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I am passionate about the topic of having a joyful journey while achieving success as a CEO (you’ll know this if you listen to The Journey to CEO Success Podcast). But what about the people who work for us? Why does their joy matter, and what role do we play in it?
My friend John DiJulius recently joined me on the podcast and shared about a rather original metric he set for his employees: “How excited are you on Sunday night vs. Friday night?”
This isn’t a trick question or a sneaky loyalty test. John wants to see where his employees are deriving their joy, and if they are not happy at work, he wants to change that. “We want money to be the least valuable thing [employees] get from working here,” he shared with me. “We want to train and fulfill the whole person and make them better in all areas…not just ‘how can I make you more productive so we can be more profitable?’.”
By investing in his employees’ happiness, John has made his work culture a competitive advantage.
Making Employees Happy: The Return on Investment
Why put time and effort into creating a joyful workplace? There are real business benefits:
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- In hard economic times, when you cannot draw people in with sky-high compensation, culture becomes a key factor in attracting the best talent
- An attractive company culture helps you retain your best talent—the A-Players who help you realize your strategic vision
- Happy employees are more engaged and passionate, and they lift their teams up rather than bringing them down—especially if they’re managers
Yes, happy employees typically provide a much better ROI (Return on Investment) than unhappy employees. This is something to consider seriously if you want to grow a successful business.
But don’t forget the human reasons for building a joyful culture:
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- As a CEO or business leader, you have a powerful influence over the lives of many people. Why not use your influence for good, making life better for all those people?
- Happy people are more fun to work with! If you want your own journey to be joyful, build a joyful culture. Employees with low morale take the air right out of a room. They won’t engage with you energetically and creatively, but happy employees will bring passion and enthusiasm to almost everything they do.
Leveling Up Your Employee Experience
How do you take your employees’ experience to the next level? Start by getting serious about the mindsets and core values that build the cultural foundation of your company. These mindsets and core values, when kept front and center, will shape your employees’ behaviors and attitudes. At Rhythm Systems, our core values are:
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- Go the 2nd Mile: Anticipate needs. When asked for something, think, anticipate the real need, and do that for customers AND for each other.
- Family is a Blessing: Remember that we work hard for our families AND our Rhythm family as well. When family emergencies happen, company responsibilities do not magically go away. We encourage team members to take care of their family, and arrange for the team to help out with their responsibilities.
- Keep Smart: Continue to learn and make progress. Learn to become a better version of yourself tomorrow.
- Be Appreciative: Start with Gratitude. Be thankful for our environment, our culture and for each team member. Be positive.
- No TDC: No Thinly Disguised Contempt. This means to resolve issues. Don't let issues between each other go unsettled. This is critical to maintain a culture of transparency, respect, and accountability. We will inadvertently disappoint or step on each other's toes, or misunderstand each other. Resolve it. Do not let stories build up in our minds that undermine our working relationships and kill the joy of working with each other.
When we practice these daily, and when leadership models them, we create a healthy and vibrant workplace.
There are many ways to create a joyful workplace, but think beyond pizza parties and ping pong tables. Those are “nice to haves”, but they will not make up for a culture in which employees do not feel cared for as human beings.
Consider the Impact of Who You Hire
John DiJulius shared with me, “Our employees do not get to choose who they hang out with at work. If you hired terrible teammates, you have given them a terrible environment at work, and they did not choose that. You did!”
Wow. That really impacted me. Most leaders consider skills and professional profiles when they hire. How many of us think about how the new hire will affect the work environment and the people around them?
Years ago, when I was hiring for a role at Rhythm Systems, I was considering the potential impact of bringing the wrong person into our team. We had found a very skilled candidate who seemed to check all the boxes. This person, if hired, would be working in our Charlotte office. I wanted to know if my team member—we’ll call her Jane—who also worked in the office would like to work with this candidate.
“She has all the right skills,” Jane told me.
“That’s not what I asked,” I replied. “Would you like to work with her?”
“I could work with her,” Jane responded politely.
“Let me put it this way,” I said. “Imagine coming to work every single day and sitting near this person. Would you look forward to that?”
“Well, now that you put it that way….”
Jane went on to explain that she had concerns about the candidate’s negative demeanor.
“Well then,” I said, “I’m going to pass on this candidate.”
Jane was stunned. She couldn’t believe I would refuse to hire this person just because she wouldn't look forward to working with her. She even told me she felt guilty for costing this person the job.
“Don’t feel guilty,” I assured her. “You should be protecting your work environment. Now is not the time to be the nice guy or gal. Don’t let people who shouldn’t come in here come in here.”
If I had hired for skills alone, the new employee might have sucked the joy right out of Jane’s work experience—not to mention the experience of other teammates, too.
As leaders, we decide who our team members spend their days with. We should understand that responsibility and intentionally hire people who will make our employees’ lives better.
The Workplace of Tomorrow is Joyful for Everyone
If you care about staying ahead of the competition, and you are in pursuit of a joyful life journey, take your employees’ emotional wellbeing seriously. If you choose not to care, you will likely have a team of unenthusiastic people who show up, fulfill their duties, collect their paychecks, and leave. But if you choose to actively invest in a wonderful working experience, you will attract and retain A-Players who come to work inspired, energized, and ready to pursue big dreams together.
I have so much more to share on this topic, including personal stories from myself and our clients with practical lessons you can start applying now. To learn more, check out my latest book, The Journey to CEO Success: 7 Practices for High-Growth Leaders.