Value each employee
Hampson sees his work force as not only 1,700 employees, but 1,700 families, 1,700 mortgage payments and probably close to 4,000 family members.
“That’s the most rewarding part of the business,” he says. “If you focus on that, especially in rough economies, it really brings extra value to the job.”
Thinking about those numbers has made MED3000 a more conservative and more sustainable company, but it’s also helped get to the core of how you can add real value to your company and to your employees.
For Hampson, valuing employees starts with a culture based on the fundamentals of relationship building: communication and empowerment.
First off, you need to be the one to set the culture and expectations. Hampson doesn’t only want employees to have good dialogue with each other; he also wants them to feel they can reach out to him at any time. He gets that point across by being in front of employees and constantly reinforc
in
g that message through communication, such as face-to-face interaction, e-mails, newsletters and phone calls.
“You should not sit in your corner office,” Hampson says. “You should go out and talk to people; you should e-mail them, communicate with them and let them feel comfortable communicating with you.”
MED3000 talks about the importance of communication. Its open-door policy is outlined in the company handbook. Employees and clients have Hampson’s and upper management’s direct contact information.
But if you want employees to buy in to your expectations for communication, you need to live them. Showing employees you value a relationship with them starts by simply knowing their names, knowing about their families and interacting with them in their environment.
“Employees actually see me out in their locations,” Hampson says. “I visit with them. I don’t always go out to meet with management; I actually go out and meet and walk around and shake hands with all the employees and talk to them and spend a day. I think, from the day we started the company, employees sent e-mails to me, and I respond immediately. I think it’s just really the communication we’ve instilled with everybody that that’s the way to be.”
When Hampson thinks 1,700 employees, he also thinks 1,700 opinions.
“That’s 1,700 opinions that can help you grow the company,” he says. “It’s a pretty powerful course.”
Showing employees they are valued means asking for their thoughts and giving them tools to offer feedback. But they’ll only do that if they first feel comfortable communicating with you and management.
Hampson is open to any employee e-mailing or calling him, and he makes sure every message is responded to within 24 hours. He expects his management team to use the same speed with personal responses. And if they can’t get back to the employee in a day, they’re honest.
“You give them the answer that you’re going to look into it,” Hampson says. “Then it’s critical that you follow up, and they’re not sending you an e-mail two weeks later, and you didn’t remember. We try our hardest to respond and get them the answer they need and or get them to the person that can answer the question for them.”
Obviously, at times, employees will be apprehensive to speak up or share a concern with management. So MED3000 has implemented a hot line where if employees have recommendations or concerns, they can call the number and leave an anonymous message for management.
“It’s for all 1,700 employees to communicate upwards and tell us anything we can do to improve,” Hampson says. “They can help in managing the company.”
The hot line runs along the same 24-hour rule that Hampson uses for responding — someone from HR or senior management tries to reply to the issue within a day.
You need to develop a way to receive employee feedback, whether it’s through a hot line, employee surveys, employee evaluations, exit interviews. Whatever process you think best fits your culture and will best keep a pulse on your organization.
But Hampson says evaluation and surveys can’t take place of actively talking and listening to employees.
“You have to set aside the time,” he says. “After you get opinions and some of the opinions are successful, you have to reward people so they continue to give you opinions. But I’d say the biggest issue is making sure that not only yourself but also your management team sets aside time to listen to your employees. Then take action on the good suggestions that they have.”
The key to rewarding people is to make sure every employee knows what that person did. In MED3000’s case, if an employee in California did something praiseworthy, those based in the company’s Connecticut office have heard by way of e-mail or employee programs.
“This year, we actually shared some of the profits of the company because the employees really had a great year,” Hampson says. “We gave them surprise bonuses. So when they see they share in your success, it creates that culture of being a family and everybody working together,” he says.
There are two ways to grow a company according to Hampson, hiring people who will preserve the culture you’ve set and valuing employees’ ideas.
“The only thing I can tell you is keep growing from the bottom all of your employees and your managers and your senior managers,” Hampson says. “You keep the people who want to work in this type of culture environment, and you keep influencing their decisions by communication and access and transparency. It’s just something you work at all the time.”
How to reach: MED3000 Inc., (888) 811-2411 or www.med3000.com
