Workplace appreciation

I must have looked lost as I was meandering down the food aisle at a Publix Super Market.? As I was unsuccessfully trying to pick up a few items off my ?honey do? list from the grocery store, I heard the words from a friendly Publix employee, ?Can I help you find something??? I was a little caught off guard because I couldn?t remember the last time I was asked in a grocery store if I needed some help with my shopping.? I was prepared for some directions on where I could find the missing item; but instead, the employee insisted on retrieving the product for me while I continued my shopping.? WOW!? I was blown away.? As a business coach and consultant, I take note of great service.?? I was also intrigued.? What kind of organization was this with employees who were so passionate about customer service?? As I was in the checkout line, I shared my positive experience with the checkout clerk (who was also very friendly).? I asked to speak to the manager of the store so I could report this excellent customer service.

I learned a lot in my brief exchange with the store manager.? This young man shared with me that this was normal behavior for their employees.? I learned that he had been with the company for over twenty years and started as a part time employee in high school bagging groceries.? As I pressed in for the secret sauce to the great service, he pointed my attention to their secret – THE CULTURE!? He shared with me how important the company?s culture is and how much attention they pay to cultivating and reinforcing it throughout the organization.? The focus on culture has paid off for Lakeland, Florida based Publix. It is the largest and fastest growing employee owned super market in the country.? With over $27 billion in sales, 1,056 stores, and 157,000 employees, Publix is ranked 106 on the Fortune 500.? What caught my attention though was that the company had been on FORTUNE magazine?s ?100 Best Companies to Work For” for over 16 years.

Publix?s emphasis on its culture dates back to 1930 and the company?s founder George Jenkins. Jenkins held himself to the high standards he expected of others and created a culture of service ?not only to the customer who came into the store to shop, but to every associate as a customer of another associate.? Jenkins and other leaders believed that ?people want to help, and, if given the resources to do so will provide extraordinary service.??? One of the ways they create such loyalty is by promoting from within.? The current CEO and President each started out in Publix as front-service clerks over 25 years ago.? I also took note that, the average tenure at Publix for store managers is 25.1 years, retail hourly workers average about 5.1 years, and hourly support workers average about 9.1 years.

As I have studied companies like Publix, I have become convinced that building a great culture is absolutely one of the keys to building a great company.? It is particularly important for any company that wants to grow and expand with people.? For some, talk about culture may sound ?soft? or of secondary importance.? These type naysayers may believe that having a great culture is a ?nice to have? versus a ?must have.?? Very few companies can afford to ignore their company culture.? If your company involves people interacting with people, then you should be paying attention to your culture.

?For definitional purposes, I describe a company?s culture as the shared values and practices of the people in the organization.? These are the common beliefs and habits of the organization.? Here is the critical part ? your employees represent YOUR BRAND.? They are the living, breathing implementers day to day of what your company stands for.? In other words, they are the front line in creating your brand in the marketplace.? Companies can spend millions on positive advertising but one bad interaction with a representative can destroy the customer?s feelings about the company.

I was attending a conference at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans recently, and as I was leaving a member of the housekeeping staff stopped me on my way to the elevator and wanted to make sure I had enjoyed a great stay at the hotel and wished me safe travels on my journey home.? She did not have to do that.? It was probably not part of her job description.?? However, with a smile and genuine sincerity she made a point to wish me well on my way.? I have shared with dozens of people about this simple exchange and how that positively reflects on the brand of The Ritz Carlton.

Gregg Lederman, founder of Brand!ntegrity and author of the book entitled Engaged! Outbehave Your Competition to Create Customers for Life, travels the country helping companies realize the value of culture and how important it is in developing their brands.? He notes, ?Branding is not part of the business, it is the business. Every interaction with an employee, with a coworker or a customer has the power to strengthen or hinder the brand image of your company.?? Lederman emphasizes that branding is about experiences and not logos and taglines. ?He teaches companies that the little things that they do daily are more important than the big things they may say about themselves.? I believe and share with my clients that every day their doors are open is ?Game Day,? and they should treat it with the opportunity for greatness.? Unfortunately, for too many companies it becomes like ?Groundhog Day,? and mediocrity can creep in.

I recently discovered Lederman?s company and work, and I have been impressed.? In addition to his thought leadership on this subject, his company has come up with something truly unique in my opinion.? They have created a proprietary software system that actually allows companies to better manage their brand by tracking and measuring customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and financial results. What they have accomplished is the linking together of these critical aspects of the business in a quantifiable way that encourages the right behaviors.? This use of metrics and creative ways to reinforce positive behaviors strengthens and builds the culture, and it is all tied back to the company?s profitability.?? I believe in the future we will see more and more organizations focused on building powerful brands, and I think we should all start to consider what is our R.O.C. ? Return on Culture. ?

Even back in the 1970?s, Daniel (Rudy) Ruettiger was an undersized football player.? Standing 5 feet 6 inches and weighing 165 pounds, he was a longshot at best to play on Notre Dame?s football team. Through courage and commitment, he made it as a ?walk on? onto the scout squad which helped the varsity team prepare for games.? On November 8, 1975, Coach Dan Devine allowed Rudy in his senior year to dress out with the team for the final game against Georgia Tech.? He only played two plays that day.? One was a kickoff and the other was the final play of the game where he sacked the quarterback.? At the end of the game, Rudy?s teammates carried him off the field. Rudy was only one of two players in Notre Dame history to be carried off the field by his teammates.? This dramatic story was captured in the movie Rudy, and the image of him being carried him off the field is a moving example of showing deep appreciation.

The Challenge: Keeping Good People

While it is unlikely that we will ever parade a co-worker through the office on our shoulders, we do have the opportunity to show appreciation to our employees and co-workers in the workplace. This is not just a ?feel good? exercise, but instead a solid best practice of successful companies. A number of surveys suggest that the number one issue facing business is finding and keeping good employees. High employee turnover can have a direct impact on the bottom line. The costs of turnover include recruiting replacement costs, administrative costs, lost productivity, training, and supervisory time. In fact, experts estimate that the costs of employee turnover average twice an employee?s salary.

The mistake is to assume that if we just throw money at employees that it will ensure that we keep them.? While monetary rewards are nice, the reality is that employees want to feel valued and appreciated in their jobs. In The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White noted that based on extensive research, 89% of managers believed that employees left jobs for more money; however in reality, only 12% of employees actually reported that they resigned over compensation. In a four year analysis of more than 100,000 employees worldwide, the Corporate Leadership Council discovered that while workers ?join companies for rational motives (better compensation, benefits, and career opportunities), they stay and work hard for emotional ones.?

In The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, employee retention expert Leigh Branham noted, ?Everyone wants to feel important, yet many organizations make their people feel quite the opposite. It could be seen as a lack of simple appreciation, or a greater focus on making numbers, and not valuing employees.? The Gallup organization has conducted extensive research based on interviews with more than 17 million people over more than 30 years.? They identified 12 core elements that link directly to critical organizational outcomes. Interestingly, one of the core elements was that, ?employees receive regular recognition or praise for doing good work.? Gallup also found that almost 70% of the employees in the United States say they receive no praise in the workplace.

The Opportunity: Showing Appreciation at Work

Dr. Gary Chapman, best-selling author of The Five Love Languages and Dr. Paul White, a nationally recognized family and business coach, teamed up to write their book to help us understand how we are encouraged in the workplace as well as how to best show appreciation to others. Their book provides the tools, resources, and information to help apply these concepts in a practical way in the workplace.? One of the most compelling aspects of learning to show appreciation in the workplace is that it can be done for very little cost, yet it can accomplish significant results. For those that may think showing appreciation is too ?touchy feely,? the reality is that there is a significant return on time and investment for creating a positive work environment where appreciation is shown.? The key is simply being intentional about how we show appreciation so that we don?t take a ?one size fits all? approach.

In fact, providing the wrong type of appreciation can actually do more harm than good. Chapman pioneered the idea that we all have different communication ?languages.? He has described the five languages as words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, tangible gifts, and physical touch.? Chapman and White have applied and adapted these concepts to the workplace to show how we can better communicate appreciation to our co-workers and employees.? They developed the Motivating by Appreciation (MBA) Inventory to identify your individual language of appreciation.? Purchasers of their book are provided a code to take the test and determine their appreciation language.

We tend to show appreciation based on our own language and not that of those around us.? By taking the time learn the languages of your team, you will be able to much better show them effective and meaningful appreciation.? In today?s economy, it would be foolish to just think, ?Well, my employees should just be thankful they have a job.?? This view is short sighted and misses the point that by taking a little time to show appreciation in the workplace based on individual needs, leaders can create a positive work environment that is more pleasant and productive.

Build a Great Habit

I believe that great companies have great habits.? Being intentional about communicating personalized appreciation is one of those habits.?? It is important to recognize the challenges that can exist to effectively create this great habit.? One of the biggest challenges is the ?tyranny of the urgent? that keeps everyone so busy that they don?t take time to communicate effectively. Don?t let showing appreciation fall into the ?important but not urgent? bucket that never gets done. Take time and be purposeful on this important task. Finally, some people may not feel comfortable showing appreciation.? The more you educate yourself on this important area the more comfortable you will feel.? Also, remember this is not about you, but what you can do for other people.

As the old saying goes, ?nobody cares what you know, until they know that you care.?? I hope that you will consider the value and benefits of making your workplace one in which appreciation is shown.? Remember, even if your whole workplace is not on board with this concept, we each have the opportunity to create a positive impact by starting to show appreciation to those we work with today!

THE VALUE OF CULTURE

SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION!

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