How to create an exceptional employee experience
How to create an exceptional employee experience
By Kam Kaila
Kevin Cook knew that the culture at his MSP was a strong one when, after the pandemic lockdown was lifted, his team was excited to return to the office.
“That’s how I knew we were doing the right thing with culture,” he said during a “Sunny’s Silver Linings” podcast. Kevin is the CEO of The Purple Guys, an MSP with 200 employees throughout offices in the southern U.S. He believes that a strong culture begins with a great employee and client experience. He should know, because that belief has translated into his company’s continued growth and its rank in the top three percent of revenue in the channel!
When asked how he defines culture, Kevin said it’s a question: “What does it feel like to work here?”
That “feeling” comes from his organization’s emphasis on the people experience and the client experience.
“We employ a team member whose sole responsibility is to ensure an exceptional client and employee experience in our organization.” “Why?” Kevin said, “Because we believe that you have to live it every day, be intentional about it, and focus on it daily. And until you do that, you’re not going to be very good at it.”
One of his company’s core values is client obsession – which is an “outwardly focused behavior”. Kevin believes that, if you want to create a phenomenal client experience, it all starts inside the organization. So if you create an exceptional employee experience, the end result will be a phenomenal client experience.
“So we pour ourselves into our people. We talk about it a lot, and we try to be genuine and authentic in our communication,” he said. “We want our people to question how things are done in the organization. We want them to know that they are safe to do this and that they have a voice. We don’t shut them down when they’re vocal about something. They must know that they play a critical role every day in our organization becoming better– and that they are rewarded for doing the right thing.”
Kevin said that management talks about their company’s mission a lot. They want their team members to know the vision of the organization and where they fit into it. Leadership creates roadmaps for the employees. Kevin meets with all new hires on their first day.
“We tell them it is the company’s intention that they’ll be here for the rest of their careers. I think that’s a very powerful message for people to hear,” he said.
How does he identify which team members are a good fit for The Purple Guys and will be there forever?
Kevin uses a concept called “Radical Candor” that he learned from a podcast. It means that management must be honest and transparent about an employee’s performance and fit, and how they can be successful in the organization.
“I’ve made many mistakes in my 30-year career, and one mistake that I’ve seen many leaders make is not being honest with their employees,” he said. “Radical Candor has been super impactful in our business.”
Click here to listen to the entire “Sunny’s Silver Linings” podcast featuring Kevin Cook.
