Having a predetermined culture was a top priority for general managers Chuck Beyer and Jeremy Jones of Drive Shack in Lake Nona. Before the first regular employees were hired, these two guys were hashing out the core principles for starting off with a dynamic and winning culture. They were determined to build a foundation that would inspire every employee to be better and inspire people to do something special.
From their research on the company’s values and the marketing material stating what Drive Shack would offer the community, Beyer and Jones constructed a foundation built on five cultural pillars that every future employee would adopt as their own. These pillars make up the DNA of the Drive Shack culture every day in an easy, fun and memorable way. It was also extremely important that every one of the roughly 400 employees that were hired to open Drive Shack in March would be a good fit from the beginning. During the interview process, employees were selected based on fit they were for the culture. Interviews focused mainly on attitude by looking for people who were positive, smiled a lot, and were looking for an opportunity to work for a company that would provide both personal and professional growth opportunities.
Since opening day, these five cultural pillars are the foundation of everyday business at Drive Shack:
- Always. Always on time. Always course ready. That is, be ready to impact the lives of guests and help them out with whatever they need that will ensure they have a great experience. “Always” starts every work day by preparing at home first. It’s having a neat and clean uniform and leaving the house in the right mindset to give your best all day.
- Open. Open to necessary change. Open to give every guest the right experience. Open also means operating in a judgment-free environment. Things can change throughout the day, and each employee must be open to rolling with a dynamic environment built on a great guest experience.
- Bright. An approachable look. Brighten up the way you dress by choosing bright colors to wear that go along with the uniform. Smile, smile, smile! It could make all the difference in someone’s day. You never know how you will impact someone with a simple, sincere smile.
- Forward. Think about tomorrow, not just today. Adapt and evolve based on what you are learning right now. What can we do to be better tomorrow? Forward also means every employee thinking about what they want to accomplish for their career, no matter what that career path is.
- Fun. Yes, have fun at work, but just as importantly, it’s being responsible. When everyone is responsible in their work, everyone will have fun in their work. Fun is also about being all inclusive, all the time. No one is left out. Everyone belongs.
These five pillars are instilled in every employee from day one at orientation. Every employee is encouraged to live these pillars daily. To help protect and maintain this dynamic culture, they have set up a constant stream of communication and follow-up. Every employee has one-on-one interaction with a floor manager before they can start their shift. This gives the floor managers the opportunity to communicate not only what is going on for the day but what is coming up, such as company meetings or special events. A reward system is also in place to identify and reward five exemplary employees each month who embody the five cultural pillars. The rewards don’t stop there. Each quarter, one of the 15 employees who were rewarded that quarter will be selected to have a special parking spot and a gift card of a sizable amount.
What made the Drive Shack culture strong and vibrant from the very beginning? Beyer and Jones were proactive and intentional. They were forward-thinking. They developed the plan, and they knew what kind of people they would hire before the first interview took place. I could tell this was the case with the first two employees I encountered when I entered the building for the first time. I saw that they definitely lived the pillars of always, fun, bright, forward, and open!
