Today we are going to learn about employee retention and strategies for a thriving workplace with two of Lake Oswego’s powerhouse women. Heather Graves Ramsey, owner of Coach to Brilliance specializing in Executive Coaching & Leadership Development, and Shari Newman, co-owner along with her husband Al of Nicoletta's Table. They discuss how most of her team members have been with Shari for a long time and how she makes that happen, the top 3 things employers could be doing to increase employee retention, and what’s most important to her team members.
Plus, What You Need to Know in LO provides the details of the 60th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Festival, the Business Leadership Development Series, and a Holiday Get-Together for Chamber members and their guests.
Nicoletta’s Table and Marketplace where they provide the freshest ingredients the Pacific Northwest has to offer in their delicious homemade pizzas, pastas and breads. They also have an Italian Marketplace where you can find imported cheeses, gelato, olive oils and their Gourmet2Go selections. Nicoletta’s Table creates a casual, yet elegant dining experience.
JOIN US for a FREE ZOOM on Tuesday, November 12 from NOON – 12:45 pm to learn more about the the Business Leadership Development Series, and “meet” the program’s lead facilitator and sponsor, Heather Graves-Ramsey. Click HERE to RSVP and get the Zoom details.
This is Business LO, a podcast by the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, which connects, educates, advocates, and champions our business community. We have nearly 500 members from international corporations to home based businesses, and we serve them all. Each episode of Business LO gives insider information to the local business community and the neighbors who support them.
And now let's talk business L. O.
MICHELLE ODELL:: So today we're going to learn all about employee retention and strategies for a thriving workplace with two of Lake Oswego's powerhouse women, Heather Graves Ramsey owner of coach to brilliance. She specializes in executive coaching and leadership development and Shari Newman co owner along with her husband al of Nicoletta’s table and marketplace where they provide the freshest ingredients the pacific northwest has to offer in their delicious homemade pizzas pastas and [00:01:00] breads.
They also have an Italian marketplace where you can find imported cheeses, gelato, olive oils and their gourmet to go selections. And as far as today's topic, you know, if you've ever worked in the restaurant world, you know that staff turnover can be overwhelming. Shari's success speaks volumes in this episode.
Heather and Shari, let's discuss employee retention, especially through the holidays. End appreciation.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Take it away, ladies. Well, you know, I'm a super fan of you and being on the chamber board for the last year, but also just seeing and experiencing your restaurant and your people. A couple of weeks ago, I had an opportunity to meet your leadership team, and I just cannot say enough about the culture and the Energy that you have brought into this organization.
So we'd love to start today with people just kind of getting a feel for Nicoletta's table overall and your mission and your vision.
SHARI NEWMAN:: Thanks Heather. And I appreciate being on this show. [00:02:00] Nicoletta's was born. Based off of a theme of we bring people together and we become family and friends and community.
All three of those things are really important to my husband and I, as a culture and as a group of people, it's to provide an environment that our customers can feel free to do a celebration of any kind, whether it's just. Two people, or whether it's a huge family and combining these with our employees that we also treat as family.
I think that's the biggest thing is we have a lot of long time employees. So we've been open 12 years and several of them have been with me 11 years. Some of them. But with me 10 years, and some of them have been the shortest amount of time in the management staff is about one and a half years, and that's a new position that's been created.
Most of 'em have been there through the creation and through the expansion, and it has had its ups and down then , [00:03:00] but they're just, they're part of who we are and,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: and who Nicoletta's table is. What I've seen. There's such an experience of. Being cared for and being seen and being treated as a special place within that community.
You talked about family, friends, community coming together to gather. It's like, there's a piece of that that you just bring in so naturally with your teams. And it comes through even people who have left, they come back because it's such a great culture. So business owners are always talking retention, retention, retention, really difficult to hold people.
And we're just curious, what are some of the things that you do at Nicoletta's that creates that environment?
SHARI NEWMAN:: The biggest thing is just to respect and to value each individual for who they are and what they bring. And sometimes we have to adjust what our expectations are based off of what they can or what they cannot do, because they have to be happy at their workplace.
And if you're, Pushing them to do something that's way out [00:04:00] of the wheelhouse. Sometimes that's okay. And sometimes they can grow and learn from that. But other times I always tell my staff that you know what you have. And so let's work with what we have. And then if you brought in somebody new, you don't know what you're going to get.
So we have a very loyal staff that's loyal to both my husband and to myself. And we do. We treat them as family throughout. What they bring, what they are about and really live with them. I mean, they're there all the time.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: It's funny, really great leaders. What they do do is they find that gold in people and they pull that out.
You are just a master of that. You and Al together, you know, really help see people and then help make sure that they're set up for success by being in the right. positions or sections or what have you, but you see them all as somebody who, somebody who's important and they have something to give and you help them find that place to give it.
SHARI NEWMAN:: The hospitality business draws interesting people, [00:05:00] number one, and to be able to work with those idiosyncrasies and a lot of people that might have like ADHD where they're all over the board. Well, in our place, we can. Do that because like you said, we have all kinds of different departments. If somebody doesn't like being a dishwasher and they want to go do food running, we can let that happen or go into the deli.
We have the ability to let people experience and grow in different areas.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: And another thing that I feel like you do a really good job of is keeping people connected to that vision, that vision of coming together, being at a table and enjoying, and just that sense of joy that comes from that. Are there certain behaviors or certain things that you do that help reinforce or create that vision?
Create that. And I'm, I'm saying this knowing that you probably do this naturally, just like floating, like how do you float, but help us with, are there some things that you do that really help keep that culture and that vision alive for people?
SHARI NEWMAN:: We do a [00:06:00] lot of education with the management staff. We have coaching for a lot of them as well.
And we bring in people that bring that as well. So when we want to talk about leadership through leading, what is leading? A lot of these people have never had any corporate or training. So I think it's really important for us as employers to bring in some of that and to give them the ability to learn and to grow.
Each one of them has grown so significantly and we do various different things. We travel with them. We've taken a lot of them to Italy and the management staff, and we've taken Our chef to New York, where he got to meet people at Eataly. So we try to give them those opportunities. We take several of them to the bar and expo show, give them that type of experience.
So one of the biggest things is. Through example, I bring in and give to them [00:07:00] what I want them to do and lead by that example, and talk to people at the restaurant. I mean, and I've been a long time Lake Oswego resident, so the community part and how they come into and treat the community is very, very important.
And, and culturally that we talk about that a lot. We always say, you don't know what somebody's had. And why they're coming into the restaurant. They've either had a really bad day or they were celebrating something and we need to just be with them at the time that they come in, whether it's a good experience, happy one, or a sad one.
And we just don't know what that is. So you've got to leave and be with them when they come in.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: So it's, again, it's a lot of like this seeing each person, right? Really seeing each person and having them be seen. The training part is also really key. You're giving them opportunity. Sometimes people aren't doing what we want them to do and they want to.
We all want to have purpose and do a good job and all the things, but maybe they don't know how. And so by exposing them to chefs in New York or [00:08:00] exposing them to the experience that you get in Italy, you're helping bring that. Experience here to Lake Oswego, which is so cool. I have
SHARI NEWMAN:: this vision and I have this vision of excellent food and, and dynamics and the presentation, but also of the quality.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: We've got a lot of, again, these business owners that are going a hundred miles an hour. If they had to pick three things that they could do, and that can be in the restaurant, that maybe that's also in retail. What are three key things that you think could be done? They could implement or do that would help them kind of come from this individual treating each person like a person.
SHARI NEWMAN:: Number one is value, value their opinion, value them as a person. And a number two would be to listen and to communicate. And number three would probably try to be, especially in today's world, especially in the younger generation, is to give them. Or try to give them a work life balance, which isn't easy always, [00:09:00] especially in a crazy hospitality industry.
The hours are late, the hours are early, it's, and it's seven days a week. So.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Speaking of
SHARI NEWMAN:: that,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: and you kind of already touched on it, but I would love to hear a little bit more. What do you think your team members crave and need most?
SHARI NEWMAN:: Acknowledgement and respect and grace. We all make mistakes. And so if you're down someone's throat because they forgot to put something in or they didn't do whatever, unless it is a, as many times, even with my children, if it's a safety issue, then I'll go down the throat, but if it is, we forgot to do the bread basket, we, I, you know, ask for apology and, and move on.
But 95 percent of the time I'm going to support them in whatever their decision is that they did, even if it was the wrong decision. Coming to that then too, how do you
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: balance you're with them? You treat them like [00:10:00] family. Sometimes that's awesome. And sometimes that's hard with a business because you still need to get stuff done.
So if you have somebody who is kind of struggling. With their performance, I'm sure that you've had that in the past. How did you address it? Or how, how do you address it with them? Keeping this 95 percent of supporting, but also, yeah,
SHARI NEWMAN:: the easiest thing. And then part of that comes from various different careers that I've had over the years.
But the biggest thing with that is it's a business decision. It's not a. Emotional decision. And that's where some of my people get tied up is they don't want to hurt somebody's feelings. They want to be at the level. They want to have them as a friend. They want to go out and have a drink with them. But in the end, it's a business decision.
And when you put it in that mindset, it's pretty much. Relatively easy to make those corrections. Absolutely.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: So it's also looking at the whole or the greater good. Cause I feel like too, you know, there's sometimes when we're looking at our business and we're like, Ooh, you know, we could keep this person [00:11:00] and our emotion wants to keep that person, but it's not the right thing for the rest of the organism or the rest of the organization.
Yeah.
SHARI NEWMAN:: That's a tough one too. I mean, we struggle with that all the time when they do become part of your family and then how do you let that go? That's really when you have to make those hard calls. But also if you don't make the call, then the rest of the employees see that you're, you know, taking that and not addressing it and that you lose the respect over that we've had several, you know, times where we've had people that have either drank on the job or, and then they get other people to drink on the job and then we have to let them go.
And there's just some of that type of thing is very difficult, but you have to. It's just like being a parent. You have to set those boundaries. And I have very hard line boundaries that you cannot cross. And if you do immediately, I mean, I've had to let some of my own family members go because it just didn't work out.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Got to be clear. And you've also, like when you said with the other people, if somebody is doing something, that's not good for the rest of the organization [00:12:00] or the rest of the people, then that hurts them. And they see that. And then that they might leave, you might lose your other people who are doing the right thing.
So you're. Really good about bringing your leadership team and your management team together. And you just finished a retreat. What are some things that you're looking to deepen or stretch into as a management team in the future?
SHARI NEWMAN:: I believe in training your people to be leaders and to be leaders in the community.
And I think that It's my responsibility to just as with leadership lo, it's my responsibility to teach the up and coming people that are going to take that and lead through examples, lead through expectations, and do that type of thing. So my goal with this retreat was to become better leaders and to become the leadership part of how.
We step up to the next level. We have the saying for the year that was elevate. And so it was [00:13:00] like elevate your customer experience, elevate your leadership. How do you take what's good, what we're doing okay. And how do you just elevate it just by a little bit? How do you make that experience just 10 percent better?
Cause I don't know that there's major changes that we need to do. And I don't think a lot of companies do, but it's just taking it that one little step further, how do you elevate? A charcuterie board. What does that look like? Maybe you put an artichoke on it versus little pickles or, you know, something like that.
But
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: I love that because it's, it's clear, it's simple and it's inspiring. So you're bringing together something and it lets them set focus to something that they can apply, whether they're in the back or the front. Or what? It doesn't matter where they are. They can apply elevate to everything that they do.
That's really amazing. Yeah.
SHARI NEWMAN:: And also, each person is a cog in the wheel. And if one is out of alignment, the rest of it does not work. And you know, the dishwasher isn't keeping up with speed and you run out of forks, you're in deep trouble. [00:14:00] Trouble. So it is every position is important. And I think that's one of the things that is sometimes people in positions of leadership or of the hierarchy do not give those people that are in maybe the lower echelon of workers to the respect that they need.
I think it's a respect thing for every position.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Yes. Could not agree more because everybody does have their part. And if those parts aren't happening, then the whole is not doing. a good job, right? Weakest link, right? So, so I've heard three things. I've heard one seeing people as people really seeing them to everybody's important.
Listen to them, acknowledge them, appreciate them, challenge them is what I also heard, you know, challenge them to keep elevating, right? Keep. And then the third thing is giving opportunities for people to learn. So whether that is outside of the organization or inside, it doesn't matter. It's really just giving them opportunities to experience what it is that you want them.
To be able to do, [00:15:00] because if they don't, if they can't see it and they haven't touched it, or they haven't experienced it, then they may not be able to bring that back, or they're likely not going to be able to bring that back,
SHARI NEWMAN:: right? You bring the energy in that you want your people to sustain. So if you're coming in with a bad energy, the whole restaurant's going to be off or the whole business is going to be off.
It's not just, I'm not just talking restaurant. This goes for everybody
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: because they're feeding off you. You are the big person in the room, right? You're the one that they, that has their financial stability at mind. So their brain is absolutely matching what's going on for you. If you come in hot, they're going to be like, Ooh, what did I do?
And they're going to get all up in their head and worry. Right. And they're not going to show up as their best selves either. Shari, one thing that I see that you do really well is you not only talk about community, friends, family, community, you live community. When I hear stories from your management team or from your staff about things that have touched them, it's because you are engaged and involved in the Lake Oswego community.
Can you give [00:16:00] me one example of how you plug in seems to resonate with your folks?
SHARI NEWMAN:: We give a lot to charitable organizations and I don't know that we've spent a lot on advertising. We do it through doing the right thing for various different people and people notice and people bring it. Like we're doing the tree lighting, we're sponsoring, help sponsor that.
It's a really good fit for us because it's all about family. What better to do? Spaghetti dinner with meatballs right before tree lighting ceremony. That is what fills my heart is just family and friends and entertaining and just being in the moment.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Another community thing that I think resonates for your folks is doing the right thing at the right time.
I know my first introduction to you was through Rotary and through coming in and delivering meals. Before New Year's, I was just impressed with how many meals you had ready to go. You had everything so organized, but it's also making sure that people are [00:17:00] able to bring that joy and that connection and that family home when they can't be out and about, and that was just such a cool program and so appreciate it.
And like you said, there's no advertising that you, you asked for from that. We don't need it to be out there. We just do it because it's the right thing to do.
SHARI NEWMAN:: Exactly. But cause you can just go overboard and we have a certain criteria of what we do. And it's pretty broad, but my husband's a doctor. We do medical stuff.
We do the arts because I love the arts. I do schools because we believe in education and we do women and children's services and the community. So. Chamber is a big part of
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: that. It's plugging in and plugging in deep is what you do. And I think that's the most important thing. It's, it's not just surface level.
It's authentic. It's genuine. And you go in and you show up for it.
SHARI NEWMAN:: Yeah. And I think you have to believe in it. If you don't, people will. Recognize that as well, if it's a very superficial thing that you're doing. But if you believe in all of those causes, which there's so [00:18:00] many out there, and we're very blessed to have been given the opportunities that we have, we need to pass that on to the other people.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Your team feels that. And that's what keeps them there because again, you're connecting, not just the head part and the financial part you're connecting, Hey, here, you have a home and here you're doing something that also comes from the heart, which I think is why your people stay so long. And I think it's why they may go away, but they come on back.
They're like,
SHARI NEWMAN:: yo yos just like our children, but you know, they do, they go away, think that maybe there's something that's better. And I have several in the management staff that have left for a year or two and always. Come back
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: and let them go free. And I know they may or may not come back, but if they do great, they'll have learned something over there and they'll bring that to us too.
SHARI NEWMAN:: We have a very, in some ways, especially with the busters and the hostesses, we have a very young crowd that we do have turnover, but we also, fortunately it's usually with the time of year. So we have summer people that come back, those people that have been with us for four [00:19:00] years. back the summers when they come back from college or the Christmas break.
So a lot of those times where we may be short on staff, we've got a lot of those younger people coming back for those two weeks or four weeks or whatever it is. So it has worked out great. And I have a great staff. Our manager, Courtney is really, really good with the younger staff and teaches them a lot and gives them their boundaries.
When you're 15, you. They can grow with you. Yeah.
MICHELLE ODELL:: That's awesome. So I'm not going to let you go yet, Shari. Liz is here and we have our segment called What You Need to Know in LO and one of the big things this time around is, of course, the tree lighting you spoke of just a moment ago. Tell us about some of your insider information about the tree lighting.
SHARI NEWMAN:: We are going to. Have a wonderful things that we're going to announce. Part of them have been announced in our newsletter, but throughout the Christmas time where we have Santa's come in and where we have the [00:20:00] elf come in and we'll be get handing out special things at the tree lighting ceremony. We are trying to make it an all inclusive encompassing type of event for our.
people at our work, as well as the people at the tree lighting ceremony.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Liz, give everybody the details.
LIZ HARTMAN:: This is our 60th annual tree lighting festival. So it's a special celebration this year, Friday, November 29th, the day after Thanksgiving, it will run from three to 7 PM. And the actual lighting of the tree is at 530.
But if you have small children. Come at three o'clock because that's when Santa's going to arrive on a fire truck. And then the police department takes letters to Santa. And just to really add a little bit more to it, there are live reindeer. For the teenagers, we have both of the high schools there with the show choirs.
And they'll be leading the crowd in seasonal music. So we have Nicoletta's Table as the title sponsor, Terry Sprague and Lux Forbes coming back as the gold sponsor. We have On [00:21:00] Point Community Credit Union coming back as a silver sponsor, and a new silver sponsor, which is Lakeview Village, and that's where you can be shopping right now.
Right there before the festival and after the festival and then Lakeside Heating and Cooling brings their old green antique truck and it is all dressed for the holidays. And finally, our new bronze sponsor is Travel and Cruise Desk. We thank them so much. Well, I'm at Valley Vineyards and Domain Serene are two of the places where you can test a little bit of wine while you're there, and the Lobster Truck is coming back this year.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. Oh my gosh. Most
LIZ HARTMAN:: of all, you're going to want to see on stage when Shari comes up there to be the actual lighter of the tree. But she will be joined by Mayor Joe Bach.
SHARI NEWMAN:: It is a very, very special time and it's a time when we come together as a community. And that's what we're all about.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Shari, thank you so much for joining us and keep doing great work. And, you know, actions speak louder than words. And that's probably the [00:22:00] main thing I got out of this whole conversation is lead by example, lead by good grace. Everything you do is just, that's the right way to be in business.
SHARI NEWMAN:: Thank you so much.
I really appreciate the time.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Back to what you need to know in LO, really important information from Heather about her business leadership development course.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: I'm really excited to do the leadership business development program again. Here is our second year at this chamber, the Lake Oswego Chamber, but it's a program that I've worked on and helped develop and deliver in New Hampshire, Maine, and Washington DC.
It's been running for many years, and it's really just a way for leaders to hone in on their leadership skills by a flashlight on self, looking at their leadership aspirations, how they want to show up in the world, what are they being pushed towards in their leadership leadership right now, how they're managing others, and then taking that flashlight and turning it on to others.
How are they communicating with others? How are they having powerful conversations? [00:23:00] How are they moving through some of the areas that can help create psychological safety and really. Bring all the voices to the table that need to be heard. And then the flashlight on the greater good on the, on the whole.
And that's really looking at how are we bringing people through change? How are we helping them have as much impact as possible? How do we help them see the vision for the organization? And so this program is for up to 25 individuals. It is different people who are managing others. It's really important for folks to be able to bring in.
Real life situations that they want to work on with others because they're going to be essentially coaching each other. We have two facilitators at each meeting. It's myself. That's the kind of the thread all the way through, but it's also bringing in the experts in different areas, whether that is change, whether that is coaching, whether that is leadership.
It doesn't matter what that area is, we're trying to make sure that we have the best practitioners there to help guide and lead that. [00:24:00] But you're also going to be learning from so many different individuals and leaders within the community.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Give us the rundown of the schedule of that. How does that work?
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Yeah. So it's once a month. For a day, which I know is a huge commitment, but I also know that you are going to get so much out of this, that it's going to save you a whole ton of time in the future, but it's a six month program starting in January. We finished in June, so we're done before people are heading off on their fabulous summer vacations.
It's coming together, rolling up your sleeves, very interactive programming. So you hear a little bit of content and then you're applying it. a little bit more content, and then you're applying it. The fact that we're doing it over time is so that it's not a one off. You have things that you're going to be practicing, using, applying throughout the month, and then you come back and you report back.
Here's how it went. Here's, this was successful. This wasn't successful. So we can help coach you around that and really keep that accountability of actually making it something that you integrate into your everyday. We always say you want this to be part of your DNA. In order to do that, you have to practice [00:25:00] it.
And it does take Time in between. The other thing that we do add in here is you get one executive coaching session to be able to work on something that might be holding you back or a goal that you want, or just explore something that maybe you haven't had an opportunity to do with somebody who's objective and kind of can help you think differently and walk through that differently.
And the other piece of it is, is we want community members to be able to have other leaders that are outside of their organization and inside their organization that they can pick up the phone and say, Hey, Sally, I love the way you think through things. Would you coach me around this? So really developing those bonds with people in the future.
And we do have some companies that send several of their employees, which is really great. Cause then they have a common language. They're working through things together. Again, this is real and relevant stuff. And then you also have the mix of the different industries. So you're learning from other people in different industries, which is the gold of that as well, because there's just so much that can be applied.
Leadership is leadership, no matter where you go. And you can totally apply that and learn from so many different styles and so many different [00:26:00] energies and so many different experiences. Tell us
MICHELLE ODELL:: how we can sign up for it or get more information. You
LIZ HARTMAN:: can go to the website, www. lakeoswegochamber. com and just Click on the link, it's on the landing page.
You can always call the chamber and we will send information directly to you.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: And we also have just a Q and A time on Tuesday, November 12th from 12 to 1245. So if you're interested in that, if you go to the website, there's a way that you can sign up and get the zoom. But if you aren't really sure you need a little bit more information ping us, but you can get all the listing of the dates.
The sessions, what they include, that's all on the website as well.
LIZ HARTMAN:: For chamber members only, we'll be having a holiday party this year, and that will be at the Iron Light on Wednesday, December 4th. It's a reception from 530 to 730. It's for chamber members only, but they can bring partner, a spouse, their employees, there will be great food and there will be maybe a little glass of wine for folks.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Okay. Well, busy, [00:27:00] busy. And until next time, ladies. Every day is a Chamber of Commerce day in Lake Oswego.
LIZ HARTMAN:: The Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce thanks you for listening to Business LO. We would love to have you as a member so you can help Lake Oswego continue to be one of the best places to live, work, and play.
If you want to share an idea for a future episode? Or become a member, visit us at LakeOswegoChamber. com and please like and follow us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for help with your business podcast, go to ModCastProductions. com