This course focuses on the common human resource ("people") challenges faced by existing private businesses when they attempt to grow substantially. PART 1 OF THE GROW TO GREATNESS COURSE IS NOT A PREREQUISITE FOR TAKING THIS COURSE.
Creating High Employee Engagement
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From the course by University of Virginia
Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses, Part II
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From the lesson
The Secret of High Performance is High Employee Engagement
The required reading for this module is “Trilogy Health Services, LLC: Building a Great Service Company” by Gosia Glinkska and Edward D. Hess. There is an optional reading also: “Leaders Bank: Creating A Great Place To Work” Case Study.
Meet the Instructors
Edward D. HessProfessor of Business Administration
Darden School of Business
[music] All right! Now, are you ready?
Are the people in India ready? The people in Brazil ready?
People in San Francisco ready? Hmm, Kyle I'm not hearing a lot out there.
Let's turn that volume up. Let's go.
Alright. I'm ready because this class is so
important, Ladies and Gentlemen. Where were we on week one?
Are you a Theory X or Theory Y person? Did you think about that?
I hope you did. Because that's so foundational to
everything we're talking about. We talked long and hard about the fact
that you as the entrepreneur, or a business builder, have many transitions.
Six of them as you go through building a business.
The purpose of that concept was to gauge, where are you?
What's coming? So you recognize it.
Now I understand, in these classes, they're only about 80 to 90 minutes long.
I'm putting out so mcuh content and concepts.
What I want you to do is to have basically be aware and understand these concepts and
of course you can go online and Google and drill down and find more details, but its
making you aware, but its now only aware, I want you to think about em, apply em in
your situation, think about hmm 'Have I experienced that?'.
Wow, what's going on now? And if you're a student it helps you be
aware also, if you will, as you move towards an entrepreneurial life.
There's no quick fixes to building a business, all right?
There's no easy formula for anybody. As you've should learn, and will learn,
it's complicated, all right? And you have to do lots of things right,
and it's like makin' sausage. It's messy.
It's hard work but every day you as the entrepreneur and as you are the leader it
is showtime, coz when you walk into that business everyone expects you to be at
your best because why you are the leader, you are the leader.
Now, today, I'm talking about high employee engagement.
You remember week one I read about high employee engagement?
In this book American Turnaround okay, by Ed Whitacre, former CEO of AT&T, a big
company, and the man who went in and turned around General Motors in less than
a year. Another big company and I read that
because this is a man who basically gets it.
And it's so important I want to read it again: "The number one asset of any
business is people. Over the years, and I've confirmed this a
thousand times, that 99 percent of the people out there want the exact same
thing." To feel good about their lives. To feel they're not failures.
To feel they're contributing and part of something that is having a positive impact
on their kids and family. Everybody wants that.
I do. Aunt Hess does.
Kyle does. Chris does, up in the studio.
Everybody. We all want that.
It is part of the human condition. The inner need to contribute.
And be part of something that's good and positive is a powerful force.
That, ladies and gentleman, is what high employee engagement is all about.
How do you as the entrepreneur Through your leadership, your behavior.
Create the right culture and environment that people find meaning, meaning.
Just like Mr Whittaker wrote in his book. I'll give you an example of high employee
engagement. This is a story, so bear with me.
There was a great heart doctor in Houston, Texas, called Dr.
Debakey. He's no longer with us, but he was a
legend, a ioneer. And a friend of mine told me a story about
a friend of his, that was a very wealthy entrepenerur, built a big business.
All right, very successful, and one day he woke up and he thought, he was having
heart problem, and he immediately called his doctor and his doc, he asked his
doctor who is the best heart doctor in Houston.
In the world. Excuse me.
In the world. Guy said Dr.
Debakey in Houston at this time. And the guy got on the phone and called
Dr. Debakey's office and said, "I need an
appointment." They said, "We're sorry. We're very busy.
We just can't see you for a long time." This guy was an entrepreneur.
A doer. He wouldn't take no as an answer.
And he called back every day until he got an appointment.
He hopped on his jet and flew to Houston. I told you he was successful.
Hopped on his jet and flew to Houston. Goes into Dr Duvet's office, and there's a
big waiting room. And he's told, sir, we worked you in.
Sit down. We'll be with you when we can.
Now he's an entrepreneur, a can-do make-it-happen type of person.
He got impatient. He went up at 11 o'clock and he said "wait
a minute, I've been here all morning." "We'll be with you sir." 1 o'clock, he
went to the waiting desk again and said "I'm ready." "Patience, sir." And at 3
o'clock, he looked around this big waiting room And there were only two other people
there, and he noticed something, around four o clock on count a gentleman dressed
in all whites that was part of the cleaning crew and he had a broom.
A bucket, a mop, brushes, and he watched this man do his job.
Now he was sort of into this because, this entrepreneur made his money building.
Big buildings. And he knew about office maintenance,
cleaning. And he watched this man basically
intensely clean. And at 1 time, he watched him.
And I can't do it here in the studio for you.
Get down on his knees, and scrub something on the floor.
And the man basically went up to the gentleman and said, sir, I applaud you.
I've never seen anybody work so hard cleaning, but I don't understand, why do
you do this? And the gentleman looked up and said, sir
me and Dr. Duvet fix hearts.
Because in my job is to kill the germs. These germs can hurt hearts.
That, ladies and gentlemen is meaning. Think about that.
That man had meaning in his job because it was in the context of saving peoples
lives. And some leader and manager had taken the
time to help that employee find meaning. And that's what this is all about.
Another story about meaning. The man who built the Ritz Carlton Hotel
Corporation. The only business that I know of that's
ever won two Malcolm Baldridge awards, two years and two awards in two years in a
row. And horse would come to my classes when I
taught at Emery University every year and talk.
And he said something that's stuck with me ever since, years and years ago.
He said, I have never hired anybody. I've never hired an employee.
I said, horse, what do you mean? You've got thousands of employees.
He says, no Ed. I don't hire people, I ask them to join
me, in my mission. I ask them to join, think about that.
The difference between hiring and joining and being part of something Another
company that I've done a case study on is called Levy Restaurants in Chicago.
Go online and read about Levy Restaurants and look at their website about Levy Cares
and Andy Lansing their CEO. Told me something very, very important
about hire employee engagement. He personally, it's a big company,
interviews every manager that's hired at that company and the first question he
asks them is "are you a jerk?". Because no jerks can work here.
Think about that. What that message sends.
He's really concerned about how his managers treat employees.
Because how you treat people Is the, really, that tells you whether you will
have high employee engagement. You honestly feel high employee
engagement, order something from Zappos online and talk to their customer service
people on the phone. Employee engagement is coming through that
phone. You want to see employee engagement, you
don't have to go buy anything, go into a Whole Foods store.
You see employee engagement. Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines is the air, airline that I call the airline of love.
Been very fortunate in my career to work with some wonderful people and
entrepreneurs and one of them was Herb Kelleher the founder of Southwest
Airlines. And to this day I remember the first time
I visited him in his office. And he took me on a little tour in the
office building at Southwest Airlines. And every employee that he saw came up and
shook his hand or hugged him. They loved the man, because the man loved
them. And altogether they loved their customers.
That's what I'm talking about. How do you get that?
Passionate engagement in the pursuit of the delivery of value to customers.
And you don't have to be a big company to get it.
In fact the bigger the company the harder it is.
That's why I use these public company examples because if they can do it an
entrepreneurial business can do it. Okay.
Let's take a, a break here and have you write something down on your paper.
If you're working now or if you're a student, is your job or your classes
meaningful to you, now? And why or why not, its very important for
you to think about what is meaningful to you, alright take three, four minutes and
write that down and then come back to me okay, I will be here waiting for you come
back.
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