Many HR folks would argue that cultivating a desired culture is perhaps the toughest task to accomplish from a personnel standpoint. And no one would dispute that degree of difficulty; going from the culture you have to the type you, as an executive, would like it to be is daunting. Sometimes it means bidding farewell to those who do not align with your desired values. It’s a process not without headache and heartache.
But as we’ve seen, culture is a journey and not a destination. It can unravel much easier than it was established. Unwittingly onboarding a future malcontent can taint the atmosphere and foment dissension. Mobile workforces can cause a disconnect between and within departments. And a rash of team member resignations, even when they’re not a product of dissension, can cause their teammates to question whether they’re really content and happy with your dealership as an employee destination.
But are turnover and resignations true or potential causes? In this week’s State of the Industry report on culture, we’ve canvassed our dealer panel as to the greatest challenges they see in maintaining the status quo.
The pandemic certainly put every office environment in a state of flux, and the return to office (which is still in progress to a degree) was geography-dependent. And with most companies concerned with maintaining business networks and equipping people to work from home, culture wasn’t the highest priority. However, The Swenson Group of Livermore, California, mobilized from a team member standpoint and created (on their own) what they called the Culture Club (with apologies to Boy George).
According to President Dean Swenson, the committee organized fun remote events like wine tasting and scavenger hunts to keep everyone connected. Even today, the club organizes five to seven events per year—bowling, bocce, barbecues, baseball games, white elephant holiday gift exchanges and holiday parties, among other activities.
“This group constantly keeps the morale up and focuses on bringing the fun factor to the company,” he said. “While we are still hybrid, this team has helped keep connected.”
In general, Chris Taylor has never been a big fan of remote work, but the CEO of Fisher’s Technology in Boise, Idaho, believes his dealership has struck a nice hybrid balance. It helps that his dealership is “obsessed” with creating and maintaining a tremendous culture. But while there is harmony within Fisher’s house, outside influences have a way of peeking through. The company has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to toxic people, regardless of whether it’s a delivery person or a top sales performer. Keeping the tranquility is paramount.
“There’s a lot of things happening outside our walls. COVID, wars around the world, elections, interest rates climbing,” he said. “People bring all of these stressors inside our building. We just want to make sure this is a place that is safe and is comfortable and is a bit of a reprieve, perhaps, from some of those stresses.”
Maintaining open lines of communication is another challenge Taylor and Co. face. Whether internal or external, enhancing communication is necessary as companies grow, he said, particularly in an effort to prevent silos from sprouting up.
Josh Britton, president of imageOne of Oak Park, Michigan, notes his company has operated more than 50% remote even prior to the pandemic, and doesn’t see it or employee turnover as necessarily disruptive to a positive, purpose-oriented culture. The main focus is finding ways to improve the team member experience at every turn, he said, regardless of whether they are on premise or remote.
“With respect to evolving how we execute, one of our biggest investments has been in establishing meaningful rhythms that include both in person and virtual team members – such as our start-of-day daily 2 second lean and gratitude huddle, our monthly all hands meeting, among others,” he said.
What Britton does find particularly challenging is helping new team additions shed habits in contrast to imageOne’s culture that became hardwired during previous workplace experiences. “Trust takes a while to build, especially if you’ve been trained to mistrust,” he noted. “Sadly, there is no shortage of companies across all industries that reinforce and reward those dysfunctional ways of working.”
Managing a culture of 50 employees is obviously a far cry from one with 500 people, which is the case with Loffler Companies of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. As those people are spread across 15 locations, it’s natural to see subcultures develop and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, according to President James Loffler.
It’s important to be intentional about leadership and develop relationships, he said, and ensure that the great things taking place at the outer offices are being shared throughout the company. “I need to be a cheerleader for that as well, to make sure that it’s not just HQ that everyone’s hearing about,” he said. “The branch locations should be equally recognized, even though I don’t see them every day.”
