Most business owners are focused on making sure there’s money left at the end of the month and not month left at the end of the money. In the stress and pressure of business ownership, it can be easy to forget the need to stop and celebrate from time to time.
Celebrations are important for your team. They help build an esprit de corps and reinforce the culture. When business has been especially stressful on the team and the workload has been harder than normal, pausing for a celebration is not only a reward. They help relieve the stress and sharpen the saw. Productivity increases.
Celebrations also provide opportunities for people to build interpersonal relationships. Some celebrations can help the families of employees become more invested in the company. They are also fun. All of these increase employee loyalty and retention.
How you celebrate should be consistent with your company culture. Some plumbing companies are more cake and ice cream oriented while others break out the beer and wine. If yours is the latter, be cautious about limits and liabilities, but remember that you run your company, not the lawyers. Maybe you celebrate at the shop and maybe you take it to a nearby tavern or restaurant with the first round or two on the company.
Companies that make an effort to celebrate, perform better over time. Their workforces tend to be more engaged and loyal. Here are five times you can celebrate.
1. Company Milestones
When the company attains major milestones, stop and recognize them. These could be sales achievements, such as the first million dollar year or million dollar month. They could be based on the number of service calls, customers, water heaters replaced, company workdays without an accident, or any other metric that is meaningful to your company.
2. Anniversaries
Two types of anniversaries merit recognition and celebration. The first is company anniversaries. Every year in business is a reason to celebrate and major anniversaries occur every five years. Break out the champagne and toast your success.
The second type of anniversary is employee anniversaries with the company. When someone hits the five- or ten-year mark, do something special for the employee. Not only does this make the employee feel good, but it’s a strong message to the rest of the team that your company is a place to build a career.
3. Life Events
When employees experience major life events you have an opportunity to recognize them, celebrate them, and involve their families. These include wedding showers, baby showers, and birthdays. They can also include promotion announcements.
4. Stress Relief
As a business leader, you should know the pulse of your team. There will be times when the stress builds and needs to be let off. Call a happy hour, special lunch, or other way of letting the pressure off that’s consistent with your company culture.
5. Holidays
Holidays are great times for celebration and they occur every month. Some are obvious like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some may not be your thing, such as Halloween, but your team might be into it and want to dress up and decorate the office. Let them.
Don’t forget the plumbing specific days, such as World Plumbing Day on March 11, Hug a Plumber Day on April 25, World Toilet Day on November 19, and other dates.
Need help with sales promotions around your celebrations? Check out the wide variety of collateral at www.ServiceRoundtable.com. Also, for inspiration and practical ideas to as a plumbing company business leader, pick up a copy of Matt Michel’s book, “Contractor Stories” at Amazon.
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Joan Paris