We often focus on driving profitability, innovation, and growth. While these elements are vital to a successful company, one of the key foundations that hold these components together is the bond we build with our employees. Not just within the confines of the office, but extending our engagement to their families as well.

Your business doesn’t just pay wages and produce services or goods. If you have any employees, you are supporting them and their families.

Let’s explore some unique ways to foster these important connections.

BBQ Style

Incorporating fun, family-friendly events like company BBQs offers an excellent opportunity for everyone to let their hair down, soak up the sun, and share some hearty food. The beauty of BBQs lies in their ability to break down formal barriers and hierarchical structures. The CEO flipping burgers, managers running sack races, and team members engaging in friendly games can instill a sense of unity and camaraderie that translates back into the workplace.

Inviting family members provides a window into the personal lives of employees and managers. This genuine insight can cultivate empathy and understanding, and lay a foundation for a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture.

Holiday Gestures: More than Just Turkey

Small gestures can have a big impact. Take Thanksgiving, for instance. Handing out Thanksgiving turkeys to every employee is a tradition for some companies. While this might seem like a simple act, it can send a powerful message: We appreciate you.

Providing a turkey to employees signifies that the company values their contribution and wants to be a part of their family celebration. The goodwill generated by this gesture can have lasting effects, boosting employee morale, loyalty, and engagement.

Nothing quite like bonuses around the holidays too.

Family Fun Days: Engaging the Next Generation

Family fun days offer another way to engage with your team and their loved ones. Organizing events with games, rides, and food trucks can provide an exciting and memorable experience for everyone.

This is also an excellent way to show your employees' children what their parents do and where they work. A peek into their parents' professional lives can help children understand the importance of their parents' work and build respect for the effort and dedication they put in.

The Heart of Employee Engagement

Truly engaging with your team and their families is about more than just improving morale or increasing productivity—it’s about recognizing that our employees are not just cogs in a machine, but human beings with full lives outside the office. The connections we build, the bonds we form, and the culture we foster extends far beyond the walls of our office building.

Whether it's a company BBQ, a Thanksgiving turkey, or a family fun day, these activities demonstrate an understanding that employees are more than their roles in the company. By valuing and nurturing these relationships, we can create a more engaging, productive, and ultimately successful business environment.

What are ways you engage with your team and their families?

Thanks to Everest Brady for his help, writing, and research in assembling this week’s newsletter.

This Week on Think Like an Owner

Our guest on this episode is Mark Stiving. Mark is a pricing expert and consults with companies on developing stronger pricing and product positioning strategies. Our discussion today on pricing is wide-ranging from the purposes of pricing, value-based pricing, segmentation, and who’s responsibility pricing is in an organization. What we loved about this episode is getting a distilled view on pricing based on hundreds of case studies over decades of work, giving tons of great lessons for the CEO listener.

One of the most impactful things our CEO guests have talked about for their companies is upgrading their finance team. Ravix Group, led my CEO and former podcast guest Timi Okah, is the expert you need to build a scalable finance function. They handle everything from fractional CFO work, HR consulting, and outsourced accounting. Ravix can even help your company prepare for an IPO if that's an ambition of yours.

Timi himself came onto the podcast for today's Q&A, answering the question, "How do you help your clients navigate high interest rates as we have right now?" To get in touch with Timi and Ravix, go to their website and let them know that Think Like an Owner sent you.

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