People, then Employees

PAYCOM, WHICH RECEIVED the 2023 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award, employs thousands of Oklahomans, and its human resources vice president Jennifer Kraszewski said she spends a lot of her time thinking about the employee experience. For her, building Paycom’s culture goes hand in hand with helping employees advance and grow in their lives — professionally and personally.

“As an employer, you need to not only provide opportunities for people to enhance and grow their career, whatever that looks like, whether that's in the leadership or in a technical track, but you also need to give them opportunities to grow and be better people,” she said. “And when I say better people, that means we’re helping them be a better mom, a better dad, a better husband — those types of things. We need to give our employees the opportunity to grow financially, to understand how important it is to save for their retirement because that creates a wellness factor. We have to provide our employees the opportunity to participate in well-being programs to make sure that they are well mentally and they are well physically by providing opportunities for exercise and time to collaborate with people. We have to provide them opportunities to be with their families and also be with people that they work with in a nonwork setting to create those lifelong friendships.”

In addition, intentionally weaving diversity and inclusion into a company’s culture builds belonging among coworkers.

“Diversity and inclusion are important when you think about creating your culture because how can you create a culture where people feel like they belong?” she said. “Because when they truly feel like they belong, they are going to want to stay and they are going to want to grow and they are going to want to give it their best every day. You have to weave these pieces into the culture.”

For companies looking to increase diversity or inclusion into its culture, Kraszewski said it starts with open conversations with leadership and employees.

“I think it's all about being brave and having the conversations in your organization,” she said. “Really make sure you can meet people where they’re at, and appreciate people for who they are and what they bring to the workplace and their authentic selves. Don’t be afraid to embrace that because all that will do is make you better as an organization.”

Bob Funk, co-founder and president of Express Employment Professionals, started his company in 1985. Curating the right culture has always been an important cornerstone of his company, which has grown to have record sales of more than $3 billion and more than 7,000 employees, he said. To do so, he said employers must put the individual before the company, even before profits. This can’t be lip-service; it has to be authentic and tangible.

“When you're interested more in (your employees) than interested in yourself, you build a great culture because they know that you care about them,” Funk said. “And most companies only care about the bottom-line dollar. And this is one of the challenges public companies have because it's always about how they're doing financially in this quarter or the next quarter. And that's really not the most important part of your company. You certainly have to keep making profits, but more importantly, you have to take good care of your people. And I've always probably overpaid my people, but it has always paid great dividends with loyalty and dedication to our cause, whatever our cause was at the time.”

Being responsible for employees' well-being might sound like something that’s well outside the scope of an employer’s role to those of an older generation, but it’s becoming expected of those in the workforce now. For companies that desire stronger culture but don’t know where to start, Love’s Meyer suggests starting wherever you are: “First, look at the culture that you have,” she said. “You don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. In my experience, there are always some good things in an organization's culture. Find the nuggets. Talk with your people. Find out what works for them and why they stay at your organization. And then you build from there.”

Your journey to a 100% strong organization starts with looking at your business in an entirely new way – through the lens of the Six Key Components™ that make a strong business: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction®.

• Understand the Six Key Components of a truly great business

• Acquire a set of simple tools proven to help run your business Connect with like-minded business owners, leaders, and coaches

This event is all about helping you get stronger in the Six Key Components of your business, while also allowing you to connect and network with other local business leaders who are interested in EOS or already on their own EOS journey.

Take this first step to make 2024 your strongest year yet!