Access Development has won multiple “Best Companies to Work For” awards thanks in large part to the efforts of our management team and their unique, employee-centric workplace philosophies. In order to give readers the whole view of Access (and not just our loyalty and discount programs), we asked our HR Director Gina Yoder to occasionally add a post about working at Access.
A few days ago, I reconnected with my first really excellent boss, Doug.
Prior to Doug, I’d experienced a plethora of less-than-ideal leadership in my career: one supervisor was consistently absent; one a micromanaging control-freak; another was so timid I never knew what was expected of me on the job; then, a hotheaded yeller; yet another acted the uber-friend who shielded the team from all negative news, ignored bad behavior and made excuses for substandard employees instead of coaching, disciplining and accurately rating performance.Ugh!Hardly reasons to enjoy work.
Luckily, I landed a position working for “Doug.”Doug’s open and honest communication, passion for the business, patient demeanor, dedication to excellence, professional respect, consistent goodwill, and genuine interest in helping everyone in the office excel (on the job and in their personal life) were daily demonstrations.Who wouldn’t thrive under such leadership?I certainly did.
I was sad to leave Doug’s firm a few years later when my husband got transferred to another state.I then had high expectations of my next employer; now that I had experienced fantastic leadership, I didn’t want to work for a sub-par manager.
Plenty of data suggests that good leaders are a recipe for success.According to management researcher Chandra Louise, 80 percent of the employees who quit their jobs do so because of problems with their bosses.Good leadership leads to higher employee retention (turnover is expensive), higher morale (happy employees are more productive), happier customers (happy employees treat customers better).Together, they mean fatter profits for the company.
It’s my feeling that EVERYONE should get to work with excellent leaders, and that managers should strive to be well-trained, great bosses.Fortunately, this is a philosophy deeply ingrained at Access.We invest in finding, creating and cultivating great leadership because it pays for itself.
Over the past 27 years, Access has nurtured entry-level employees into becoming the fantastic, senior-level managers who lead our company today. Our Organizational Development department spearheads leadership training with formal classroom sessions, monthly one-on-one coaching, 360 reviews and self-study programs.
It’s a simple concept, but one that’s overlooked far too often: great leaders make great companies. It’s thanks in no small part to our fine leaders that Access employees continue to thrive, and the company continues to excel.
The post The Tangible Value of a Great Boss appeared first on The Access Loyalty Blog.
