Finding a Company that Encourages Employees to Affect Change

Companies that place trust and autonomy in its staff can experience tremendous success while keeping employees engaged and motivated on a daily basis.

By Sherrie Holloway

Finding the right employer can change your life. Many of us just hop from job to job aimlessly, searching for a higher paycheck or something meaningful in our professional lives. But when you find the right company, things click. Although the path to my current job at OpenWorks was long and winding, it made me realize the importance of creating a company culture that empowers its employees.

Earlier in my career, I focused on project management and leading sales teams of as many as 12 people. My roles had all been B2B, and over the years, I learned how to optimize processes to reach big-picture business goals. But I also felt I needed something more fulfilling. My work didn’t seem to contribute to the big picture landscape, and the overall feeling was one of being just a cog in a very big machine. No matter how hard I worked and no matter what I accomplished, there was never any finish line, nor very much acknowledgement of how I was helping to make the business stronger — something I began to crave. While I loved what I was doing, it became harder and harder to get meaning from it.

Seven years ago, I found myself in a bit of a rough patch. My employer downsized in 2008 at the same time I was going through a divorce with my husband of nearly 10 years. When I took a stopgap job to pay the bills, I knew my tenure there wouldn’t be long. They couldn’t pay what I was worth and couldn’t see the value I added to the organization in any tangible way. But I couldn’t afford to wait for the perfect job.

With my career at a crossroads, I was hoping for a position in which I could positively influence the direction of a company. I put my resume on Monster and said a prayer. A short while later, a call from OpenWorks changed my life.

What I found with OpenWorks was the freedom and encouragement to propose new ideas and the flexibility to try them out. My position in franchise sales satisfied both material needs and professional desires — including income commensurate with my knowledge and experience, and the ability to affect real change. A perfect example of this came when I noticed that my sales team was having trouble with no-shows for franchise consulting appointments. I experimented with different solutions, and ultimately instituted day-of text reminders sent to franchise prospects to confirm their meetings. These automated notifications cut the no-shows by 62 percent. This had a real impact on sales operations and helped to reduce wasted time.

The company is also good about recognizing hard work. For my efforts, I received the President’s Club distinction, which rewarded top achieving employees with a 5-day, 4-night vacation to a top resort destination, which carried the added bonus of spending more time with my daughter on the trip.

While there are benefits to working for large corporations, you can often hit your head on the glass ceiling and be inhibited by bureaucracy and the ability to grow along with the business.  Many medium-sized companies with successful management styles possess a creative and entrepreneurial mindset that empowers its employees throughout the system. By placing trust and autonomy in its staff, these companies can experience tremendous success while keeping employees engaged and motivated on a daily basis.

OpenWorks is my right company, as they have created an environment rich in entrepreneurial spirit that resonates throughout the franchise. Keep looking until you find your right company.

Sherrie Holloway is Franchise Manager at OpenWorks.