The Care and Feeding of Rotisserie Chickens
In a previous post, I talked about my goal of being a rotisserie chicken. You’ll want to read that first if you haven’t. Otherwise, you might be a bit confused.
But some of you may be wondering – okay, it’s great to be a rotisserie chicken. But what if I need rotisserie chickens? What if I’m coming back to my office after vacation and all my employees have fled to Canada with the company pens? Well, there’s a few important things (and values) that we have at my office that make it such an enjoyable coop to work in.
1. Employees should understand why you exist. If your team doesn’t know why they come to work or what they contribute, it’s difficult for them to own their positions and act in accordance with those company values. Everything I do during the day contributes towards our company mission – to build a great business where people can thrive and to help our clients tell their stories to skeptical insurance companies. That mission translates to every interaction I have with a client and every time I speak with respect to a coworker. I can analyze an action, ask myself if it aligns with our mission or core values, and say yes. If I don’t know, it makes taking action harder.
2. Trust and empower your employees to make decisions in accordance with your vision. This is a big one. What if your employees know why they exist, know what to do, but don’t have the authority or permission to do it? Do you really want them coming to you for every little thing that doesn’t need your attention? “Can I say this to a client? Can I do that?” At BGL, we’re given a lot of autonomy to take care of our client’s needs. I don’t need permission to send a client who’s just had surgery a pair of comfy socks, or a mug and gift card to someone that really helped us out. That doesn’t mean I’m running around the place lawyering when I should definitely not be lawyering. It’s your job as an employer to make sure boundaries are known – and then let your people make decisions within them without blowing up your inbox.
3. Acknowledge the work your employees do. Even the hardest working employee can get a little dejected when they feel like their effort goes unrecognized verbally and economically. Aside from paying someone their worth, a simple “good job” or a “thank you” goes a long way. My favorite thing at BGL is that we have a ton of five-star customer reviews posted around the office that mention our names. Sometimes I even give the wall of reviews in the kitchen a little hug at lunch time to remind myself that our clients appreciate what we do. (Please don’t ask to see the security camera footage).
4. Hire good people and let them work. This one might take a little practice. Not every person is going to be right for the position they’re put in and it can be hard to find those right people. But if you start out by making good hiring decisions in the beginning, you’re going to get a lot more bang for your buck down the line. Any one of us at my current office will tell you that the thing that initially attracted us to the position was the amazing and detailed job listing that felt like it spoke directly to us.
I get it – running a business is hard. And there’s a lot more to it than just my input. But having a great culture where people can thrive and make decisions is essential. You might even get to take a (real) day off once in a while.