CAM Spring/Summer 2002: Moore

I am often asked, "How did AMJ Campbell become so successful?" The short answer is, "Our people." I am the first person to admit that the company would never have achieved the degree of success it has were it not for the kind of people who’ve joined the organization over the years. But I have to tell you right up front that I have never believed in advertising for new employees. There are far better ways to recruit the right kind of people. You want people who are on your wavelength, who share your values, and who are easy to motivate. Topnotch employees are the formula for business success.

As an entrepreneur, you make a serious mistake if you settle for less than the best when you choose new employees. Some entrepreneurs and managers are reluctant to hire people they perceive to be better than themselves. But I’ve always been a great believer in surrounding myself with the most talented people I can find. I’ve always tried very hard to recruit people who have a combination of the right skills and the right attitude.

To succeed in business, you have to be prepared for good times and bad. Every business has its ups and downs, but if you have employees with good skills and the right attitude, you can make the best of any situation that comes your way. In our case, this is especially true. The moving business can sometimes be quite problematic, so it is imperative to have employees who view things in a positive way and thrive on being constantly challenged.

If you want to be a winner in business, there’s an old truism you should remember: Winners surround themselves with other winners. Assemble the right group of employees and there is nothing that you can’t accomplish together. It’s true that most entrepreneurs are fairly bright people. They are competitive and hardworking and genuinely want to succeed. One mistake they sometimes make is in not realizing that you can’t do it alone.

Employees must become entrepreneurs in their own right by taking ownership of the job. To develop an entrepreneurial spirit, employees must feel as if they own part of the company and that what they do has an impact on the company’s success. Regardless of their function, employees should constantly be trying to "sell" the company to everyone they come in contact with. Harvey MacKay, the dynamic owner of the MacKay Envelope Company and the author of countless business books, including Swim with the Sharks, obviously feels the same way about his company. When he was asked by a reporter, "How many salespeople do you have?" he replied, "350." Then the reporter said, "Wow, how many employees do you have?" Harvey immediately quipped, "350." Everyone is a salesperson. After all, if your employees don’t believe in the company, then how can you expect your customers to?

The late great Sam Walton of Wal-Mart fame once said that the ten most powerful words in business are: People tend to support best that which they help to create.

Motivating people is an integral part of running a successful business. Robert Waterman, Jr., co-author of In Search of Excellence, identified some of the key factors in his book, Organizing for Success, including:

Control – People need a sense of control over their jobs – Empower your employees

Something to Believe In – People need to feel that their organization stands for something – that what they do makes a difference

Challenge – People need to be challenged – as John Gardner stated in his book, Morale, "We are all Problem Seekers"

Lifelong Learning – People need the opportunity to take on more responsibility and challenges

Recognition – People need to be appreciated for their contributions

It’s not necessary to make every person a "clone" of yourself to create a successful team. In fact, it is far more effective to use all the unique and varied strengths of the individuals in combination with one another.

Motivation is about respecting the individual and encouraging people to achieve their personal best. Only by reaching their individual goals can people fully function as part of a team.

There is another aspect to motivating employees that many entrepreneurs fail to take into account – trust. If your employees do not trust you or are suspicious of your motives, it is unlikely they will ever be a fully functioning member of your team. In his 1989 article for Harvard Business Review titled "Nobody Trusts the Boss – Now What?" Fernando Batoleme stated that to build trust you need:

Communication – which means keeping subordinates informed, providing accurate feedback, explaining decisions and policies and being candid about one’s own problems.

Support – means showing concern for subordinates as people. It means being available and approachable. It means helping people, encouraging them and coaching them.

Respect – feeds on itself. The most important form of respect is delegation and the second-most important is listening to subordinates and acting on their opinions. It shows genuine respect for their judgment and intelligence.

It is all well and good to create the ideal environment for success, but it is also imperative for employees to understand that they must pay their way or be gone. Some of the most talented people fail to achieve real success, because they don’t work hard enough.

I have an operating standard of show me, prove to me that you do contribute significantly to the company. Our employees know that they must be able to prove that their work has value and that their salary and benefits costs are covered by what they produce for the company.

I don’t believe in coddling employees. After all, they are adults. I’m here for help but only if they’re sincere about wanting help. In any company, there are employees who are just not right for the organization. Harvey MacKay uses a line that sums it up very nicely: It isn’t the people you fire who make your life miserable, it’s the people you don’t.

Every couple of years or so, from early in my leadership of AMJ Campbell, I would take a close look at the lowest-performing ten percent or so of our employees and get rid of them. This kind of change in a company makes people work harder, and everyone knew that if they weren’t doing well in their positions, I wasn’t afraid to fire them.

Usually you can’t let emotion get in the way. Firing people is a really horrible thing to have to do, but it’s simply part of running a business. Of course, we’re not talking about going up to someone at their desk, out of the blue, and saying, "Here’s your coat and there’s the door."

First I would usually call people into my office at least once to discuss their performance. And I would never mention a negative aspect of their work without mentioning a positive. These discussions were done in a civilized manner. I would tell them, "You have a problem," and I’d be specific about what the problem was. People have to know that they are accountable for the way they perform on the job. But I would also tell the person that I wanted him and the company to be able to work together. Soon after, I would follow this discussion up with a letter, and I would document the conversation that took place.

Some 75 percent of the people I approached in that manner were gone within a short period after I started to have these talks with them. Of course, once I started sending more than one letter, the writing was really on the wall. I would write two letters in some cases, but rarely a third one. As an entrepreneur you have to protect yourself from wrongful dismissal suits.

It’s been my experience that most people don’t change a great deal. Warnings might work if it is just a temporary slip in performance. If the problem was simply a bad fit with our organization, I would even offer a letter of recommendation.

As well, I believe that a person makes his own bed in life. Anyone who comes to work for Campbell knows going in what’s expected of him. If he isn’t doing his best, then he is just not right for the company.

If you as an employer have proper documentation and if you offer to help the dismissed worker out, the person is left with her dignity intact and is usually less vindictive than someone who leaves feeling insulted or betrayed.

I’ve been fortunate in choosing people who were exactly right for the company. Many of our employees were people who’d either approached us directly or been referred by other employees, so we have never had to spend much money on advertising or personnel agencies. I believe in promoting from within or networking on the outside to find topnotch employees. Part of my reasoning is that you never know who you will get through an ad. It’s very hard to check out anyone’s references these days, so we much prefer interviewing people who are referred to us. I’ve also been quite successful in recruiting people I’ve observed working for others and who impressed me with their interpersonal skills, work ethic, and attitude.

I believe that attitude is everything. If a person approaches life in a positive manner, that will be reflected in his work. I demand a considerable amount from my employees and they know it. If they perform well, they’re rewarded accordingly.

At Campbell we try very hard to give employees the kind of creative and supportive environment that motivates them to strive to do their best. We don’t get hung up on employee manuals, and all our managers, including me, have an open-door policy, so that employees feel free to let us know what they are thinking and how they feel they are doing. We encourage them to make the best use of their time to maximize their performance.

People who really enjoy their work don’t think of it as work. They don’t count the hours they spend at the job. Instead, they look at what they have accomplished.

To be able to motivate your employees is just as crucial as their willingness to work long and hard. And it’s a further responsibility of an employer not to demotivate employees.

What do I mean by that? Well, you have to know what’s happening with them, even in their outside lives. And you have to be tuned into them, to somehow sense if they are having a bad day. Don’t ignore that. There is no way an employee can totally separate what might be happening in her personal life from what goes on at work. Problems in either area will always affect job performance. Be proactive. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Too often, an employee is reluctant to share what is bothering her because of embarrassment, but will open up if you probe a little. Ask what’s wrong; how can I be of assistance?

Over the years I’ve made a point of trying to stay close to the employees so that I truly understand what is going on in the company. Any entrepreneur who is sincere about keeping his employees properly motivated must make the effort to walk the office or shop floor, to chat with the employees in a casual manner, and to stay attuned to what is going on with them. The rewards are well worth the time spent.

It’s crucial to be constantly searching for ways to motivate your employees, encourage them to expand their horizons, and make them feel valued. In return they will give you dedication and commitment. What more can an employer ask for?

This excerpt from On the Move by Tim Moore is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd. In 2001, Mr. Moore was recognized for his contributions to the Canadian moving industry as the first recipient of CAM’s Distinguished Service Award. He was selected to receive this award because he exemplifies the standards that CAM promotes for quality of operations in its mission statement: he serves as a positive role model for others in the industry, demonstrates leadership, commitment and integrity, and has made significant contributions to the Canadian moving industry.

Employees Will Make You Money