Lesson #3: Hire Good People and Take Good Care of Them
Lesson #3: Hire Good People and Take Good Care of Them
It was to this end that Penney took the time to choose his staff shrewdly. He understood that the future of his business rested in the hands of his associates, and thus spent much time and energy devoted to finding and training them. In 1903, after the success of his first Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Penney was placed in charge of a second store in Rock Springs, Wyoming. It was here that Penney’s managerial skills were largely tested. After discovering the clerk would often close the store early so he could perform an instrument in local dances, Penney immediately fired him. A replacement with a much stronger work ethic was subsequently hired.
Penney did not take the hiring process lightly. He placed advertisements in newspapers across the American Midwest and personally interviewed all of the prospective trainees. He wanted his stores to be staffed by the best. But Penney was astute enough to recognize that it took more than a strict hiring regime to ensure a strong team. Once people were brought on board, he knew he had to take good care of them.
To this end, Penney established an employment department, which immediately set out to create a company newsletter. In 1917, “The Dynamo” was launched, to which Penney himself regularly contributed articles about his own life and personal experiences. Initially, the newsletter was meant to train and educate its readers, but it would quickly become a uniting force that instilled loyalty and pride amongst the associates.
Penney understood that many of his employees came from the same humble beginnings as he did, and thus established an Education Department within the company. In 1921, the company’s first free Business Training Course was shipped to all of its stores, offering a free correspondence course for up-to-date business training. Over 90 percent of the company’s 2,500 employees had enrolled within the first year.
Penney also made sure his staff was motivated. When any of his store managers had saved enough money, he would offer him one-third ownership in a new store. The manager was responsible for raising one-third of the necessary startup capital, while Penney would supply the remaining two-thirds. The manager would also agree to help train someone to take his place at the existing store. This not only helped motivate younger trainees, but also helped facilitate the company’s early expansion.
When he was 85 years old, Penney traveled more than 80,000 miles to visit 67 stores and continue giving the pep talks for which he had become famous over the years. He encouraged his workers with phrases such as “No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung,” and “The profit is in the last shirt in the box.”
Penney was so devoted to his associates that he even turned down two major merger offerings from Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck in the 1920s. If it meant laying off some of his personnel, Penney just could not see how such a deal would be worth it.
Lesson 3 Hire Good People and Take Good Care of Them
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It was not only Penney’s focus on the customer that drove his success. With the same amount of energy and dedication he gave to each and every visitor that entered one of his stores, so too did Penney give to his employees. Penney was a visionary; he wanted his store to have a national reach, which he knew meant ensuring long-term growth. Superior customer service alone would not be enough to achieve that. Instead, Penney understood that it would be the people behind his company that would help push it to the top.
It was to this end that Penney took the time to choose his staff shrewdly. He understood that the future of his business rested in the hands of his associates, and thus spent much time and energy devoted to finding and training them. In 1903, after the success of his first Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Penney was placed in charge of a second store in Rock Springs, Wyoming. It was here that Penney’s managerial skills were largely tested. After discovering the clerk would often close the store early so he could perform an instrument in local dances, Penney immediately fired him. A replacement with a much stronger work ethic was subsequently hired.
Penney did not take the hiring process lightly. He placed advertisements in newspapers across the American Midwest and personally interviewed all of the prospective trainees. He wanted his stores to be staffed by the best. But Penney was astute enough to recognize that it took more than a strict hiring regime to ensure a strong team. Once people were brought on board, he knew he had to take good care of them.
To this end, Penney established an employment department, which immediately set out to create a company newsletter. In 1917, “The Dynamo” was launched, to which Penney himself regularly contributed articles about his own life and personal experiences. Initially, the newsletter was meant to train and educate its readers, but it would quickly become a uniting force that instilled loyalty and pride amongst the associates.
Penney understood that many of his employees came from the same humble beginnings as he did, and thus established an Education Department within the company. In 1921, the company’s first free Business Training Course was shipped to all of its stores, offering a free correspondence course for up-to-date business training. Over 90 percent of the company’s 2,500 employees had enrolled within the first year.
Penney also made sure his staff was motivated. When any of his store managers had saved enough money, he would offer him one-third ownership in a new store. The manager was responsible for raising one-third of the necessary startup capital, while Penney would supply the remaining two-thirds. The manager would also agree to help train someone to take his place at the existing store. This not only helped motivate younger trainees, but also helped facilitate the company’s early expansion.
When he was 85 years old, Penney traveled more than 80,000 miles to visit 67 stores and continue giving the pep talks for which he had become famous over the years. He encouraged his workers with phrases such as “No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung,” and “The profit is in the last shirt in the box.”
Penney was so devoted to his associates that he even turned down two major merger offerings from Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck in the 1920s. If it meant laying off some of his personnel, Penney just could not see how such a deal would be worth it.
Lesson 3 Hire Good People and Take Good Care of Them
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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