Subject: SmartBusiness placement
From: "Merilee:::Kern Communications" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>, "Christina King" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2008 10:15:33 -0800

http://www.sbnonline.com/National/Article/15800/0/A_focus_on_people.aspx?Category=126

     

Fast Lane

A focus on people

How to show you care about your employees

By Meredyth McKenzie

Smart Business Broward/Palm Beach | December 2008 

Page 1 of 2

 Valerie Holstein
president and CEO, CableOrganizer.com Inc.
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Valerie Holstein makes it a priority to know more than just her employees' names and job titles. 

She also keeps a list of things they like, and while on a recent vacation to France, she made sure to get something small for each of her nearly 50 employees at CableOrganizer.com Inc.

"It took me awhile to understand, but I understand that if I take care of the people who work for the company then the company will take care of itself," Holstein says.

Holstein's focus on creating a culture centered around employees helped her grow the cable and wire management solutions company she started in 2002 with her husband, Paul, to 2007 revenue of $10.2 million. 

Smart Business spoke with the co-founder, president and CEO about the keys of creating a successful culture and how to get to know your employees.

Q. What are the keys to creating a successful culture?

Creating a workplace culture begins with the people you hire and bring in to the organization. Trying to impose a certain corporate culture on any given group doesn't work. 

It's important to start out with employees who share the same core values and work ethic and you know are going to be compatible with the vision of the company. 

Ask questions about who they are as people, where they come from, what sort of experiences they've had. Have the candidate give you examples of how they would handle hypothetical life situations, and ask about how they have successfully dealt with and overcome real-life obstacles. 

See if they answer the way you would. These answers are telling and can help employers gain insight into a potential employee's value system.

We also ask them questions that are somewhat personal. Questions that come up are: What does your house look like? How do you organize your work space? What does your car look like? We ask them what has driven some of their past decisions in the workplace, or if they made a mistake in the workplace, how did they handle it, what did they learn, did they learn anything, because if they didn't learn anything, it's an issue. 

It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of dedication. You have to genuinely be interested in other people and show them that you're interested. It's the same thing as a marriage - you don't get flowers every day, but you like to know every once in awhile that your spouse hasn't forgotten about you. 

Q. How do you show you're interested in people?

Know the names of their spouses and children. Remember birthdays. Offer - genuinely - help in times of need. Then give it. 

Whenever possible, accommodate and make allowances for extenuating personal circumstances. Ask how things are going or what they did over the weekend. Then listen. Talk about your own family and personal interests. Never give unsolicited advice on personal matters. 

Try to lead by example. Show up on time. Be respectful. Be considerate. Be one of the team. Hold yourself to the same standards you set for your employees. Treat your employees as you'd like to be treated. 

Q. You mentioned the importance of listening in getting to know your employees. What are the keys to becoming a better listener?

Read books on listening and relationship building. Constantly ask for feedback. Take negative feedback as constructive criticism - look at it as an opportunity for improvement. 

Appreciate the fact that your employees are giving feedback, whether it's positive or negative. Feedback means that they care. Don't take it personally. 

Take feedback seriously. It's one of the truest indicators of how your company is functioning - it's like checking your company's pulse. No feedback equals no growth. 

Q. What is the benefit of having a solid culture in place?

It makes things run easier. It's a key to the foundation of good, long-lasting companies. If you're running the old-fashioned way, with everybody in their cubicle, and have a set of rules and assign a certain amount of work and can't literally get out of the box, at average, you might survive for a while. But if you want to build something that's long-lasting, you have to have a culture where people want to be at work, they embrace the company and have a genuine interest in the company.

We're in an economy where everybody's pinching pennies, everybody's being careful about the overhead and what they're investing. So are we, but if people are happy, you have a happy organization, you have a happy company; you're going places. 

If people just consider their workplace as they just have a job and pay their bills, these people are not going to be in for the long run ... the first opportunity they have to get a better salary or a better job, they'll be gone. 

HOW TO REACH: CableOrganizer.com Inc., (954) 861-2000 or www.cableorganizer.com