Beryl Blog

This blog is about my passion – employee engagement. At Beryl, that is at the heart of our brand. We build our unique culture around the Circle of Growth. According to this philosophy, focusing our efforts on gaining the loyalty of our employees leads to customer loyalty. Loyal customers generate more profit, which allows us to reinvest into our employees, thus giving them better tools and resources to perform their jobs.

In this blog, I will write about the good, the bad, and the ugly of corporate culture. I will discuss the challenges and successes we face as Beryl continues to grow. I will also bring in examples of other interesting cultures – some from healthcare – others from outside the industry. But most importantly, I want to start a dialogue with you through my blog below. I invite you to comment on the blog sharing your own experiences, observations, and stories.

10/16/2009

Employees are the Lifeblood

The news is rife with examples of companies that have cut salaries and cut benefits as a way to get through the economic crisis. I certainly respect what any company has to do to survive. But I believe that the people who got you where you are today should be the absolute last place you go for relief.

At Beryl, we gave all of our call advisors raises during the height of the crisis. We also doubled our 401(k) match to 100% for all coworkers. Why did we take that approach? Because our people are the lifeblood of what we’re about. I can’t step back from my commitment to them to enhance their lives and still make this the best place they’ve ever worked. I know that if I ever need them to sacrifice, they would fall on a sword for me. But if our business needs to cut costs, I would rather recruit their ideas to help make us more efficient rather than drain their pocketbooks.