Last week, our President, Project Manager and myself (Administrative Manager) had the opportunity to attend an event at Scioto Country Club where Hunter Lott was the key speaker. Hunter is a business coach who specializes in Human Resource practices. His presentations are informative, engaging and entertaining. Lott has traveled throughout the US delivering the dos and don’ts of HR practices and the legal ramifications that go along with them.
I have to say that even though I am more interested in the nitty-gritty details of HR than most, Lott’s presentation pleasantly exceeded my expectations. While he did focus on the details, even personally going through attendee’s handbooks to draw connections, he also focused on the bigger picture. Most people look at HR as a resource, one to make the best legal decisions, regarding staff primarily. However, Lott focused on the idea that a company’s culture is closely related to its HR policies. It seems obvious enough if you think about it but I think this is an idea that tends to slip away from a company’s mindset, which can largely affect the culture. Think about the tough conversations, the annual reviews and even the occasional uneasy conversations we all must have when letting an employee go. In all of these instances, it is how our companies handle them that define a company’s culture. If we avoid and put off the tough stuff, we are demonstrating to the rest of the company to do the same thing. Would we really want an employee to avoid calling a client because they needed to have a hard and maybe a little uncomfortable conversation? Every business that has a great company culture leans on various company core values but the most important values will always be trust and honesty.
When you begin to think of how onboarding an employee, conducting interviews or scheduling exit an interview has much more to do with simply getting the correct paperwork filed away, you are able to see how these small action items affect your company overall. With this understanding, you are more likely to take more time with employees, provide them honest feedback and overall affect your company positively. Being the leader and teaching by example is the best way for a staff to learn and grow in the correct direction.
If you ever have the opportunity to see Hunter Lott speak, it will certainly be well worth your time. Having the opportunity to attend an event like this, only reminded me how truly invested Switchbox is in creating a great company culture. I really value working for a company that is willing to give up some time and money in order to better our working environment for our staff.
For more information on Hunter Lott, see the link below.