Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that anyone you want to work with most
Speaker 1: likely has choices about where they want to work. So
Speaker 1: no matter the size of people's paychecks, it is best
Speaker 1: to manage team members as if they were volunteers. They
Speaker 1: have to want to be there. If they do want
Speaker 1: to be there, everything will work a lot better. Today's tip,
Speaker 1: like a few others over the past few weeks, comes
Speaker 1: from the book Setting the Table, The Transforming Power of
Speaker 1: Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer of Shakeshack and Union
Speaker 1: Square Cafe fame. In the book, Meyer shares insights he's
Speaker 1: learned from the restaurant business that are relevant for people
Speaker 1: in just about any field. Danny Meyer advises treating your
Speaker 1: employees like volunteers. When you are managing volunteers, you know
Speaker 1: they are there because they chose to be, so you
Speaker 1: are mindful of that. You know they can leave at
Speaker 1: any point, so you generally try to thank them and
Speaker 1: make sure they feel they did something useful, and if
Speaker 1: they are doing something menial, you tie it to the
Speaker 1: organization's larger goals. Danny Meyer points out that staff like volunteers,
Speaker 1: are working with you because they want to be Now, sure,
Speaker 1: they may need to have some sort of job, but
Speaker 1: there are a lot of jobs in this world. They
Speaker 1: chose to work for you in particular, so you need
Speaker 1: to cultivate their se satisfaction with the job, understanding that
Speaker 1: they have the ability to walk out the door and
Speaker 1: work for someone else quite easily. Meyer writes, I believe
Speaker 1: anyone who is qualified for a job in our company
Speaker 1: is also qualified for many other jobs at the same
Speaker 1: pay scale. It's up to us to provide solid reasons
Speaker 1: for our employees to want to work for us over
Speaker 1: and beyond their compensation. That is good advice anytime, but
Speaker 1: especially now when many employers are finding it hard to
Speaker 1: attract and retain great staff. Satisfied team members are more
Speaker 1: likely to stick with you, so you don't have to
Speaker 1: spend all of your precious time hiring and training new people. Now.
Speaker 1: Meyer doesn't give too many specifics about how exactly you
Speaker 1: treat your staff members like volunteers, but here are a
Speaker 1: few ideas. Make sure everyone can connect their work to
Speaker 1: the big picture purpose or mission of your organization. Don't
Speaker 1: just focus on something being a mundane task, also focus
Speaker 1: on the ultimate meaning of it. Second, respect your employees
Speaker 1: and don't waste their time. Even if someone is getting paid.
Speaker 1: It is demoralizing not to be able to get anything done,
Speaker 1: so make sure everyone has what they need to do
Speaker 1: their jobs well and efficiently. Third, thank your employees. You
Speaker 1: can send encouraging emails or praise people publicly at staff meetings,
Speaker 1: take people out to lunch, or whatever fits with organizational culture.
Speaker 1: One big reason people quit jobs is that they don't
Speaker 1: feel appreciated, so don't assume that a paycheck is the
Speaker 1: only appreciation team members need. After all, any of your
Speaker 1: competitors can give them that. Finally, create a positive company culture,
Speaker 1: so people take pride in being affiliated with you and
Speaker 1: your organization. Make it easy for people to make friends,
Speaker 1: make people want to tell people that they work for you.
Speaker 1: A competitor can offer the same amount of money, but
Speaker 1: they can't offer the exact same culture or you, so
Speaker 1: think about this intentionally. In any case, if people want
Speaker 1: to work for you, they will do a better job
Speaker 1: and be less likely to leave. When you think of
Speaker 1: your staff as volunteers, because honestly, everyone is a volunteer,
Speaker 1: you will all reap the benefits beyond a paycheck. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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