[00:00:00.090] - Chris
Hey, man, how you doing this morning?
[00:00:02.610] - Brandon
I see what you did.
[00:00:03.570] - Chris
How's it going?
[00:00:04.180] - Brandon
I see what you did.
[00:00:04.950] - Brandon
You know what? It's going well. Actually, you know why it's going well? It all hinges on this one thing. We have a live guest today.
[00:00:11.520] - Chris
Oh, my gosh.
[00:00:12.140] - Brandon
I feel like dude, I feel like it's been a long time.
[00:00:15.960] - Chris
It has.
[00:00:16.600] - Brandon
Just like it was like pre holidays almost due.
[00:00:19.030] - Chris
Our travel and our workload has gone nuts, so and of course, everybody can relate to that. Our team has been growing. We've been and recruiting. We've got onboarding clients and doing workshops and just loving every well, loving most of it.
[00:00:31.560] - Brandon
Yeah. I don't love airports or the airplane.
[00:00:33.860] - Chris
I don't love Denver International.
[00:00:36.010] - Brandon
We've been there a million times.
[00:00:37.360] - Chris
They do some good restaurants, but whatever.
[00:00:40.010] - Brandon
Hey, who's our guest? Oh, no, you know what? Let's hang with sponsors first and then let's intro our guest.
[00:00:45.320] - Chris
Do the guest reveal.
[00:00:46.170] - Brandon
Yeah, let's do the guest.
[00:00:47.750] - Chris
Yeah. So let's start with liftify. Liftify is one of those we have several preferred partners, quite a good floodlightgrp.com. And you can see our premier partners. And we got some cool things. Something you should know about our preferred partners is that we're friends with them. We like their products. We either use it or we have clients that have used it to great effect. And so we've we've been able to vet these people, and in some cases, we've been able to negotiate little discounts and things. So go to Flightgrp.com and go to our partners page. But one of those partners is Lyftify. And it's just really fun. It's fun when you find other vendors that you can confidently refer because you know they're going to get a good experience 100% of the time. And not all of that us can say that even about our own businesses. It's like 100% batting average. Batting 1000, but that is listed. It's been our experience with Zach and his team, like they got something figured out there on how to get Google reviews. Google reviews are one of those deals. We all say we ask for them. We all say it's built into our mitigation process, outline our people.
[00:01:47.320] - Chris
We ask every time, but we know it doesn't. And we have no way of knowing because you know how it goes. So instead, partners listify, use their system. It's turnkey, it's automated, and they're getting 20% to 25% conversion rate, which industry average? It's really fun to listen to Zach nerd out. You can check out our podcast with Zach and he goes deep into it, but he knows the data. And the data is that the rest of the whole Google review industry is converting about 5% of your customers. So think about the impact of that. If you have 1000 jobs over the course of a year, you're a real strong company. You got 1000 jobs. Do you want 50 reviews spinning off of that? Or do you want 250 reviews. And what is the impact to your organic leads that you're getting off of your SEO? Well, if you listen to Zach and you listen to other people, it's huge. Massive, massive. In fact, it may be the biggest free thing you can do for your business, is just getting Google reviews and Zack's not free. Lyftify is not free, but it's dang near close compared to what it does for you.
[00:02:51.350] - Brandon
Really? Yeah. The cost is so low.
[00:02:53.020] - Chris
Okay, go to lyftify. Comfloodlight and we got a little bit of a deal there. And listen, you're not going to regret it. We know we've never had somebody come back and, oh, gosh, that was a big waste of time.
[00:03:03.440] - Brandon
No, not even close. And then, of course, you guys know we often talk about our partner with Cnr and specifically our relationship with Michelle. She runs an awesome shop. She's got an amazing media platform. You guys know there's a ton of resources and value. She's always at the front edge of what's going on. I really feel like at the end of the day, it's like what I say versus what she's doing and accomplishing and her team is accomplishing is pretty pale in comparison. They're just kicking us. They're doing some great stuff. We just ran into her at the Course Summit.
[00:03:34.350] - Chris
We met for the first time.
[00:03:37.170] - Brandon
It's so weird. It's like we hugged.
[00:03:39.280] - Chris
We're like, well, you're a real person.
[00:03:40.540] - Brandon
We're real more than two dimensions, but just top of her game. And you know what I really like, and I've said this before, I really do feel like Michelle in many ways, is a friend of the industry. She's a friend to us. As contractors, she has our best interest in mind and like, just an example of just how human she is and why I like her. She showed up at the summit. In tow is her son. And I mean, gosh, he did a great job. He was totally independent and just did his thing. But I think that's neat. I think it's cool that Michelle is not afraid to be herself and be a human and be a mom, all while being a professional, delivering just a ton of awesome opportunity and content for us as your store. So anyways, and then shameless video plug. I don't know if you can see this, but I'm holding up my Cnr mug. This thing is literally yeti it's the raddest swag gift I've ever received.
[00:04:31.600] - Chris
So.
[00:04:31.900] - Brandon
Thanks, Cnr. Okay, dude, who are we hanging with today?
[00:04:35.140] - Chris
Yeah. So at Core conference, we met Marcie Richardson. Marcie is the head of HR and Safety for Guarantee Restoration Services, or Grs, as she refers to about 150 person company that's based out of the Gulf in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She's been there five years. Prior to that, she's been in safety and HR and insurance for her whole career. So she brings an outside perspective to the industry, but also deep working with a large team like Guarantee has been on the rise. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but we've been hearing more and more about Guarantee, but yeah, so we met her. She was super engaging during the conference, one of those people that's piping up and participating in the dialogue and had some really great breakout chats in our in between sessions.
[00:05:22.060] - Brandon
She's super sharp.
[00:05:23.180] - Chris
Yeah. So anyway, it's really fun. We get in this talk, we talk about HR, and we talk specifically about some of the focus points and initiatives that they put in place and Guarantee that have really moved the needle. I mean, they're not having trouble she basically said it. We're not having trouble finding people, and they're also not losing people. So we were really curious to hear what she had to say. And I think you're going to find some golden nuggets that you can potentially implement your business right away, copy what they're doing, and potentially have some of the same success.
[00:05:51.620] - Brandon
100%.
[00:05:52.290] - Chris
That's fun.
[00:05:52.840] - Brandon
Yeah. Let's get into it.
[00:05:53.810] - Chris
Do it. Welcome back to the Head Heart and Boots Podcast. I'm Chris.
[00:06:04.670] - Brandon
And I'm Brandon. Join us as we wrestle with what it takes to transform ourselves and the.
[00:06:09.850] - Chris
Businesses we lead this industry.
[00:06:14.950] - Brandon
Marthy, welcome to the show. We are excited to have you join us. We got to hang out with you at the Core Op Summit but two weeks ago, and you've been traveling since then. But, man, Chris and I were both we were trying to do some operational leadership stuff, and we just had this voice that kept coming up with some really great content and great input throughout that event. We were just so excited about it. We're like, hey, we got to get her on the show and talk to her more about who she is, where she's come from, and the perspective that you have been building around our industry.
[00:06:48.230] - Chris
Yeah. So tell us a little bit about yourself. So what role you work here in the industry. Give us kind of your background.
[00:06:53.790] - Marcie
Yeah. So I'm the director of HR and Safety. I guarantee restoration. I've been here for a little over five years, but I've done HR, Safety, and insurance for 20 years, which is really kind of a gut punch to say that I've done anything for 20 years. Right. I am that invested, but yeah. I didn't even know that an industry like this existed until I got here at Guarantee, and now it's like it's captured my heart. Like, this is just what I live for. I love this industry. I love the people. Everybody just is invested in what they do here.
[00:07:26.020] - Chris
Yeah. Okay. Insurance. I hear insurance background, producer or claims person operations.
[00:07:32.190] - Marcie
So I was actually a broker. I have my insurance license for PNC and health. Life and accident.
[00:07:37.430] - Chris
So why, that's interesting. We share that. That's cool, you might say. Were you an independent broker then or a captive?
[00:07:45.310] - Marcie
It was an independent okay. Yeah. In South Louisiana. And I did it. Mostly. I started employee benefits and then dabbled in the PNC side a little bit, but that's where it was.
[00:07:54.140] - Brandon
So 20 years in HR and safety, that's a long time in 20 years, too. A lot has been happening. You've been a professional in a pretty difficult element of any business, but then, man, you've been in those kinds of seats through some very interesting transitions, kind of give us there's so much stuff we want to ask you. We're going to find out all the gritty detail, but just kind of give us your perspective on this arc. What have you seen happening over 20 years in that area?
[00:08:26.230] - Marcie
Yeah, I'd say 20 years ago it was personnel departments, and you're just checking boxes of what you're doing and moving along. And everybody in HR is really just the paper pushers. Right. They're just doing things that you have to do to stay compliant. And in this 20 year span, you've seen it go from checkboxes to the employee experience to having it meaningful to having work become more people operations centric. Right. And so you have gone through this whole where is the relevance for the employee and not just calling them an employee, but actually recognizing them as the person versus the person. Eight to five come in, do your job, you clock out and you're done. Right. So there has been a lot just more focus of they walk in as an employee. I mean, they're walking as a person and the employee is just the one that's behind the desk and doing the job. And so it's been really more of exactly where I wanted to start. And I've bought everybody has that old story of that the image of this old woman that's this HR person, right? No, you can't do this. Yes, you could do that.
[00:09:25.810] - Marcie
No, you can't do that. And I've never wanted to be that person. Right. And so you fight all of those kind of cliches that people have in their head, but being more people centric and being for the person and not.
[00:09:36.320] - Brandon
Just pushing the paper around, it's really interesting. There's been some bigger companies, let's put it that way. Obviously, guarantee falls in that corner as well, where the teams have very intentionally hired these voices that are bringing kind of this people centric perspective to the industry because trades, construction, all those environments that we're kind of the last to adopt this idea that people are people. But some big teams. I mean, Jenny Van Dehey, maybe you've even heard her been on the show a couple of times, she's just a real advocate and a great voice for people power, essentially, and developing the whole person. Since you've come on the team, you've been in the industry, you said, about five years, right?
[00:10:20.780] - Marcie
Right.
[00:10:21.350] - Brandon
What was it like when you first got into the industry in regard to that human element what were you seeing?
[00:10:28.950] - Marcie
It was the same thing. Well, in this industry is different. And let me say that is that they're going out and shoveling and working late night hours. And so you have to recognize what are they doing that I need to meet? Where can I meet them? And that's where I first dived in, is that if I know HR, I know all the things, the check boxes, like I said, but I wanted to be better for the employee. And how can I design an HR and employee experience around what these people are going through every single day of what they're getting? The calls? I'm not getting the calls. And so my first thing was I jumped in, right? I learned, I went on the follows, I went around with the ride along and figured out what they did so I can create processes and make guarantee better. And that's exactly what my first thing is. I've done the certification, the IICRC, and for me, what it's been more transitioning is recognizing before it was always about the customer, right? What is that customer going through? They didn't expect those things too. And yet even though the employee has a choice of where they can have a job, they're still going through a lot of things too, a lot of emotions.
[00:11:34.490] - Marcie
The customers are yelling at them, they're getting the calls at 03:00 A.m. To go do that sewer loss or whatever it may be. So how can we reach that employee who's getting all that crap basically from the customer, right. And hearing it, and how can we keep the morale up, how can we keep them motivated? And that's what I've actually seen the swing happen in restoration is recognizing, hey, the employee is just as important and they're the ones that are going to get you successful with that customer.
[00:12:01.930] - Brandon
I love that.
[00:12:02.760] - Chris
Yeah, we do. We commit a lot of our thought and money towards some companies, guarantee included, right? We give so much thought and energy to refining the customers experience and how they're feeling. We talk a lot about it at Floodlight, how hey, the nuts and bolts of what we do. It's important, but it's minimum expectation. It's how we make people feel in the process of delivering services. And so we spend a lot of conversation around how our customer experiences and all that kind of stuff. But we generally don't give as much thought, consideration and care to what's the emotional health of our people. How are they impacted by the kind of work we do? How are they impacted by certain customer experiences? They're maybe more difficult or more emotional, right? We do buyers and bio and we don't often really take into consideration the impact of the work on our people. So get a little drill into that a little bit more like from an emotional and mental health standpoint. What did you learn when you started going out on ride along getting windshield time walking projects with people going through the IICRC certs, what did you learn about your people?
[00:13:09.780] - Chris
What did you see in terms of the emotional and psychological, I guess whatever.
[00:13:17.390] - Marcie
The one thing that we don't want is people being complacent or having just a wall. Like, hey, this is just another job in doing that. And that was the one thing that I wanted to really always reach out. And so people are going in there, and they were just doing the job, and that's where we were having difficulties with the customer. Right. There was just kind of a wall block. And so one of the first things and it's an older book that we did, and now that I'm trying to think about it, the name escapes me, but Steve Taburin, that's the name of the author, he had a book, and we started really implementing it about the empathy, right. And the employee for the mental health is, what is it doing to the families? That's the other thing is when they're going around and they're getting those calls, how is the family being affected? So it's just really, hey, I'm going to reach out to you, but we're also going to what needs to your family need? What can you be at ease and at peace with when you're at work? Because we've taken care of whatever's going at home.
[00:14:14.790] - Marcie
And so that's the other thing that we forget about, is whatever they're dealing with at home is going to roll over and affect the customer, too. So really address the whole person. What's going on with you? What's going on at home? How can the things that you're seeing right? So some of those fires, some of those biohazard jobs, that's going to affect them in their day to day, because they've never seen that. And we tell people, if you don't feel comfortable with those jobs, don't do it. We're okay with it. We're not going to make you do in some of those jobs. But it's following up with everybody. It's checking in, how are you doing? And having those intentional conversations. Radical Candor is one of my favorite books. A lot of people have read it. And one of the lines in there, and I have it on my wall, it says, emotional labor is part of your job as leaders. You have to check in. You have to actually be genuine. When you say, hey, how was your day? It's not a passing comment. You actually need to stop, take the 30 seconds to listen to what they're saying, and then you can move on, because if you're not, no one's going to feel that genuine connection.
[00:15:17.550] - Marcie
And so when you're wanting to talk about employee mental health, you have to be intentional and genuine and really care about the answer they're going to give you when you ask, hey, how was your dad? And I think that's the biggest thing about going on. All of these ride along and everything is being that listening ear and hearing not only what they are telling you, but what's hidden in all of those things.
[00:15:40.610] - Chris
Yeah.
[00:15:40.980] - Brandon
So, Marcie. That's insightful. And I know that obviously some of that comes with time and grade, but we also know people are wired certain ways or kind of lean in certain directions just based on experiences right. And things that have affected their life. Are there some data points or some time periods where some things you experienced are affecting and shaping the way that you care about employees and the effort that you're putting in to take care of them and understand them?
[00:16:07.660] - Chris
Like, have you guys put any process or sort of strategy into uncovering those things and then being able to not.
[00:16:14.460] - Marcie
Necessarily a process, but the strategy is there. Right. Our number one thing is that we have to value the employee. Right. That's when you're talking about company values and all of that stuff, you have to be committed to them and to their well being. Some of the things that may have happened over time, you talk about 20 years. I mean, the pandemic definitely shapes how everybody shows up and what they feel because you didn't think anything like that could happen. And so we approach things differently when it comes to that. Some of the jobs that we know we've experienced and shown down here in South Louisiana, the hurricanes that we've experienced in the last couple of years, when you drive through that's devastation, even though I've grown up down here and I've seen it, it doesn't set well. It's still a new experience. You're just thinking about all of those people and what they've experienced and then even our employees. That's one of the things when we have some of those disasters is we take care of the employees homes first because we need them to go in out there. So again, it goes back to what can I be the employee can be at peace with so they can go out and be rock stars for us.
[00:17:23.230] - Marcie
So those little things just kind of like you were saying, Brandon, of just time. It's learning things, but it's really our executive team being dedicated to the well being and being intentional and genuine to the employee every day.
[00:17:38.610] - Brandon
What attracted you to that HR safety side of the business? What even got that journey started?
[00:17:44.690] - Marcie
Yeah. That's never anything you're thinking when you're a child, like, I'm going to grow up and be an HR and safety, that's never on anybody's radar. Right. But for me, it's all about the people. It's about knowing that their safety is their health and their wellbeing is my number one thing. I tell people that I'm kind of like Mama Bear, that I'm going to protect you just like I would my child, and I'm going to stand in that gap and I'm going to do everything, but that's it. I just have a huge heart. And I just want to kind of motivate people to be better than what they even see in themselves, right? So safety is about protecting people. It's about before anything happens, making sure that everything is followed so they're safe, they're not going to hurt themselves. And then HR for me is more about that people side and pushing people to elevate themselves. If you've never been seen the door, you don't know how far you can walk in, right? So I'm going to sit there and I'm going to push and just continue to drill people up. So for me that's the HR part of it.
[00:18:44.520] - Brandon
Okay? So Chris and I both started laughing. So you said something that gave us both a visceral reaction. And I'm not going to go into the backstory of it, but I want to hear you unpack this. So you said that, mama bear. Okay. Now in my mind, I've had some experiences with here.
[00:19:02.130] - Chris
I'm going to ask you, I'm going to ask you, and I think this is a universal balancing act, balancing amongst amongst HR leaders. And that is this mama bear instinct that you just described, right? This love for people, this mothering of your team of looking out for their best interests, protecting them, all that kind of stuff. There's a tension, right, that sometimes exists between your role on the leadership team, the overall health and wellness of the company, including profits, including all that stuff that allows us to provide for the employees and create opportunities, right? And the tension of advocating for the individual employee or the employees as a collective, it's like, okay, loyalty to the brand and the overall larger team versus advocacy and loyalty to the employee. Does that make sense? How do you navigate that? How do you know? Because if you have that mama bear instinct, how do you temper that or how do you manage that instinct in a way that ends up lifting the tide for all boats versus becoming the employee advocate on the leadership team? That kind of gets at odds maybe with other, right?
[00:20:12.820] - Marcie
So for me, it starts at day one, right? So just like when you're hiring somebody, we have a choice to hire somebody and they have a choice to join us, right? They're picking that. And I hold that responsibility. When somebody chooses, you know what, I'm going to work for guaranteed restoration and we've gone through that process. That's an important responsibility for me because they've joined. So I'm going to take all of that, their expectations, what they have seen in us. And I hold on to that. I own that. But you're right, it is how do I balance that? Everybody has policies that they put in place, that we have set expectations. This is what we expect. You're an employee here. This is the culture. This is what we're trying to create. And I go so far and I guess mama Bear and that is but I go so far as to cultivating that. We're going to continue to lift you up based on the expectations that guarantee has. But if that crosses the line, or if you're talking about policy as executive team for the best interests of the company, we're not going to steamroll employees to make sure that whatever that happens, we're not going to just say, you know what?
[00:21:17.420] - Marcie
Who cares about the employee? That's not it. But if somebody is not meeting the expectations or the policies or what we have set as a company, as an executive team, then that needs to come out. Whether it's a performance improvement plan, having conversations, mentoring employees, that is where it is. But for me, I always say when we're talking about disciplinary actions or termination, I will never do that to an employee. They're doing that to themselves. But also, I always look at processes before I look at the employee behavior. Did we train them right? Did we give them the right tools? Have we done everything as a company to support that employee's well being and health and performance and behavior? And if we have and we've documented, then, sorry, that's where you have made that choice as an employee now and not as the company.
[00:22:08.330] - Chris
That's good.
[00:22:09.690] - Marcie
That's the balancing act that I do have.
[00:22:12.320] - Brandon
That was an awesome way, honestly, to summarize that conflict. And I think this is some of the stuff we were talking about, obviously, at the summit is just this idea of, like, what are the actual measurable black and white things that we've put into place to create clarity around winning so that individual can be held accountable, because there's crystal clarity around what they're being held accountable to. And I think you just synthesized all that really well. If I hear you correctly. I heard you correctly, you first go to training expectations and then communication and feedback. If those three things are in place and that team member chooses to fail, which I think is a hard thing for us to say, but that's really what has happened, then we can be equipped to be more decisive when that negative thing has to be done right. Because none of us love that. Unless you're a nobody does right. That was a great way to articulate that.
[00:23:10.260] - Chris
I'm curious, what sort of cadence of communication have you guys put in place a guarantee? Because clearly there's a special culture, I think, that we sensed from you just the way you talk about the business. Like, we were in our little side chats in between breaks and stuff like that. We listened to the way you're talking. This is always brandon and I are queued in not just the words, but kind of the way that you're talking about the business. There's something special going on there. How do you guys maintain that connectedness with employees after they're onboarded, where they feel supported? But there's also the accountability. I think you had heard of our podcast with Clint Pulver, or at least we talked about it, this idea of balancing connection and accountability both. How do you guys do that? A guarantee.
[00:23:54.910] - Marcie
Yeah. So, I mean, the one that everybody says is having one on one, right? But it's more than just doing formal one on one. It's having informal one on one connection is the way that I like to say, but when you're talking about I'm going to always say day one is the most important. But new hires, I have 30 day check ins, 60 day check ins, check in. Whether it's a phone call, we do a quick test or I see them face to face, I'm always making sure that we're having those connections as our leadership team and our branch managers, they're always in tune to, hey, we're just doing ten minutes. Let me just touch base with you. Ten minutes in the morning with the entire team. It's having that door rotated and always open. And then we even have and this is a softer thing, but we have an employee council that everybody's elected somebody, and it's kind of like the House of Representative for Grs, right? They vote and then we have just meetings once a month of where they're bringing ideas that they're sharing. How can we improve? And we have so much feedback and involvement with our council that it's really refreshing that people want to they care so much about where they are and where they live, basically, of getting involved, wanting to share those little tidbits.
[00:25:09.580] - Marcie
And so doors of communication are always open. My door stays open most of the time. I feel like I have to pull a number, type of mentality or little thing because everybody is in here. But we don't stop that. We are always welcoming improvement and discussion and how can we continue as a company to grow? We're always looking to elevate. And if you're not putting that communication, you're not going to grow, you're not going to elevate. Everybody.
[00:25:36.250] - Chris
This is this council very interesting idea. Yeah. I want to know more. So give us total head count right now at Grs.
[00:25:44.130] - Marcie
148.
[00:25:45.040] - Chris
Okay. And then how big is the council? How many participants?
[00:25:48.280] - Marcie
There's twelve total.
[00:25:50.620] - Chris
And how often do they rotate? Is this a relatively new initiative or have you had cycles?
[00:25:54.920] - Marcie
We've had it for a few years. Yeah. So they rotate every year and we get just on a team's call. Right. So at the end of the year, we have a big company wide meeting. All their branches, all the employees get together here in Baton and they vote. They vote. We give them all paper ballots and they circle people within their group and their branch, their department. And then we start having those meetings, everything. We start talking about little ways to improve the company, but also big initiatives. We know a lot of people, things are close to their heart, whether it's cancer organizations. Associations. We're doing one in a month called Buddy Walk. It's for people with down syndrome and supporting that and we want to support and give back. So every quarter we do a walk and the employee council votes on what we're going to support for that month. Right now, actually, fundraising is due today. It's called shock cancer. It's on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and they're raising money. The company is raising money, the employees and then the company is matching that and so the employee council is behind that and they spearhead those kind of initiatives too.
[00:26:56.440] - Marcie
So, I mean, we want to always give back. We want to, again, speak into the well being and what's motivating and pushing people, the people, not the employee again. And those are the things we want to always kind of recognize and start.
[00:27:09.080] - Brandon
So this is interesting and it just brought up kind of a thought for me. So all of us in our businesses, to a certain extent we're in this state of I think I always feel like I pronounced this wrong, but aspirational selling right at the end of the day, all of our businesses are a work in process. We never arrive and there always is this tension or this gap between what we are promoting, saying, building nowhere we're headed versus what is actually being experienced today right now. And one of the things like big companies like Guarantee or any of the teams that are fairly good size, there's a strong chance you grab a couple of team members, you may not get the exact same perspective right that you're sharing. Part of that is because you're at 30,000ft, you know what the team is investing in and engaged in and prioritizing, whereas sometimes the teams don't see that. So this is a two part question. So first off, I want to just hear from you, Mars. How do you guys balance and remain motivated while we're a work in progress? Right. We're aspirationally building a company that looks like X.
[00:28:16.240] - Brandon
Sometimes we're at X are pretty close and a lot of times we're not yet right because we're on this journey. And then the second part to that is is this group. Does that council do you feel like it has a profound impact on even when that gap exists, creating some clarity and some messaging around it to prevent our teams from spiraling out as we continue to journey towards what we want to be versus where we're at right now? Does that make sense?
[00:28:41.940] - Marcie
I think so.
[00:28:42.890] - Brandon
Okay, it was a lot sorry that we probably should have broke that up a bit but just that disconnect.
[00:28:48.400] - Chris
I think it was saying just said another way is as a leadership team, I think we are pretty intentional and it sounds like you guys are very intentional. You have all these intentions. We're trying to create the company in a certain way and yet at the front lines of the business it's lost on them. Sometimes they don't see what we're doing to invest in that outcome. And I think they think the ivory tower is just whatever, it's just all about making money or we're just making their lives harder with all our new rules and processes. They don't necessarily see the connection at all times between what we're saying about ourselves and what they're actually experiencing in the field is that council helped close that gap a little bit or they like we talked about it, I think, in the conference. Is that council, are you seeing them as a repeater? Are they helping get the message from the leadership team out to the front lines to create more clarity or what are you experiencing?
[00:29:40.980] - Marcie
Yeah, so the council was actually started because everybody's like the leadership team doesn't hear us, right? We have all of these ideas and you're not listening to us. So that's where it was born from. And so some of the things they have brought to us about having more training, or I think I may have mentioned this last week at court, is that they wanted Spanish classes to be able to speak to our Spanish speaking employees that we have. And I looked for that and I found a self paced class and so we're going to offer that kind of stuff. So they are bringing some of that gap and they're helping actually the leadership gap to them. They're bringing us down closer to where we're hearing more of their stuff. So there is a balance and every month, so they get together every month and those initiatives and things that they want to bring forth, they come to bring it to our executive team meeting. We talk about it. They're sitting in there and we're going through, you know what, why they want this and you know what, hey, why don't you look at it this way?
[00:30:37.470] - Marcie
Or we can kind of work in this compromise type of a thing. So there's always that balancing act and it's definitely the same things of, hey, we're wanting to do this and we love this idea and bringing it back. And they're supporting so the council is supporting the executive team, and then we're splitting it, going back up to the council and then talking about one of the other initiatives of talking about what they've brought to us is everybody has a kid that's involved in soccer, boy Scouts, dance, or different things, and how can we always continue to give back? And it's another thing to keep us understanding again where they are from is that as a company, we give to all of their organizations, we're going to give $100 or $500, and it's depending on years of service. So if a company employee has been here for a year and they have a child that's in soccer and they want to put in there and add in their little handout and their flyer or their program that they give we're giving it back to them. And so what it's doing us? Because as we grow, you know that you can't be in touch with everybody, right?
[00:31:40.660] - Marcie
And that's the way that the council is really kind of that stand in the gap for the leadership team and everybody employees that we don't get to see on a regular basis.
[00:31:49.740] - Brandon
Yeah, I like that. That's a really interesting do you feel like there's a team size before something like that is relevant?
[00:31:57.110] - Marcie
No, I think that you can always every team, every company has great thinkers, great idea makers, great collaborators, and they want to be that person. You have somebody that can just be a technician and say, you know what, I have this great idea for this process to be better. Why not listen, why not engage? And sometimes they are, for whatever reason, Timid, it could not even be that they feel like they can't go, they just don't have that personality to bring that idea to somebody. And you use the council, or use whatever you want to call it as a method to, hey, let's have that person be able to bring that idea to the forefront. And it just helps create that pathway of giving more value to the employee and to the ideas or thoughts that they may have.
[00:32:40.340] - Brandon
Yeah, I love that. And so there's probably a little less intimidation for somebody to share an idea with a peer than coming formally in front of a leadership team or whatever and giving that perspective. I can see how that's pretty darn intimidating for the average person.
[00:32:55.530] - Chris
There was a specific way you said that, though, going back to sort of the impact that it's had and the way it's worked in your guys'business. It's almost the opposite of what I was referring to, I guess, is, has the council my question was, has the council helped close the gap between what the leadership is trying to communicate to the down line and what they actually perceive and receive? Like, has the council become kind of an advocate for the leadership team down through the ranks, so to speak? And what I heard you say, which is very interesting, is that instead it's helped pull the leadership team down into the ranks so the leadership team can better understand what it's like for the employees. So in a sense, they've given a voice to the front lines, which I think I was asking, has it given a voice to the leadership team? And so that's a really interesting distinction, right, that the council is helping the front lines feel comfortable and confident to send that feedback up to leadership, which I think is far more valuable, because then it helps us as a leadership team figure out what are the real opportunities and problems like we've been going through.
[00:34:00.510] - Chris
This book, The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham, and he talks about this how often as leaders we go off on solving a problem before we even know if it's the real problem. Just because of our perspective. We have a limited view and a lot of times it's our front line team members, our technician staff, our job coordinators and stuff that see things way more clearly than we do because we're no longer on the front line, seen on the battlefield, so to speak. And so anyway, that distinction you made feels really important.
[00:34:29.590] - Marcie
No, that's it. When you're always at a 30,000 foot view, you're missing what's at 500, right? And so you want to kind of always just be there to hear what they're going through and all the time, like you said, we can always have these great ideas of what we're wanting to do, but do we really know if they're going to be effective? Because just they sound good and you don't really know. And so it's always making sure we're having their level and their viewpoint and stuff and that we're not blinded because we're just always up here.
[00:34:57.490] - Brandon
Yeah, that totally makes sense. That totally makes sense.
[00:35:01.550] - Chris
Has there been any learning curve, I guess, to I think when some employees discover they have a voice, some of the things they say and ask for and advocate for don't make sense. Like they don't make sense for the general good of the company or for the growth of the company. And there's the risk, right. You give people a voice, they use it, and then I imagine there's a risk of them feeling rejected if it's like, yeah, we're not going to go that direction. Have you guys dealt with any of that where there's been some hurt feelings or there's people felt rejected or they felt like they haven't been heard because their idea wasn't implemented or seeing the smile.
[00:35:39.270] - Brandon
So there must be you're always going.
[00:35:42.380] - Marcie
To have that one off. The thing that when the employee council starts off every year, I'm involved and I tell them the point of this is we come to collectively collaborate together. What is the best idea and let's think through them. Right. And so it's not just necessarily one idea and one person coming together, it's the council making sure, you know what, this is an important idea to bring to the team. This is not so good. What are our priorities? So try to push that together. But has there been those cases? Yes. And it's really explaining what's good for 1 may not be good for the whole but then what can I help you with on that one thing? Right? Is there something a class? Is there something I can offer to you that can suffice this just for you? So a lot of times, and I can't think of anything right now, but we definitely try to work with that individual if it's going to help them, that may not be work best for the group.
[00:36:37.460] - Brandon
Yeah, that's interesting. That is a more deliberate way to address that versus yeah, we just kind of try to balance it. Right, that's an interesting way to put that. But now, did I hear you correctly? So that council, for a certain, at least for to a certain extent, they're actually filtering some of those ideas before they're formally brought to the executive team. They're on their own trying to wait that and say, is this really a collective opportunity or is this an individual opportunity?
[00:37:04.310] - Marcie
Absolutely no. So we even have an email address grs Council. And that all those council members get. And so everybody can just put those suggestions. They look through those suggestions and just say, you know what, this one not right now. Yeah, I think this would be a good fit for us right now. So they are discerning and going down whatever suggestions to bring forth to the executive team. And then they also do have a history of what has worked and what previous councils have done in the past versus not. So we are always trying to continue to move things forward so we're not just getting a whole bunch of stuff.
[00:37:38.600] - Brandon
Peace and beer on Friday.
[00:37:40.490] - Marcie
Exactly.
[00:37:41.810] - Chris
Although I like that peace and beer is always positive generally. How long has the Council been in place? Is this something you enacted when you came in five years ago?
[00:37:50.620] - Marcie
No, it was already in for the first year, but it needed a little help. Right. Because it ended up just being a complaint hour is really what it ended up being. So we had to kind of put a little more structure to it and what it is and have them own up. If you're going to be voted in. First of all, when they are voted, I asked, hey, do you really want to participate? Right. Is this something that you really are interested in doing? And when they say yes, then hey, these are what we're going to do. This is the goal. And all of them do own up to the value of it within the organization.
[00:38:22.780] - Brandon
I'm jumping in. You took too long. How do you coach and mentor these folks? Or are you because it seems like to me, if I'm putting the responsibility of filtering some of these concepts and these thoughts and suggestions, I don't know if I want to just let somebody filter that with no input or perspective from the team. Right. What do you guys do there? How do you nurture that? How do you coach and mentor that team to filter?
[00:38:46.940] - Marcie
Well, so for the first few sessions of the year, I do listen in and I want to hear how they're talking and what they're processing. And I will course correct during the counselor say, you know what, I think that's a good idea, but here why is probably not going to go. Right. So I do. Listen. And so I am involved in those first really four or five months and then after I kind of let them do their own thing.
[00:39:11.590] - Brandon
Okay. And that's every year that you every year trying to initiate that first quarter or whatever, being heavily engaged and then, okay.
[00:39:20.530] - Chris
Hey, friends. Hey listeners. We're doing something a little bit different with our ads. So you've been accustomed to hearing some ads with our favorite partners and companies in the industry. Now we actually have a product page, our partners page, on our website. So, floodlightgrp. Compartners. I want to give you a quick rundown, though, of the people that we're partnering with and we believe in as really go to resources in the industry. The first one is restoration erp.com, right? Erps are an important part of our sales process, our customer development process. And why reinvent the wheel? The restoration ERP platform is awesome. It can be customized to your business, branding and all that kind of stuff. It has all the components to really create a value add for your commercial client. Accelerate job management software. Everybody needs job management software. And we have just found Accelerate. Not only is their team just really great to work with, when they get ideas from customers, they throw it into the product roadmap and they implement it. They're really advocating for the contractor and trying to create a software solution that works for them. Actionable insights. We recommend actionable insights all the time, right?
[00:40:25.140] - Chris
All of us, as restoration operators, are looking for turnkey resources and training solutions that we can take our team to the next level and AI, when it comes to estimating and matterport and a lot of the other essential tools we're using, they're an awesome resource, and they're always coming out with new great stuff.
[00:40:43.360] - Brandon
Super influential in the industry. Super Tech University. Soft skills development training for your technicians, for your frontline personnel. Let's face it, frontline personnel are the heartbeat of our company. They are the ones that connect with our clients and create the customer experience. There's no better investment than investing in the ability for those individuals to represent themselves, our clients, and our brands well. So super. Tech University? Surety. They essentially are cutting down this life cycle between delivering service and then getting paid, stepping in, removing the middleman in terms of mortgage companies, refining that pipeline, making sure that there's at least friction as possible so we can go out and do a great job, and then our businesses don't suffer while we're waiting to get paid. The money's coming, and it's coming quickly. And then the last one, guys, is lifted. It's kind of a newer entry to the industry. They're driving Google reviews, so they're a turnkey partner that we can literally go out, provide a great customer experience, hand that name off to our trusted partner in Liftify, and have them go chase that.
[00:41:47.090] - Chris
Google Review 25% conversion rate, which is industry wide, people tend to average 5% of the people you ask for review actually convert Lyftify bumps that to 25. We were such a big believer. We're a customer, and they've been generating all of our floodlight reviews. And in a matter of a week and a half, we're up to, I don't know, close to 15 reviews and just a short period of time.
[00:42:06.410] - Brandon
And I think people just underestimate what happens organically with your SEO search activity when you're getting these new and active five star reviews from our clients. And we just can't let the pedal up on that because of the effect on our businesses long term.
[00:42:19.960] - Chris
Big deal. So check it out. Check out our partners page. Do business with them. You won't regret it. We're confident in that floodlightgrp compartners.
[00:42:28.730] - Brandon
Thanks, guys.
[00:42:31.230] - Chris
Should I raise my hand? Hold on, give me a second. Let my brain fire up. What I was just going to say is it sounds like a very effective leadership development tool.
[00:42:43.600] - Brandon
Yeah.
[00:42:45.410] - Chris
Have you seen the fruit of that? Like, have people's participation on that council? Have some. I imagine not all, but have some really just kind of like, blossomed under that opportunity? And have they started to take on more of a self driven leadership role within their roles in the company? Have you seen it as a leadership tool over these last few years?
[00:43:03.710] - Marcie
Absolutely. It's amazing when somebody has an idea in front of them and then they work through that process and it gets approved by the leadership team, and then they actually see it, implement it. I mean, it's a big deal for somebody who had that idea. And so what it does is it lights a fire under somebody to their everyday, their paperwork, who they're mentoring, who else is on their team, how they're showing up because they feel it's not an importance, but just a sense of value and then a commitment to the company. And then again when something is implemented and they say, you know what, I worked hard on this to get it done, and the team did it, and now it's actually part of grs culture and procedure or whatever. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:43:47.610] - Chris
Yeah. Pride and ownership. And it's really interesting. Okay.
[00:43:51.640] - Brandon
It's like true succession planning, really true success creating a pipeline for it very interesting.
[00:43:56.670] - Chris
I want to dive a little bit deeper in this culture thing because we talked about this beforehand and you had a really fun, snappy response. Actually, at the conference, I told you one of our clients, one of our consulting clients was recruiting for a position, and we interviewed somebody. We did. We sat in on an interview with our client for somebody to guarantee and ultimately, I think, even offered to best their current comp and whatever, and they're like, not interested. And we all head hunt each other with the best story wins. Right. It's really just the money. Right. And I always take notice when we miss somebody when they stay at their current company, because it tells me something about that business, because it's rarely about money. It's usually about what's my experience, like am I respected, all those kind of things. Can you talk about this council thing is really cool, but what other ways do you guys go about affecting culture and helping people feel apart and cared for? Like, what is it that's driving your attention and your recruiting right now? Because one thing I haven't heard you say is that you guys are struggling with recruiting.
[00:45:02.740] - Chris
I'm sure you are to some degree with like everybody else, but it seems like with a team of 150, you're doing something right. So tell us more. What are some of the other focus points that are driving that culture?
[00:45:14.390] - Marcie
For me, culture, it starts before they apply. When I am looking for a potential candidate for a potential employee. I know that everything my leg worked before I had to get right. So social media is a big thing for us here. I guarantee our CEO puts a lot of videos out, but it's what are we conveying to everybody? And then once we have put that job posting out, making sure how it's reading, and then I do have a full time recruiter on staff. So we talked about I don't have or we don't have as a company any kind of labor issues, because I do have somebody that's always there and on it and just dedicated to doing that. And that process alone is, I think, very important to making sure somebody stays. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, hey, you know what, Fallon? She was phenomenal. She got me everything. She was on point. She answered questions. And I think, again, who you have on staff admin wise, not just we're talking about customer experience, but the employee experience on the admin side of putting out there and making sure that your brand and your company and your culture is being communicated in that process as well.
[00:46:24.920] - Marcie
And then day one, when they walk through the door, how they're greeted, what they receive is important to that culture. It's bringing them, you know what? Hey, they're in value me. I'm important. We are so happy for Joe, for you to start here. Here is your bag. Here's your shirts. We're going to give you all this swag. Here's your training schedule. And I think a lot of restoration companies are where they are, is that they miss day one. Just this past week with the group that we were with, we heard about somebody. Okay, yeah, you're starting here. Well, you do all your paperwork. Well, I don't have anything for you, and it's only 11:00 A.m., so you can go home and come back tomorrow. And people get defeated because they're so excited to start with this company. You boasted up what you do and the day to day and all this stuff, and then they get let down on day one. So day one is super important. And I've said it many times, and I've said it. It's the employee experience, what they experience from before they start through the end. And you're talking about culture.
[00:47:26.500] - Marcie
It is the morale, it's the training, it's the what am I investing into the employee besides just job specific stuff we have? They call it grsu. It's an advancement track for every position, three tier level of not only job specific training, but it's about personal growth and implementing that stuff because we know that there's an ROI. If I'm going to invest in that person, I'm going to get a better employee. And there's a lot of people that take value into investing in them, and it's important. And as we change and as generations and workforce switch over, it is so important to make sure that you're saying, how am I going to take care of you, the person? And when culture is just an intentional and understanding part. Culture is a bus word, right? And everybody's saying culture and everything, and I think it's your way of life. How are you going to determine how somebody walks in and what they're going to experience here? What is the feel that they're going to have in this house? I always use the example, and I use it in orientation. I don't know about everybody, but when I was little and I walked into my grandmother's home, there was a sense of safety and security, and I could just curl up next to my grandmother and I was fine.
[00:48:44.300] - Marcie
I'm not saying I want anybody to curl up next to each other here, but I want them to walk in the doors and feel comfortable and feel good and be in a place, you know what? I'm fine here, and they can thrive. And I think that is one of the most important things that we spend a lot of time making sure that employee experience, that they're thriving, that they're not just doing the day to day, that they're thriving and smiling and having a good time.
[00:49:08.880] - Brandon
Okay. Feeling safe. You tied into something. And I'm actually having kind of like, oh, this is going to help me have a conversation with somebody later, actually. How do teams create that sense of safety? And I'm going to dial it down to some specifics because that's a massive question. But one of the things, Marcie, that we see is that a lot of leaders in our industry and I'm one of those people where the anger, the drive as hard as I drive, you can whine about that later, but right now we need to put our game face on. There's these very healthy ways that we do hard things and that we move the ball down the field in difficult times. But we also see that tool get wielded so often and without much thought that it can create an environment where people are intimidated. And once you're intimidated, the likelihood of them becoming a self fulfilling prophecy is just climbs exponentially. What are you seeing teams do? And your team, maybe is a perfect example, but what are you guys doing to teach and promote and talk through this idea of we've got to have this follow me.
[00:50:21.930] - Brandon
We can do it. This is hard shit, but we're going to take it on the chin anyways mentality, but create an environment where someone feels safe. So when their game is off that day and it's for a real reason, they don't get crushed under the weight of that fear or the threat that you're not competing at the level I want you to because you're being a human right now. You feel me?
[00:50:43.570] - Chris
How do you guys do that?
[00:50:44.880] - Marcie
Yeah, I think the industry as a whole is very reactionary, right? Because everything you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow is going to be and present a new set of problems so the work begins when that doesn't happen. You have to be proactive in all of that stuff because some of those cases what you're talking about are happening on the reaction time. They're always because the customer demand is high that we're driving, things are happening and moving at a fast rate. So you have to do that work when we're slower and you have to be very proactive in creating that space. And I think the biggest thing of what my experience is that people just avoid conversations and they avoid having those difficult conversations because they haven't been trained coached of how to have effective conversations because everybody is worried how is it going to make somebody feel right? Or I don't want to do that. And there is health and growth when you have conflict of those kind of things. And so and it's not necessarily conflict where you're button heads and you're angry and all of that. It is. Hey, like you said, I want to make sure when you're high or something's going on, come to me, because we can talk through it and have and there's a lot of coaching, and I'm not going to say we're 100% at it, but it's always a constant reminder of guys, you know what?
[00:52:04.470] - Marcie
We have to be relatable. I always tell people if somebody's going to take the time to come and talk to me, it's a big deal issue for me and I'm going to put down my phone, turn myself away and face and listen to them. And that is one thing that we tell our leadership team. It may not be a big deal to you, but it's a big deal to them. And so you turn and you give them all of your respect and your time to listen. And that is I think, the biggest thing, again is not avoiding and listening. So it's a two way. Communication is two way but always they say you got two years to listen, one mouth to talk and do that and give somebody more of your listening time and be very proactive on the coaching of your management staff, even of telling your. Field techs or anybody really. It's okay to come and you have to make sure that you have the right people in the right seat is a big deal because again, you're going to have people like this shit is just not for me and we're running.
[00:53:02.960] - Marcie
You may be a great here, but you're not going to be a great leader right in here. So you just make sure that those people are in the right seat. But it's just intentional. I don't know if that answers everything. It's a hard thing to kind of quantify of how a process, but how do we communicate that to our leadership team is you're listening, don't avoid and making sure that you're turning and giving respect to everybody who's bringing a problem that they may have worked up a whole sweat to come into your office to deliver.
[00:53:30.790] - Brandon
Yeah, no, I think I heard you really dial in a handful of things that are really important. I heard listen and I heard this idea of you're going to have to address those things. So if there's some kind of hard experience or a failure to perform or challenge, we do have to approach that thing head on, but we need to be prepared to listen when we approach it. And I think what I see a lot of us do and I am bad at this. This is a thing that I've had to work on my entire life is I'm listening kind of. But I've already got my answer. I already have my perspective. I already have my data gathered to dispute their response or their excuse and quotes to me. But I'm not necessarily showing up. Okay. I'm here to hear and be aware that there's probably some data here I don't have a grasp on and it's likely having an effect on the performance or whatever. Right. I don't know. That's what I heard you say. Maybe I just made it up.
[00:54:22.820] - Marcie
No, that's exactly it because I think about a lot of things with my kids were raising my kids is that some of the things that they would come and bring to me were just the tiniest little thing. Right. But it was a big deal to them and I mean how the disappointment look if you would just ignore them or do your own thing and they would feel gutted. And that's how I think about the employee. You know what? There's no difference. It's a human and I'm going to sit there and I'm going to turn and give them the attention and talk through whatever it may be. Yeah.
[00:54:51.900] - Chris
And I think you also said to something that's important is and I think all leaders that care about people struggle with is some people are just always going to struggle in this type of industry. So part of creating a safe container, I guess, for our people to work in and to work inside of is just recognizing that it's not going to be the right container for everybody. Some people are just always going to feel unsafe because of the unpredictable nature of our business or the demanding hours or just all the things that are part of this. And I think that's a hard thing for us to let go of because you want so badly to make it work and get them on the right page and to get them thinking the right way about stuff. And we forget that this is a weird business and it's very hard in very specific ways, and not everybody's going to thrive in it. Part of that we just have to accept we aren't going to make it safe for some people.
[00:55:47.310] - Brandon
It's difficult to do. Okay, we want to be very cognizant of your time, but I have one, I think, one last question for you. Obviously. You're at the core summit. You're part of Teams boards where you're learning and surrounding yourself with really top tier people and industry movers and shakers. What are you learning right now? What's the one or two things that you're like? I got to get a grip on this. This is very important, and I'm weak currently in this particular area.
[00:56:14.090] - Marcie
Cool. That's a good one.
[00:56:16.750] - Brandon
Don't screw this up, Marcie.
[00:56:18.420] - Marcie
I know. Shit. First of all, I always consider myself as a learner. I'm a sponge. The way that I approach anything new is like, I didn't even know it before. And I just always want to hear somebody else's perspective on something I may think or believe that I'm pretty good at. So last week in court, there's a lot of good nuggets of information and just different perspectives of how I hear. For me, it is about really how can I not even that it's a good one. Brandon, you may have actually stumped me.
[00:56:50.260] - Brandon
Right. I know myself on the back right now.
[00:56:54.480] - Marcie
Yeah, that's a good one. Actually, I have one. I have a great one. So I am in safety. I do manage safety, but I do believe that restoration overall is lax in safety and what they pay attention to and what they do. And I am trying to educate a lot of companies right now in safety and what they need to do. OSHA 300 logs or whatever with all the M and A S that are going on in restoration that I do believe. It's not a matter of if, but when that OSHA and different. Those kind of companies are going to come after restoration if they haven't already started knocking on those doors. So it's just kind of given people. I have a lot of information that I've been shared with different companies. So safety is trying to educate everybody of what they need to do. And again, I know it's a reactionary business, but it's just preparing yourself ahead of time and implementing those policies and those things. When it's ready, you're done. You're not having to go back because the fines that OSHA will put on a company are astronomical, astronomical. And so I just really want to help educate people on safety and what they need to follow in the field, in the office, wherever.
[00:58:04.990] - Brandon
So you're also a board member with RIA, is that correct?
[00:58:09.740] - Marcie
I am.
[00:58:10.510] - Brandon
Can you give us, like, your 32nd why? Why are you on that team? Why is it valuable? Membership valuable to our listeners. And what do you see happening with your membership that got you excited?
[00:58:23.990] - Marcie
Yeah. The why for me, again, is about elevating the industry. Just like you all that I have a heart and a passion, and I want to see it grow. And there's a lot of small companies that don't have the resources out there that a guarantee or any other larger company may have. RA is a good resource for those companies, whether it's education, whether it's advocacy, something that they can lock into and just use as that resource. Also, it's a networking thing for all of them. You can pick up the phone and call another Raa member and say, hey, what advice do you have? How did you go about doing this? And so for me, being on the board, it's about coming up with those policies or those initiatives that are just going to help support that smaller company and get them again to elevate and to raise. Because everybody has a heart for here and if we continue just giving whatever resources we can because there's competition, but it's healthy competition within the restoration industry. And I know you've seen, hey, I'm going to help you. You can help me. We can be together and be better.
[00:59:27.510] - Marcie
And that, for me, is the why on Raa. And some of the big things that we're coming up with is on education, it's continuing to grow and to push and helping educate. Whether it's Wls, the certification designations that we're offering is to continue to give information and to educate the employee and the company of where they are and going.
[00:59:47.710] - Brandon
Right on.
[00:59:48.700] - Chris
Cool.
[00:59:49.440] - Brandon
I think I may have landed the plan.
[00:59:52.220] - Chris
I think so.
[00:59:52.750] - Brandon
I think we're ready to let Marcie go back to the stuff that produces profits.
[00:59:58.910] - Chris
Marcie, this has been really fun. It's fun to get to meet you, and I think our listeners are going to really enjoy some of the stuff we cover, because HR, you could really make an argument that it's one of the most critical operational roles that's in front of us right now. I mean, all of us are trying to figure out how to find people, how to keep people, how to help people be more productive, but also just help as companies. How do we create an environment where people enjoy coming to work?
[01:00:23.290] - Marcie
Right.
[01:00:23.910] - Chris
Our whole industry, like the whole home services, the blue collar trades, that's the assignment it feels like we have as an industry segment is how do we create an environment where people want to come to work. And they're not just itching to retire. They're not just chomping at the bit to get away from work like Seth Godin talks about. Instead of always needing a vacation, find work that doesn't require you to escape from it. Right. And of course, at the end of the day, we work to live. But I think what you're doing and other HR professionals and what we're tasked with as owners is how do we create an environment people aren't just eager to escape? Like, what if what if people actually enjoyed being a part of our team? So, anyway, you're doing great work, and it's been fun to chat.
[01:01:07.070] - Brandon
Yeah. I appreciate your time, Marcie.
[01:01:08.670] - Chris
Thanks a lot.
[01:01:09.300] - Marcie
Thank you, guys.
[01:01:10.210] - Brandon
All right, gang, we'll see you next time. All right, everybody.
[01:01:14.260] - Marcie
He.
[01:01:14.530] - Brandon
Thanks for doing joining us for another episode of Head, Heart and Booth.
[01:01:17.840] - Chris
And if you're enjoying the show but you love this episode, please hit follow. Formerly known as subscribe. Write us a review or share this episode with a friend. Share it on LinkedIn, share it via text, whatever. It all helps. Thanks for listening.
