Are you on the path?
As you sit and read the articles in this month’s issue, you are learning about operators that went above and beyond for their customers and their business. After checking them out, look around at your own business now. Are there areas that you can implement into your business to take the next step forward? Do you have the right core values in place to bring in the best people? Just check out this segment below on some of the things that create a great workplace and make them yours.
Are You Engaged?
When leaders show they understand what’s going on in their business and hold themselves at a standard like everyone else, it’s easier for employees to get behind the company’s goals and values. It’s also a sign of a great workplace.
Great leaders practice what they preach and are passionate supporters who take a stand on the issues impacting the environment around them. In the organization, leadership must be committed to boosting engagement from employees and management, responding to issues that arise, and creating an attractive company culture.
No one wants to come to work each day and be trampled on or feel as if there is no way to move upward. Setting a tone in your business is a great way to develop exceptional employees and recruit higher level leaders in your locations. If you want to be a great workplace, it starts with you.
Don’t Stop Learning
Continuous improvement is at the forefront of any successful company. Adaptation to new ideas keeps your business at the top of their game, allowing your people to maximize their abilities and set a new standard of excellence. If you are not making changes to keep up with the auto market, you will soon find yourself digging out of a hole that can put you behind your competition.
Learning new ideas and concepts also inspires employees to do great work and contribute towards making your company the best in the market. Make sure your employees feel safe sharing their ideas with managers and yourself. Employees know the day-to-day operations best after all, since they are the ones that are on the frontlines of your business, and they might just be the source of your next great breakthrough, service, or opportunity.
Win with Your People
The companies in this issue do a number of things right, but it’s not always about the what as much as the how they do what they do. A top-tier business shifts their focus from getting the most out of their employees to giving back to their employees to ensure their needs are met. This can translate into more engaged employees and people that want to stay with your organization.
When you invest in your people, you build a workplace that people want to be a part of. If you are doing advanced work beyond just oil changes, do you have a training program to advance your techs skill sets? If you are looking to develop better sales representatives, have you thought of sending some to a community college to take some courses? There are several ideas like this that can make your locations the place to come to as an entry into our business.
Balance Is Key
Great workplaces are flexible to employees' work and life needs and encourage a great work/life balance by offering flexible schedules, providing paid time off, accommodating requests and needs, if possible, and creating a supportive work environment that is understanding of personal and family obligations.
When you just drive your leaders into the ground, they will burn out and become complacent. They will go from being excited for your opportunity and then start looking for something else. Set max hours each week, giving time off weekly and allow some flexibility in weekend work, as well.
The same goes for employees. Allowing them to go back to school, take time off for family events and more will give them a less stressful employment. I am not saying go extreme on flexibility, but making someone work 6 out of 7 days or no days off does not allow for life. Sometimes it’s just easier to hire another employee versus overworking your current ones.
As always, there are a lot of things that are out there to improve your business. But these are some of the key ones that can take you from good to great. Communicate with your teams. Learn what drives them and use that to make positive culture changes. In our game, it’s people and operations. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Decide what it is that you want in a company culture and set your ideas in motion.
