CURRENT FOCUS : TAKING CARE OF OUR PEOPLE
Tools/resources that we’re using during this process:
B-Corp Handbook – you can purchase this from Amazon, great short book with lots of examples, resources and helpful information. The new edition is set to be release in late April, we’ll definitely be reading it! Find it here: https://amzn.to/2TDDwVm
B Impact Assesment – https://bimpactassessment.net/ – this is a super helpful tool that gave us an idea of how we’re currently doing by B-Corp standards. SUPER helpful for us to focus on initiatives & prioritize what we’re improving. Lots of in-practice examples and resources provided for specific items through the process – we banked a bunch of these resources as we were going through the assessment in a separate folder for us to reference easily.
B-Corp Representative Chat – we spoke to Kasha from B-Corp for advice on what we should be doing first, and our goals/reasons we want to become B-Corp. Was a great conversation & she pointed us to several resources, including the above, that will be helpful for us as we progress.
B-Corp Directory – https://bcorporation.net/directory – You can look up directly any current B-Corp certified organizations on their site . It was great to look at business we admire, their scores & stories – to remind us that this is possible!
B-Corp Resource Library – https://bcorporation.net/for-b-corps/resource-library– This is a great place for lots of tools/guides on certain processes that B-Corp suggest you improve. Saved a lot of these for quick reference!
Update on Current Projects & Workings
Hiring & Onboarding Process
This has gotten to a good place. Something that just needed reviewing, our current hiring & onboarding process is being used and continually improved as we go.
Some things this involves are:
Collaborative interview process involving multiple sessions with different crew members (each with different objectives)
Improved on-boarding day which involves, but is not limited to: brewing with our brew crew, having lunch with our head chef, visiting our favorite local spots, checking out our farm & barrelhouse, and learning about our beer program while sampling flights of beer
Collaborative role outline document prepared for almost all roles (all roles soon!) outlining: Key areas of ownership, what excellence looks like in your role, how you should be spending your time, what your biggest challenges will be, and 30/60/90 day goals for you to achieve
Collaborative Feedback & Development Process
We have created a program to ensure all of our crew members are getting the resources and support they need to excel, as well as create more opportunities to gather feedback for the business. To date, we’ve always done these organically, when they made sense – but inconsistently. With a passionate, talented team is very important for us to fuel that fire as much as possible to benefit everyone – so creating a framework to keep us on track is our next move to ensure this is happening. This includes peer-to-peer sessions throughout the year, experience session for feedback on the workplace experience, and annual development & feedback sessions.
These are being done now, with the exception of the annual session – which we’re very close to finishing & implementing. It’s important to us to design this in a way that reflects our values and our people, so it’s taken a bit more time but we’re hoping for it to be finished & in place in the coming weeks!
Field Guide Handbook
Reviewing & upgrading our Field Guide Handbook for all crew members – this is not finalized and re-posted yet, but about 95% complete.
Some things that we’ve worked on improving in our Field Guide Handbook:
Shifting it from an “onboarding tool” (used for helping new crew members get set-up for success as a crew member), to a resource for all of our crew members that outlines all the things they need to know on an ongoing bases for being on the crew. We plan to update & re-send this out quarterly when we have our All-Crew Meetings.
Quarterly intro/update on the latest wins/projects in our team from our Founder JV (also shared in our Quarterly Meetings)
Mutual expectations between crew members & the business
Increased focus on standards & processes for leadership, ethics & behavior, conflict resolution, role support and our Field House Hospitality
Wage & salary systems – and how these are discussed/increased in our crew
Conflict Resolution
We’ve clarified the ways that we can work together to solve any conflict or issues amongst our team. While we’re lucky to have a fantastic group of people, we, unfortunately, are also all human – so this happens. Making sure all our crew members understand what their options are to voice concern is important to ensure that no one suffers in silence. We even created an Anonymous FYI tool so that even in the most sensitive of situations, everyone has a way to let someone else know they’re concerned.
Learnings
This is going to be a long process. As we’re a small business with a lot of projects, we can only tackle so much at a time. Starting with our people definitely feels like the right move, however with almost 50 crew now on our team (we bet this seems small to a lot of you!), there’s a lot to consider – and getting it right is very important.
The best thing about working towards B-Corp is that it’ll keep us focussed on the things that really matter to us.
If anyone out there is working towards B-Corp, we’d love to hear from you & help each other!