Love my Job Archives - High Performance Coach Cindy Donaldson

Company Culture – It’s Why I Joined Red Barn

Leave a Comment / Culture, Fun Stuff, Uncategorized / By Cindy Donaldson / July 20, 2017 / company culture, corporate, dress code, jeans, jenn donovan, job hunt, job search, Love my Job, red barn consulting, retaining employees

If you’ve read my bio, you know that I’m not the “corporate type.” I’m much happier kicked back in jeans, a t-shirt and flip flops (or sneakers in cooler weather). And even though I’m technically a millennial, I’ve tried enough of the corporate world to know that it’s just not a fit for me.

I spent about 6 years working for a few different corporate companies, but I always felt restless and afraid to rock the boat for fear of getting fired. I could never put my finger on what was missing to make me happy though. At first, I thought it was money. So, I left my first corporate job after almost 5 years for something slightly different that paid more. I spent 2 miserable months at the new job trying to make it work. Guess what?! It wasn’t the money that was the problem. The people were nice enough too, but something just wasn’t working. So, with no plan on what I was going to do, I quit. I enjoyed 6 amazing weeks during the Summer lounging by my pool in between job interviews trying to find the perfect job.

Sadly, my summer staycation came to an end, but I was excited to start a new corporate job doing something very different from what I had done in the past. I’d be able to use a different skill set from my repertoire, and learn some new things as well. I really thought this was going to be my dream job. After a few months, I was bored out of my mind and that restless feeling had started to set in. I started my job hunt, again, waiting for something to come along that really felt right.

A few months later I came across an ad on Indeed for an operations position for a small marketing company. SPOILER ALERT: it was with Red Barn. The job sounded challenging, marketing was certainly something I hadn’t done before, and the real kicker – I got to work from home. After meeting with Cindy, I knew this was the job for me. And if you ask Cindy how the interview went, she’ll tell you I totally interviewed her! I was scared to start over yet again, so I had to make sure this was the right fit. Some people are intimated by Cindy, I get it, she’s a strong personality, but something just clicked. I knew I had found my home! Now it wasn’t all butterflies and unicorns at first as my BFF Kim likes to remind me. It took some time to fine tune my relationship with Cindy and learn how to work together. BUT, I finally realized what the missing piece was – Culture.

For me, I just didn’t fit in with the corporate model. And that’s OK – it’s not for everyone. But, having a company culture that allows me to be myself is. In the past, I had a set dress code, set work hours, and I never felt comfortable expressing my concerns or issues to my supervisors. Finding a company where I can work when I feel inspired, wear what I’m comfortable in, and have the confidence to tell my boss when she’s being a Jerk was the missing puzzle piece. I needed the flexibility and honestly that the culture at Red Barn offers.

So, I guess the moral of my story is – no matter how much money you make, how much you like the people you work with, at the end of the day it comes back to Company Culture. Employees will stick around longer if they feel appreciated, empowered, and like they are making a difference. And that directly affects their work and their interactions with customers.

If you want to share your company culture stories I’d love to hear them – good or bad – drop me an email!

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PTO – take every last second. That’s an order.

I think we can all agree that having Paid Time Off (PTO) is a huge perk for employees. But if your employees aren’t using the time off, then it should be a red flag. Years ago, most companies thought that employees who didn’t use PTO were more productive, but after some research, it was determined that the opposite is true. Not taking PTO can take a physical and emotional toll on workers, and potentially make them unhappy and unproductive. In contrast, well-rested and recharged employees may view their workplace more positively. High employee morale has a positive impact on the workplace, company culture, and the bottom line.

Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness and founder of the consulting firm GoodThink, found that when \”the brain can think positively, productivity improves by 31 percent, sales increase by 37 percent, and creativity and revenues can triple.\”. The U.S. Travel Association’s Project: Time Off found that employees who take all their vacation time increase their chances of getting promoted and getting a raise by 6.5 percent, compared with people who leave 11 or more days of paid vacation unused.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t use all my PTO – even though Cindy tries to make me. Surveys discovered that the reason many employees don’t use all their vacation time is because they worry that no one else can do their job. Now, I’m not saying no one else at Red Barn can do my job, but I have a tough time giving up control. Before you start rolling your eyes thinking I’m a moron for choosing work over a Margarita and the beach – I do take at least 2 vacations a year. I just may sneak in checking my email at least once or twice a day.

A few companies made the news a year or two ago when they decided to offer their employees unlimited vacation. You might remember hearing about it, but you may not have heard the results on how it went. The company Mammoth decided to give it a try, and while the employees ranked it as the third highest employee benefit, each employee averaged the same amount of days off as when they had an accrual system.

But that’s really not the important take away from the vacation policy. It conveyed three things to the employees:

1. The company views its staff holistically–acknowledging that employees have demands and interests beyond work that can’t always be scheduled in advance.
2. Unlimited vacation policies convey trust, and put the responsibility for making sure the work gets done on the employee before they take time off
3. Unlimited vacation treats employees as individuals. Time off is a personal issue – everyone needs a different amount, and it changes from year to year.

While you might not be ready to go down the unlimited route yet, encouraging employees to take their allotted time off to relax, reboot, and enjoy some time away from the office should be on the To Do list.

Curious what sparked this blog topic? Shoot me an email and I’ll send you some photos from the island paradise I just returned from!