Inspire Your Team like Greyston Bakery

Greyston Bakery, a brownie business based in Yonkers, NY, has been the sole supplier of brownies to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for over 25 years.

They have an open hiring process, meaning that people put their name on a list and when a job opens up the person at the top of the list is hired without background checks, drug testing, or education requirements. Employees have a wide-variety of backgrounds including felony convictions.

Rather than interviews and resumes, they evaluate employees based on their ability to show up and work hard. They are also dedicated to improving employee’s lives and help them work through personal issues to become more successful. In an industry that averages 30-70 percent turnover, Greyston has just 12% turnover.

By giving people the chance for gainful employment they create a huge degree of employee loyalty.

Here's why it works:

• Employees increasingly want to work for companies that do more than just make and sell a product
• Over 60% of millennials won’t take a job with a company that doesn’t show strong commitments to community and environment (and many are willing to take lower pay to work for those companies)
• Nearly 90% of millennials find their job more satisfying when they have opportunities to positively impact social and environmental issues

In the last few decades, perspectives on career and workplace culture have evolved significantly and employees no longer look for jobs that merely provide the most job security – they are looking for jobs that allow them to have a positive impact on their communities and the environment.

Surveys conducted in 2016 indicate that over 60 percent of millennials won’t take a job with a company that doesn’t demonstrate strong commitments to the community and environment. And, nearly 90 percent of millennials, and large portions of other generations as well, find their job more satisfying when they have opportunities to positively impact issues they are passionate about.

Inspiring employees is no longer about providing free coffee and an occasional pizza party. Employees are increasingly finding that inspiration comes from knowing their job has a greater purpose, that they are making an impact on community, the environment, and other aspects of life that they care about. If your company doesn’t demonstrate some level of genuine altruism, it will be harder to attract and retain talent. And more difficult to inspire people.

Satisfied and engaged employees are more likely to show up to work on time, to not call in sick, and to do their job efficiently and effectively. This leads to increased productivity, higher levels of creativity and innovation, and improved employee loyalty. You also will increase your ability to attract top talent.

All of this has long-term benefits for your company. Achieving these benefits doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require having the right values.

Ready to live your values? We’ve got this.