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation and awards college
scholarships to employees’ children. All of these programs and
rewards are important to building a strong culture, but you also
can’t deny the power of showing people you care with the almighty
dollar.
“There’s rewards, there’s recognition, there’s all kinds of stuff along
the way,” Siegal says. “Money matters. People will tell you that money
doesn’t matter, but they’re kidding you. … People will tell you the pat
on the back goes a long way — it goes a long way, it really does — but
at the end of the day, money also matters. A pat on the back is great,
but I can’t fill my gas tank up with a pat on the back.”
If you create a program to financially reward your employees,
those pats on the back will go much further.
“The key is, everybody rewards their sales guys,” Siegal says.
“How do you reward your administrative people?”
To do this, the company has a profit-sharing program for everyone.
The more money the company makes, the larger the percentage of
profits people get.
“Now everybody says, ‘How are we doing, and how can I help
you make more because if we make more as Olympic, I make
more’ … and your administrative people go, ‘Gee, business doubled; I’ve got twice the paperwork, how come I don’t get any
upside of this?’ Well, you do,” Siegal says.
Rewarding people communicates that you care about them and
helps them better buy in to the values you established. When people
buy in to what’s important to the company, your business will grow to
new heights.
“Have a vision and focus and a strategy that says, ‘If I have the
right people to execute on that, we’ll get there, and there’s something for everyone at the end of the rainbow —not just me but for
everyone at the end of the rainbow,’” Siegal says. “I’d rather have
the momentum of 1,000 people moving in that direction than one.
The energy, mass and force will get you there. You could be the
best rower in the world, but give me the physics of 1,000 people
saying, ‘I get it, I know what’s in it for me, and I’m willing to buy
in.”
HOW TO REACH: Olympic Steel Inc., (216) 292-3800 or www.olysteel.com
