As your company grows and develops, building unbreakable office relationships needs to be a top priority to create your culture. Aaron Wandtke, Senior Partner of Executive Staffing Solutions, discusses ways that he implements and creates building blocks that most effectively create a solid atmosphere within both the managed healthcare recruiter industry and business as a whole.
Importance Of Strong Office Relationships
I had the chance to sit down with Aaron Wandtke and discuss how he sets up Executive Staffing Solutions to create the most effective office culture that he can. The key to this to forced interaction. As a company grows and expands, it’s impossible for every employee to connect with each other, especially throughout different teams. Forced interactions develop a culture where we are invested in one another. In the managed healthcare recruitment industry, there are many highs and lows throughout the year. The only way to get through this emotionally and financially is if you have the support of relationships in and out of the office.
Dear Significant Other
One thing that Aaron does to get to know his employees and to encourage them is writing a letter to their spouse. Within the first year of working at Executive Staffing Solution, Aaron hand writes a letter to his new employee’s significant other. He does this because it invites them to personal relationship within the company. It’s also a way to build encouragement for his employees outside of the office. When hard times come, not only does each recruiter have office relationships to encourage them, but their spouse can look back and say “these are the strengths your boss noticed about you. I know you can do this!”
New To The Lunch Room
Every time Executive Staffing Solutions has a new hire, for their first several weeks of work they have lunch outings every Tuesday and Thursday. Twice a week they meet with a different co-worker for lunch until they have personally sat down with everyone in the office. Aaron happily reimburses all employees for this meal. This is an informal and personal way to create a bond. Another forced interaction. Because of the size of our office, it’s plausible that two people may never speak except for the occasional hello in the kitchen. We want to build a culture that encourages us to lean on each other. This is the foundation to our office atmosphere.
Whether we share personal or professional backgrounds and/or information, the one-on-one time outside of the office has been invaluable with establishing a level of comfort and familiarity with each other.
Christina Holmes, New Recruiter August 2018
Breakfast With The Boss
Once a quarter, Aaron takes out all the people he doesn’t actively manage for a one on one breakfast. This is a huge opportunity to create retention, to listen to problems, and get new ideas. Aaron believes relationship across the totem poll is critical to creating strong leadership among the management team. Throughout the year, Aaron is intentional about creating an open door policy to his office. He wants his employees to feel welcomed and comfortable coming to him about any ideas or issues. Because of this, during breakfast, the recruiters have a transparency that allows Aaron to see and hear their side of things.
How is your desk? How is the company as a whole? What can the management team be doing to better support you? Do you have any issues I can help with?
Weekend Highlight
This is a small but highly effective way to care for the people in your company and build office relationships. Executive Staffing Solutions has weekly Monday meetings. The first thing we do at each meeting is go around and share our weekend highlights. This is a time to share and relate across teams.
Developing an effective office culture requires intentional effort and some forced interactions. However, through these interactions, you can develop office relationships that far exceed business standards. With these bonds, your company can have communication and support that not only allows each employee to succeed but your company as a whole to thrive both relationally and fiscally.
