Mitzi Perdue

Four Things Frank Perdue Did to Encourage Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is one of the most important – possibly the most important factor in an organization’s success.

When I look at how Frank Perdue (my late husband) built his chicken company from a father-and-son operation to one that today employs 20,000 people, the biggest factor is that he had employees who were willing to go the extra mile.

How did he inspire them to make the enterprise a success?

Frank was a big believer in the importance of a company’s culture. He told me one day, and I wrote it in my diary, “Values are at the heart of a culture, and part of a leader’s job includes creating the culture.”

Frank’s cultural values included recognizing the importance of each person and letting him or her know that they were valued. Frank understood what the great American psychologist William James wrote more than 100 years ago, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

Here are some of the things Frank did that can work for you in encouraging a culture of connectedness and engagement. Frank incessantly demonstrated to the people who worked with him that they were important to him.

Learn people’s names, including the hourly workers.

When we were going through the chicken plants, he knew the names of thousands of the workers on the line, and when he’d introduce me to one of them, he’d tell me something personal about them, such as “Delsie has two sons in college,” or “Norton has been with the company 32 years.”

Be there for people outside of the work place.

We attended countless weddings and funerals, and frequently visited employees who were hospitalized. Frank showed his respect by taking the time to attend?

Show retirees that they’re still important.

On weekends we would often drive to visit retired people in their homes. Former employees were still “part of the family,” even though they were no longer receiving a paycheck.

Be supportive when employees have difficult family events.

When an associate lost a family member, Frank would often drop everything to call the person and condole with him or her.

The pay-off for having engaged workers, ones who will go over and above, can mean undreamed of success for you and your organization. But engagement is a two-way street. Value and appreciate them enough so they’ll value and appreciate being a part of the organization.

Mitzi Perdue is a speaker, author, and businesswoman. She is the widow of Frank Perdue and daughter of Ernest Henderson, co-founder of the Sheraton Hotel Chain.
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