This past summer, the Hays Service team had our annual meeting offsite with everyone in company attending! That is not easy but especially as busy as we are now. We made sure no customer would be impacted and our meeting site was fantastic (I highly recommend Goodwill Anderson Conference Center).
Our theme was “Love Your People” and we used materials developed by Sam Parker and his very talented writers and videographers to teach basic human principles. The leadership team from finance, sales, and operations each had a core value to discuss. My value was caring and that tied into all the areas stressed in the video. As we continue to grow, our people must know that caring for them, our customers, and our company is one of our highest priorities. So, we emphasized to those we lead and those we serve eight different attributes that must be in place at Hays Service at all times. The eight attributes are:
Contribute- Be Kind
- Be Patient
- Be Honest
- Encourage
- Apologize
- Forgive
- Thank People
These are easier said than done. So, as we continue to focus ourselves on being more accountable, we must also be open and honest with each other. We have many different strengths and weaknesses as individuals. We know we can be stronger and more valuable to our customer as a team. But we also know that technicians and mechanics find themselves working alone a lot of the time. So, we need an open culture of trust that is missing in many corporate environments. Our goal is to set up systems of accountability with each employee and find areas of strength for them to share with co-workers.
This may sound lofty but it’s not really that hard to do if everyone is on the same page and knows where the company is headed. Our vision for the coming years, our performance, and our growth were discussed in detail. We know how important bench-marking is and we are looking for specific improvements next year in certain areas. It is a blend of being accountable to hard numbers and facts, and then fostering trust among everyone so we keep the right culture.
This is a heavy topic to discuss and maybe not as cool as talking about HVAC equipment, maintenance, and all the technical stuff we deal with every day. But, when it comes to loving your people, we want to be known as the best in that area, too!
Thanks to everyone who supports us in any way (and that includes a lot of folks). We hope you had a happy and safe summer!
- Cal