Hollister Auto Parts salesman Gary Williams has been with the
same company for more than 46 years, but he’s not tired yet. Still
on the job 40 hours a week, he’s survived three generations of
owners since he accepted a job from Bob Huston right out of high
school.
Hollister Auto Parts salesman Gary Williams has been with the same company for more than 46 years, but he’s not tired yet. Still on the job 40 hours a week, he’s survived three generations of owners since he accepted a job from Bob Huston right out of high school.
Williams works for Stephen Huston, Bob’s grandson and the current owner, and after all this time, he said he still likes the atmosphere.
“All of the owners have been different, but (the way they treated me) has all been on the same level – fair and understanding,” said Williams. “Years ago, I had a little illness where I was off work for about five weeks, but other than that, nothing big has come up. When I need to have a day or two off, they understand.”
That understanding has kept Williams with the Huston family, but that’s a rarity now. The days when an employee would spend his or her entire career under one manager or working for one company are long gone for the most part. In today’s world, the average man holds 10.4 jobs in a lifetime, and the average woman holds 9.9, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But companies that measure their employee retention rates in decades rather than years still exist, though, and modern managers interested in building long-term success could take a page from the playbooks of these workforce all-stars.
A good boss’ performance may be partially about communication, but Stephen Huston, Williams’ current boss, learned from his father and grandfather that actions spoke more about the character of a company’s leader than anything else.
“I don’t ask them to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself or that I haven’t done myself,” said Huston, who picks up the slack when employees need time off or cannot come to work. “Basically, my life gets put on hold for them. Sometimes I have to sacrifice my own life accordingly, but when they need time, they get time.”
It’s all a matter of viewpoint, according to Huston. Employees are family to him, and he couldn’t see any other way to treat someone in his employment.
But Huston’s success is more than viewpoint.
Employees follow the precedent set by their leader, and a supervisor must demonstrate the actions and behaviors they want their employees to follow, according to Jeffrey J. Fox, author of “How to Become a Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees.”
“People take their cues from the boss,” wrote Fox. “Over time, the department, the office, the store, the workshop, the factory, the company begin to do what the boss does. Great bosses understand this phenomenon. Great bosses position the organization to succeed, not with policies, but with posture and presence. If the great boss wants a policy of traveling on Sunday or practice before presentations, he or she travels on Sunday and practices presentations.”
And the best bosses care about their employees on more than a professional level, according to Brenda Meyer, who has worked as a waitress under manager Jessie Nazzal off and on for 22 years at Betsy’s Restaurant and Lounge in Morgan Hill.
“He always has a job for me, every time I’ve needed a job,” said Meyer. “He’s kind of like my papa because he looks out for me, and he cares about what happens to his employees.”
Meyer doesn’t mind working overtime or taking over as cook if that’s what’s needed, partially because she knows Nazzal will balance her needs and the restaurant’s operation fairly.
Helping employees to feel good about themselves works for employers, too, according to Fox, who wrote, “The great boss stirs the people. The great boss elevates, applauds, and lauds the employees. The great boss makes people believe in themselves and feel special, selected, anointed.”
In the end, the old adage fits. You get more flies with honey, but bosses who are aspiring to be great know that to get that honey, you first have to become a worker bee.
