This is the second installment of our Pep Talk feature, letting leaders of local companies – business owners, CEOs and managers – tell us in their own words how they and their employees are faring, what they’re hearing from their workers and clients, and, most importantly, things they’re doing to boost morale, allay their fears and maintain some semblance of normal productivity.
Jon Lugbill
Jon Lugbill, executive director of Richmond Sports Backers
“We have both of our training teams start up virtually, have people run on their own, have coaching online and personally, and Facebook Live. There’s just a lot of re-learning how to do some of this. And there’s the whole media marketing side of all those programs, getting information out to people who are in their homes. Some of the normal means don’t work very well right now.
“I have no idea how to best do a fitness video. I have no clue and it’s not in my skill set whatsoever. There’s a certain amount of giving people incredible freedom. Just go do it, just get it up. Shoot the video; if it’s lousy we can revisit it and try again. Act first, get response, try it again. And the response has been really positive. The challenge I’m always putting in front of everybody is, ‘How are we relevant? How are we part of the solution?’
“Being part of the solution is motivating. You get up in the morning knowing you can help people. … Even if it’s just one family or one person, let’s help them out.”
Robyn Zacharias
Robyn Zacharias, CEO, Yebo ad agency
“I’m communicating with everybody on a regular basis, just checking in, letting them know any updates that we’ve had from business and new business perspectives.
“We do an every-Tuesday-morning, agencywide status check-in on all projects so everyone still knows what’s happening within the agency. Every Friday, we do a Friday coffee chat. It’s just a ‘Hey, let’s see each other, talk to each other through video conferencing.’ It’s a way to keep the company together even though we’re working individually on all these different projects.
“We’re just keeping everybody engaged with each other, looking at each other from our different environments and staying connected.”
Mike Bell
Mike Bell, President, M.L. Bell Construction
“I think the best thing any business owner can do right now is just have honest communication.
“Our goal was to really communicate to the employees up front. Let them know we’re here to provide stability in their jobs, long-term pay and solutions to keep money coming in so they can pay their bills. We’ve got to balance that with fiscal responsibility in the company.
“I send out company updates every two days about where we’re at with workload, the recovery plan and the status of where our clients are. I’ve gotten some good feedback that the employees know that we care about them and we’re here to support them.”
Thoughts to share? We’d like to hear them. If you’d like to let our readers know how your organization is keeping things moving in these trying times, please email [email protected].
Episode 2: Atlantic Union Bank’s John Asbury, Buskey Cider’s Elle Correll, Hourigan’s Mark Hourigan
This is the second installment of our Pep Talk feature, letting leaders of local companies – business owners, CEOs and managers – tell us in their own words how they and their employees are faring, what they’re hearing from their workers and clients, and, most importantly, things they’re doing to boost morale, allay their fears and maintain some semblance of normal productivity.
Jon Lugbill
Jon Lugbill, executive director of Richmond Sports Backers
“We have both of our training teams start up virtually, have people run on their own, have coaching online and personally, and Facebook Live. There’s just a lot of re-learning how to do some of this. And there’s the whole media marketing side of all those programs, getting information out to people who are in their homes. Some of the normal means don’t work very well right now.
“I have no idea how to best do a fitness video. I have no clue and it’s not in my skill set whatsoever. There’s a certain amount of giving people incredible freedom. Just go do it, just get it up. Shoot the video; if it’s lousy we can revisit it and try again. Act first, get response, try it again. And the response has been really positive. The challenge I’m always putting in front of everybody is, ‘How are we relevant? How are we part of the solution?’
“Being part of the solution is motivating. You get up in the morning knowing you can help people. … Even if it’s just one family or one person, let’s help them out.”
Robyn Zacharias
Robyn Zacharias, CEO, Yebo ad agency
“I’m communicating with everybody on a regular basis, just checking in, letting them know any updates that we’ve had from business and new business perspectives.
“We do an every-Tuesday-morning, agencywide status check-in on all projects so everyone still knows what’s happening within the agency. Every Friday, we do a Friday coffee chat. It’s just a ‘Hey, let’s see each other, talk to each other through video conferencing.’ It’s a way to keep the company together even though we’re working individually on all these different projects.
“We’re just keeping everybody engaged with each other, looking at each other from our different environments and staying connected.”
Mike Bell
Mike Bell, President, M.L. Bell Construction
“I think the best thing any business owner can do right now is just have honest communication.
“Our goal was to really communicate to the employees up front. Let them know we’re here to provide stability in their jobs, long-term pay and solutions to keep money coming in so they can pay their bills. We’ve got to balance that with fiscal responsibility in the company.
“I send out company updates every two days about where we’re at with workload, the recovery plan and the status of where our clients are. I’ve gotten some good feedback that the employees know that we care about them and we’re here to support them.”
Thoughts to share? We’d like to hear them. If you’d like to let our readers know how your organization is keeping things moving in these trying times, please email [email protected].
Episode 2: Atlantic Union Bank’s John Asbury, Buskey Cider’s Elle Correll, Hourigan’s Mark Hourigan