Appreciation & Values

The other day I was asked what I liked about the two jobs I've had. (I've a few other jobs here and there mixed in, but those were my longest standing to show what I've done with my last 10 years in the work force.. so we're going with those)

Anyway. I was asked what I liked about the two.

What I loved about job one, was employee appreciation- no not the 'good job Misty' or a pat on the back, I mean, they took care of their employees.
Sometimes they'd have bagels, donuts, fruit for breakfast. Always had coffee, at least once a month their was lunch in the office too. (Even if it was left overs after a board meeting, it was offered to us) They brought someone in to do massages on neck and shoulders (After all we sat at a desk all day everyday). Also every year they had someone come in for health and wellness for literally an annual check up.
We were salary paid, so you weren't working a 8-5, hardly ever. You made up the time. But even then, I could run to the mall for lunch and be gone for over a hour, and still be fine.
They took GREAT care of their employees.

What I loved about job two. I met the most fantastic people, whom are still my friends today, and will be for a life time. I laughed a lot. We connected well and worked very well together. It was more of open workplace, so I didn't feel too cut off from the outside world. It was also so close to home. Taking only 10-15 min to get there, verses the 30-40 min depending on how long you sat in OKC traffic. This job was easier to leave, because I never felt needed.

So those two statements about what I loved lead me to ponder employee appreciation.
Yesterday I was listening to Craig Groschel's podcast on Leadership. It was titled "Creating a value in a driven culture.

So, how does this relate into the workforce? I'll tell you.
Companies, all of them- self employed and have employees? This applies to YOU too.

"Healthy Cultures never happen by accident. Your culture is a combination of what you create and what you allow."

I'll stop there for now.
Do you have a healthy culture? The way you could answer that if you don't know, is how is your turn over rate?

Let me be very clear for a minute. This isn't to bash anyone. This is actually helping me too. Daniel and I are leaders, and we are growing, every day. And learning what we need to improve on. And currently our team is stagnate. And that's our fault. We haven't created kept a very good culture. And maybe we never really had one. We might have had one on the surface, but if you don't have it to the core, that surface fades.

So let me go further.
The number one force that shapes your culture is your values.
Bam. There it is.
What are your values?
Are you money driven? If you are, chances are you are hustling your employees, or team and not taking great care of them.
Now let me say, it's okay to be driven by making money. That's today's society isn't it? We all need money to survive. But if you are creating values of only caring about money, and nothing else. You aren't creating a positive 'work' environment either. Therefore creating unhappy employees/team, therefore creating turnover/quitting rates.

Ever looked up the values of Chick Fil A? Or maybe you just know them.. because the fact is, they are always willing to help, and complete their sentence with "My pleasure".
It's how they are trained. That is their job.
Do you know that there are a lot of young people hired in, and they stay and some even go into management? Why?
Their values.
I challenge you to look up their values. It can actually be found by googling it. That's how serious they are.
And good values, mean they take care of their employees/team.
And taking care of your employees mean they are happy, and happy employees, stay.

*Side note* I don't know about you, but I enjoy eating there, and it isn't just because the food is awesome. The environment is too.

Which leads me to Southwest airlines.
One of their key values is "Employee Satisfaction". What? Yes.
Because why? Happy Employees mean they preform better, meaning they keep the customer happy.

It starts and ends with the employee to make a company successful.

Now, what do I really know about keeping employees happy? I'm no ones boss, nor have I ever been.
So lets take it into parenting.
Parenting is hard. But being a good leader of your home, makes for happy kids. And happy kids stay out of trouble. (the bigger trouble... kids will always find things to get into)

Do you see the pattern here?

What are your values?
Are you appreciating those who work for you? How? Do they know it? When was the last time you told them, or showed them?
Are you appreciating your children? They clean up without being told, do you remember to say thank you? It doesn't matter that they should do it anyway, show some appreciation, they will do it more often, because we're human, and humans need to feel appreciated.

Value that.