I was recently approached by an old friend at another company in Omaha, Nebraska. They were frustrated because they were losing good people - employees who added value to their workplace but consistently left due to company culture.
My friend called because she had heard me talk about Mytech’s Culture and how much we work on creating an environment people want to work and thrive in. She was in a position to enact change in her company and wanted to know where to start.
My first question to her was, “How valued do you feel when you go to work and leave work each day?” She felt like she was hardly noticed unless she made the company enough money. High turnover can be the result of many factors, but her company’s culture was hurting most of all because of undervalued employees.
This brings me to one of my favorite Mytech Values, Foster a Culture of Praise. This is more than congratulating a coworker on a job well done. This has to be done with intention and has to be done publicly to show the entire company that from the ground up the employees are valued. One way that we do this is through our Hertz Donuts. Named after one of our longest standing employees, these are cards that employees give to each other when one of our Values have been exemplified. At the end of each month, we send out the list of every Hertz Donut given throughout the month to the company. Everyone sees who embodied our Values and most of all, how it was noticed and appreciated.
I appreciate these because they don’t focus on who made the most money, who won a large client, etc. As an example, I received one the other day on “Creating Fun and a Little Weirdness” for my Hawaiian Shirt Fridays. Hertz Donuts focus on far more than performance. They focus on the value we provide to our customers, the value we provide to each other, and what we bring to the overall Mytech experience. When it comes to valuing your employees, it isn’t possible to overdo it.