The Hallmark of Internal Stakeholder Relations Done Well?
A Birthday Card, from Your CEO
It’s
refreshing to see the CEO of a large corporation have that personal connection
to all their team members. It often goes without question that the larger the organisation,
the less in touch people are, especially through the hierarchy, but this does
not need to be the case. You don’t need daily communication from the CEO, but
you do need some element of personal communication to humanise the position,
and to ensure that lines of communication are in fact established, and somewhat
functional, even if not regularly utilised.
As an entrepreneur, I am always in touch with my team. Be it for work activities,
or celebrating important moments. It is a given. But, what if I had 1000
employees? Or more?
One CEO
(and I’m sure that there will be more) has found a great method. It might keep
him busy, but the end result has got to be positive. Improved internal
stakeholder relations, easier communication flows, and that all-important humanisation
of management. A vested interest, so to speak, beyond the bottom line.
Business Insider shared an inspirational story this
morning regarding a forward-thinking CEO; one who realises the power of
building relationships at every level. Kudos to Sheldon Yellen for finding ways of
staying in the loop, and being a human
boss!
____________________
A CEO Who Writes 9,200 Employee Birthday Cards a Year Explains the Value of Gratitude
If you happen to sit next to Sheldon Yellen on your next flight,
chances are he’ll be writing birthday cards – lots and lots of them.
Yellen is the CEO of Belfor Holdings Inc, a disaster-relief and
property-restoration company. And since 1985, long before Yellen was chief executive,
he has written a birthday card to every employee of the company every single
year.
Today, as CEO, he says he handwrites 9,200 cards annually – one
for every employee.
Yellen started the practice in 1985. He says he started doing it after
he was hired by his brother-in-law, since many of the current employees felt he
was being given special treatment. If nothing else, the birthday cards would
encourage people to stop by his desk to say thank you, he thought.
“And it worked,” he said. “It got people talking, we started to
communicate more, and I like to think it helped me earn respect within the
company.”
The Importance
of Workplace Gratitude
Fast forward to today, and Yellen is now bringing suitcases full of
stationery with him on every plane trip he takes.
But the practice isn’t just for the thank you – Yellen writes thank-you
notes, anniversary cards, holiday cards, and writes to his employees’ kids when
they are sick, company director of marketing communications Alexandra Gort told
Business Insider in 2019.
Yellen has found taking the time to write out a card for each and every
person has created a culture of compassion through the whole company.
“It’s also something that doesn’t have to cost a thing,” he said. “When
I learn of random acts of kindness being performed in the field, I take it upon
myself to again, reach out in writing, and send a thank you card so that person
can know they are appreciated and that their efforts don’t go unnoticed.”
Yellen has a point: career experts say the best managers are ones who often dole out
positive reinforcement to hard-workers. Workers told Business Insider that the traits they admire in their bosses are when they
can call attention to career accomplishments, and expresses genuine interest in
their well-being.
Yellen, for one, said his gesture made for a more compassionate,
gracious workplace. Some managers have even taken up the habit themselves to
write cards for their team members, clients, and loved ones.
Other CEOs may consider the gesture frivolous or a waste of time, but
Yellen is quick to disagree. He said his experience has taught him that the
value keeps coming back in spades.
“When leaders forget about the human element, they’re holding back their
companies and limiting the success of others,” he said. “Focusing only on
profit and forgetting that a company’s most important asset is its people will
ultimately stifle a company’s growth.”
____________________
Source: Abridged from https://www.businessinsider.my/ceo-writes-7400-employee-birthday-cards-each-year-2017-6/?utm_content=buffer0c6a4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-ti&r=US&IR=T
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