CONTRIBUTING RE.ENGINEER
Joshua Teekel
BACKGROUND
Many of us enjoy being able to assign a task to an employee or peer and have them run with it. They get to work on the task at hand and don’t give up until it is complete. This is normally the time we realize the work has been done because they are diligent workers and want to complete the task and make you proud. When the project is done you think to yourself, “job well done” and the employee made it look easy.
What we didn’t see: Jacob spent many hours at work and some at home researching the tasks that was given. Jacob may have even missed family time and given up dinner to achieve the task but did it without a hesitation. The task was started, and he made decisions about the job and didn’t need permission or help from a supervisor to do so. All plans and approvals were checked off and after final approval the job started. Jacob communicated with everyone to make sure everyone involved knew the plan and then oversaw the task to make sure everything went through without a snag. Lastly, Jacob mentioned to you that the entire team did an amazing job of making sure everything went well, although deep down he knew he did 95% of the work.
You think, how can I find more people like Jacob, so you start doing some research.
After looking through Jacob's records, you realize that he has been with the company for many years and has adjusted to multiple different positions. He has had some people that you know are good leaders and some you know that are not so good. Jacob and his family attend all the company outings and makes sure to be at every community outreach program. He has requested a transfer a few times to follow a certain manager throughout his stay with the company, Micah.
Isaac has been with the company almost 25 years and has also requested that Jacob work with him on many tasks and big projects. Isaac is a humble leader that leads a lot of training classes within the company and attends all the company outings as well. They appear to have a great working relationship and help each other when they can.
SOLUTION
Instead of finding good employees, let’s start building them.
We implemented a mentor program.
We empowered everyone in the company to make decisions. Allowing them to make good decisions and learning opportunities.
Company events became more spotlighted and community service came with paid time off.
Family Function: If you needed to attend a family event or function, you went only if you told everyone about it when you got back.
Accountability was peer reviewed based on behaviors and not production. We all know happy employees are more productive, then why do we only judge production and not happiness.
Anyone could ask a question to anyone; we all work together for a common goal and know one is above answering to what they do.
Everyone is encouraged to go to leadership academy. Wow, this is something everyone should do!!!
RESULT
After changing the way we think, we found that we change the way we react. We are hiring less employees, but production and customer service has elevated. We have employees that have really grown, and many have shown the company more than what we believe them to offer. I personally have been reading more than ever about becoming a better leader and mentor. The company culture has changed to a team of servant leaders and business is booming. Jacob has recently become a mentor to Joseph, and you can almost instantly see Joseph's attitude and production increase.