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People, Planning and Pampering
By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk, president
Last week, we closed the office on Thursday to do our annual planning day. While there’s never a convenient time for this task, it is well worth the effort. The goal is to take a look at what we’ve done well in 2012 and address any areas that need to improve. We analyze our financials and discuss each client individually. We then talk about 2013, how we want to grow, the types of clients we’d like to pursue and how we will market our firm to those audiences.
While we do this type of planning for clients regularly, it is a completely different exercise when looking at your own company. But it’s a very worthwhile endeavor. Kelly and Sarah had a lot to add and brought their own experience and perspective to the conversation. We discussed ways we can improve, things that each of us can do to streamline our processes and ways that I can be a better manager. You have to be open-minded for it to really work, but the input you get is invaluable and only serves to make your company that much stronger.
On that note, I want to say how fortunate I am to have such an amazing team at bbr marketing. Without my employees, Kelly and Sarah, the company wouldn’t be anywhere near the success it is today. The level of hard work and dedication they bring on a daily basis is frankly incredible. Their humor and blunt honesty keep me on my toes and ensure that we never get too comfortable or complacent. I couldn’t be surrounded by two more talented partners.
We are also supported by a team of amazing contractors – graphic designers, web developers, printers and more – that consistently deliver the high quality of work we insist upon and put up with our often erratic schedules and requests.
Finally, I believe that to whom much has been given, much is expected. Or put another way, I’m a believer in rewarding hard work. So after we spent the morning looking back at 2012 and forward to 2013, we raised a toast to a good year and promptly went to a celebratory lunch at Le Petit Marche and then next door to Jazmin Spa for massages, facials and mani/pedis. By the end of the day we were pampered within an inch of our lives and ready to start fresh on Friday.
Why do I share all this? First, I think public appreciation is nice and I want those who work with us to know their efforts are not for naught. Secondly, I encourage other business owners to let your team know they are important and reward them for jobs well done. It’s not as hard as you think and it will be greatly appreciated.
I love that you publicly recognize your people’s dedication and talent and that you realize the importance of also treating them to something special. I’d expect no less of you, though.
One company I worked for treated everyone kind of poorly all year and drove them into the ground without so much as an “attaboy” but threw an amazing, expensive holiday party, as if that would make up for the rest of the year somehow. And another company never did anything at all for their employees, either during the year or around the holidays. I’m not here to just vent about it and sound all bitter. 🙂 My point is that actually showing your employees that they mean something to you other than making you money goes SUCH a long way in company morale. You end up with employees who care more and therefore want to work harder because they feel like it’s a team effort, a common goal. They feel more inspired, and that becomes reflected in every facet of the company. Yes, you give them a paycheck, but people just want to know they matter and are appreciated. It would be like being married to someone and knowing they love you but never hearing them say the words.
And yay for Le Petit Marche. 😉