Sunday, October 25, 2009

Giving Thanks

Every day, Tom Holmes makes it a point to personally greet each of his 30 employees and say “thanks for coming in today”. No employee can leave at night without stopping by Tom’s office so that he can look them in the eye and say “Thanks for your hard work today, it really meant a lot.”

Every Friday, Tom places a personalized note in each employee’s paycheck. “Thanks for sticking around the extra 30 minutes on Tuesday, Dave.” Thanks for taking care of that customer who spilled his soup, Linda.” Thanks for offering to help out on the drive-thru this week, Carlos.”

The practice of saying thanks doesn’t stop with Tom. Every week the current holder of the “Thanks” trophy selects a co-worker who has helped out in an extraordinary way. In a small ceremony over ice cream, the current holder, tells the story of help offered and presents the trophy to the new recipient.

These are no ordinary practices. But then Tom is no ordinary leader. A manager of a fast food restaurant,, he leads his people through a practice he calls “Giving Thanks” His people love him for it. As his peers stuggle with 250% staff turnover each year, Tom’s annual turnover hovers just under 80%. Not perfect, as he is the first to tell you, but incredible in an industry where employees are imposible to find, average tenure is less than six months and teen workers quit unexpectedly because of last minute tickets to a rock concert.

But, having worked in the restaurant as a crew member himself, Tom knows that working on the front line is tough. Employees take the heat of day to day customer problems and concerns. They do so while feeling invisible and replacable. Tom knows that he can’t expect them to stick around if he can’t find ways of making them feel appreciated and special. He also know that if they don’t stick around, he can’t grow his business.

So even in touch economic conditions, Tom finds ways to appreciate the small things. He finds ways to say “Thanks” a lot, to celebrate and have fun, and to recognize his employee’s achievements and efforts, no matter how small.

His efforts may not equal concert tickets, but they are a start.

“The rare individual, who honestly satisfies this heart-hunger, will hold people in the palm of his hand, and even the undertaker will be sorry when he dies.” - Dale Carnegie

2 comments:

OPUSBob said...

Great article, Kathleen. Thank you for sharing. Bob

OPUSBob said...

Great article, Kathleen. Thanks for sharing. Bob