CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
The San Marcos, Buda, Dripping Springs, Kyle and Wimberley Chambers of Commerce hosted a Governor’s Small Business summit in Kyle, which provided actionable strategies to strengthen businesses in order to unlock new opportunities and grow, according to the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce website. The keynote speaker for the event was Brian Mc-Coy, McCoy’s Building Supply board chair, who shared tips and tricks for maintaining employee morale and being flexible with one’s business model during hard times.
McCoy said the business was greatly impacted when stores like Lowes and Home Depot started growing into what were their biggest markets.
“So when that happened, my brother Mike and I, with our team, decided that we were going to hold on to as much of the walkin business that we could, and we still work to to serve the walk in customer today at McCoy’s; but we needed to add some new business, and for us, that was going to be independent home builder business, the new construction side of the business that we had not really catered to. [There were] all kinds of changes that we brought to the business during that time. We added credit. We had expanded our product line. We needed to upgrade our technology,” McCoy said.. “In the chaos of that, also, we ended up closing 25 of our 110 locations over a short period of time.”
He said that although that was a rough time for the business, they felt it was a good time to “keep working on our brand.” This is when the focus shifted to further improving employee morale and customer satisfaction.
“I just remember thinking at that time, our brand had some value, and we could coexist with these guys and others in the market if we really applied ourselves. But I also had this feeling, too, that just operations alone or a business strategy alone wasn’t going to be enough, and while we had a strong culture under my father’s direction, we didn’t have the culture that I felt like we really needed,” McCoy said. “We needed a culture where we learned in our company, as team members, to truly serve one another, and then we needed a culture that really was truly interested in serving our customers.”
He said the McCoy’s purpose statement is an important part of the culture they wanted to build: “we are at our best when we make life easier and more fulfilling for those that build.”
“The easier part is all the operational things that we need to do in business to earn a right to be in business, but we say the more fulfilling piece really is … the experience that the customer gets when they’re interfacing with McCoy people,” McCoy said. “The people of our company and the relationships that we have we value every bit as much as the profit that we make, the productivity that we strive for, and for us,. … we needed highly connected teams that were caring for each other. Business as unusual for us, at least, meant that we were going to learn how to truly serve one another and get excited about serving our customers, which is important.”
McCoy said he applied relationship principles to his staff in that everyone has a need for attention, appreciation, approval, acceptance, affection, support, respect and comfort. He gave some examples.
“People like to be acknowledged on days like their birthday. So I got our HR department, we call it people development, to talk to our IS department. And for the past 25 years, every morning, we get an email in the middle of the night that gives on the left side today, of our 3200 plus team members, these are the people that have birthdays today, and over on the right are people that are celebrating a company anniversary,” McCoy said. “So this morning, if I’m looking at that list, Leonard Martinez is celebrating 27 years with our company. You know it was so easy to send him a message. ‘Leonard, hey. I hope you’re having a good start. Congratulations for your 27th year at McCoy’s, and thank you so much for being such a strong part of our leadership in the field, which is the jobs that you hold are so key to our company.’ I promise you, men and women, that took me about 30 seconds, but I’ve known Leonard his whole 27 years with our company, and also I have a great deal of respect for him.”
McCoy said it is also important to acknowledge people that are retiring and all the hard work they do as well as those that have suffered losses and are in need of support.
“We need to give people strokes for what they do, but we really need to value who they are,” McCoy said, adding an example of a recent McCoy’s retiree. “For me at least — to craft a letter that talked about Judy’s strength and what she meant to our company for all that length of time — that was not a chore for me, that was a privilege to do.”
He played an example of a daily voice message, which was one of the new initiatives implemented for employee acknowledgement, left by McCoy’s CEO Meagan McCoy Jones to “lift up” a company employee who had celebrated a milestone of 20 years of employment.
“Raul has been more than just a leader. He’s been a constant source of support, wisdom and generosity to everyone around him, whether it’s stepping up to help and mentor team members or quietly going the extra mile. Raul’s willingness to serve never goes unnoticed,” Jones said in the voicemail. “His generosity in feeding the team, whether it’s organizing events or simply treating the team, Raul finds joy in bringing people together. And on top of all of that, he’s a devoted family man whose care and commitment reflects the same value he brings to work every day.”
McCoy ended by saying that he loves doing business in Texas and is glad for the experiences he has had while doing so.
“I’m grateful that we have the opportunity as a family to overcome some really hard things, just like every business is going to face, no matter what your size,” he said. “Small business, private business [and] family businesses, are so important to the future of our state, and I just applaud you all for that.”
