We all hear how important culture is to a workplace, but rarely do we hear how a great culture can influence the top and bottom line of your business.
I was recently reading the book, The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Posner. This book is read by many students in college business programs around the country. They cite a study that showed employees who are not having fun at their job will only give about 30% effort on average. However, employees that say they are having fun at their job are giving 90% or more effort on average at their job. That is a 3x difference in effort by your team, by making what sounds to be a simple adjustment.
I have been asking many hospitality business owners, in my Business Video Blog Interviews, which are posted on YouTube for free viewing, how they are making their businesses a fun place to work. The answer to my question, so far, has been all over the map.
Remember last month’s article about finding the right employee? The first step is to be deliberate in your process. Creating a fun working environment is no different. Why not create an event(s) that show how much fun it is to work with everyone on your team? One bar owner I know closes down his bar and takes his entire team on a fun float down the river with a barbeque at the end, every summer. I know of a sales company that has a gong in their sales room and everyone gets to strike the gong when a sale is made. Another restaurant has a whiteboard where anyone can write a “thank you” or a kudos to another team member for a good deed done to help another team member or to quote a client that gave a team member kudos for providing exceptional customer service.
Why do these little things work so well to boost employee morale and drive better performance at work? It’s really simple. The old adage that honey attracts more flies than vinegar holds true to this situation. People want to be held accountable to a standard and everyone craves the verbal recognition of a job well done. Amazingly enough, if you can give employees an ascertainable standard and give them the verbal boasting of a job well done, you will even gain the reputation of having a fantastic place to work. The end result of creating such an environment is that people will start knocking down your door to work at your business, and customers will also feel the draw to come to and stay longer at your business.
Can you see a way to drive employee and customer satisfaction, which will also drive sales and profitability? Make your business a fun place and you will begin to see the benefits of your team performing like you never thought possible.
Want to learn from other restaurateurs and bar owners? Watch the interviews of many successful business people at the Montana Business Vlog on YouTube. If you have any topics or questions to be covered in future articles, then consider obtaining one of our books on Taxes or the Hospitality Business. We also have a book covering the different aspects of estate planning as well as an experienced Bozeman estate planning attorney who is ready to speak with you if needed. If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter, then please email me at [email protected].