Aaron Crowley

Crowley’s Granite Concepts

When I heard the old line, “The eyes are a window to your soul,” I was so struck with the simple profundity of the statement I shared it with my philosopher/theologian dad with the excitement of a recent convert.

After a moment or two of thoughtful pondering, he replied, “Yes, that is true. It’s also true that your bookshelf is a reflection of your soul.”

I had to ponder that one myself… and sure enough, it’s true.

If you own a business, this is also true: the benefits you offer your employees are a window and a reflection of your company’s soul. 

It’s easy to say employees are the most important asset in the company, but the benefits the company provides says a lot more.

If you would like to bare your company’s soul and show how much you value your employees, consider the following “low cost-high return” benefit options:

A Well-Oiled Machine

Think of your business as a gear-box that drives the gantry on your saw or CNC and your employees as the parts inside that make it work. If designed, assembled, and greased properly it will function seamlessly. Now, imagine one with bent shafts, missing screws, and misaligned gears lubricated with sand. One smoothly moves the machine down the track… the other grinds up the components and eventually breaks down. Which one do you have? Which one benefits your employees?

Roadmap To The Future

A few companies have budgets, some have plans, and most at least have some idea of where they are attempting to go. The problem with many of them is that they fail to share any of this with their employees, leaving room for doubt about job security, the future, and possibilities for career growth. Employees who are invited to look down the road with the company, benefit immensely in many ways. (P.S. – so does the company!)

Non-Corrosive Environment:

True story: an owner of an electrical contractor in Colorado had a sign on the wall behind his desk that read: If you think working here sucks, try running this place. One can only imagine the toxic nature of that atmosphere…it probably sucked to work there!  What a tragedy for the employees as mental, spiritual, and physical health likely suffered in such a work environment. A positive, uplifting, hopeful work environment where employees actually look forward to coming to work is a benefit of untold value!

When most employers think of “benefits,”  health insurance, profit sharing and retirement plans usually come to mind, as do the added cost and expense. But don’t fall into the trap of believing that those are the only benefits that employees’ value.

Employees are human beings who like to go home at the end of the day knowing they worked on a team that functioned like a well-oiled machine. They like to know their employer trusts and values them enough to share with them plans for the future and how they fit into them. And finally, they appreciate going in to a job that doesn’t suck!

Aaron Crowley is an inventor of stone industry products like the Bullet Proof™ Apron and No-Lift cart, and owner of Crowley’s Granite Concepts.