Do you know what your paid time off policy is at your company? And, are your staff taking their vacation time? Maybe a better question is are you taking your vacation time? Our guest today is Shannon Joy Mekeel who shares with us about her book and the importance of paid time off for your staff.
TODAY’S WIN-WIN:
Make sure you have a time off policy and that your team uses it.
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
- You can visit our guest’s website at: https://sjmconsultingservices.co/
- Get a copy of her book here: CLICK HERE.
- Attend our Franchise Sales Training Workshop:
- https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/franchisesalestraining/
- If you are ready to franchise your business or take it to the next level: CLICK HERE.
- Connect with our guest on social:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonmekeel
- https://www.instagram.com/shannonjoy8/
- https://twitter.com/sunshineshan8
- http://www.youtube.com/@SJMConsultingServices
- https://www.facebook.com/shannon.mekeel
- https://www.facebook.com/SJMConsultingServices/
- https://www.facebook.com/PTOAffirm/
- https://www.facebook.com/youhavearrivedbook/
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Shannon Joy Mekeel served her country as a logistics troop in the United States Air Force for eight years. She has 20 + years of experience in corporate America in multiple industries. Her company SJM Consulting Services specializes in culture certification, marketing storytelling, and operational improvement and implementation. Shannon is a mom of three young men ages 26, 23, and19. She is the wife of an Illinois farm boy turned Marine, who is currently enduring prostate cancer treatment. Motivated by the issues she saw in all industries, Shannon published her first book in the spring of 2023, “You Have Arrived, The Roadmap to Empathy Where Stories Light the Way.”
ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:
This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/ or by calling Big Sky Franchise Team at: 855-824-4759.
If you are interested in being a guest on our podcast, please complete this request form or email podcast@bigskyfranchise.com and a team member will be in touch.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (00:01):
Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast, where each week we help growth-minded entrepreneurs and franchise leaders take the next step in their expansion journey. I’m your host, Tom DuFore, CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team. As we open today, I am wondering if you know what your paid time off policy is at your company or organization, and do you know if your staff is taking time off or taking their vacation time? And maybe a better question for you is, are you taking your vacation time? I see that often in leaders of organizations that you don’t take vacation time. Well, our guest today is Shannon Joy Mekeel, who shares with us about her book and the importance of paid time off for you and your staff. Now Shannon served her country as a logistics troop in the United States Air Force for eight years. She has over 20 years of experience in corporate America and multiple industries.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (00:56):
And her current company SJM Consulting Services specializes in culture certification. Shannon is a mom of three young men and she’s the wife of an Illinois farm boy turned Marine who’s currently enduring prostate cancer treatment. She’s been motivated by the issues she saw in all the industries that she’s worked in and researched that led her to publish her first book. In the spring of 2023, You Have Arrived: The Roadmap to Empathy Where Stories Light the Way. Let’s go ahead and jump into my interview with Shannon Joy Mekeel.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (01:33):
Hi everyone. My name is Shannon Joy Mekeel, and I’m the founder of SJM Consulting Services.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (01:41):
Wonderful. Well, I know one of the reasons and one of the big drivers to have you on is your book that you’ve written called You Have Arrived. And so I’d love for you just to give an overview to the audience. Talk about what inspired you to write this.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (01:56):
I started off as a mom, I always tell people that first. I have three grown sons. I’m very proud of that. I am a wife and I’m a professional. And I started my career in the military and got my bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix online. Go Phoenix. From there, advertising, marketing, insurance, childcare, catering, the list goes on. But I was able to culminate my career in the last six years as the executive marketing director for a multifamily company out of Central Florida. And I always wanted to be a marketing director, and I thought the grass is always greener, and it certainly was in that role, very challenging as I find for a lot of colleagues. The marketing director role is a very challenging role and it can really burn that person out. And I found myself knee-deep in that about a year and a half ago when my husband got diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (02:51):
As I was working a very stressful job, felt like everyone’s punching bag and he needed me to be the person that he could come to, the soft person, and I wasn’t able to be that soft person in that role. I had to flip the script and I asked my boss to do right by me and to change some of their processes and to let me have my vacation. And she emphatically told me no. I resigned and I informed my HR manager that there would be a book coming.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (03:21):
I’d like for you, if you can, describe what are some of these problems that you see specifically, what would you describe for an owner or a leader of a company that tunes into this? What are problems that you see that are going on corporately that impact that individual family or individual worker?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (03:40):
Yeah, that’s a great question. In 2019, the Society of Human Resource Managers conducted the largest workplace study of its kind. And in 2019, they discovered that about half of the organizations based on their criteria, now obviously there is much, much data that can be combed through, but the culminating effect of that study, the largest workplace study ever done in this country found that 49% of workplaces were considered poor places to work. Half of our organizations have people that are looking for other jobs, okay. Half of our organizations have disengaged employees, have quiet quitting, have low productivity, have high turnover, have bad reviews. That’s what that looks like, right? We all know what should be and what isn’t. We have a very strong ability to enter into an organization to be integrated into their culture and go, nope, not for me. But a human’s mind doesn’t really need to rationalize all those things.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (04:37):
They see one or two and they hear their colleagues complain, and before they know it, they don’t want to be part of it. That’s why we have this bad turnover at about half of our companies throughout the country, and it’s only getting worse because we have younger people that want better treatment. And I went to a conference recently where they talked about creating an environment that is hybrid somewhat. What’s best for the employee is generally a couple days at work, a couple days at home to have compromise in workplace. And most employees want a fit center. They want some vending machines, they want lunches on Fridays. These are things that employers are already doing, right? They’re trying to create these spaces that look like Google, they have the slide down into the lobby, whatever the new thing is, right? Their total rewards packages have to be stunning in order to compete with the other people down the road.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (05:34):
If you have a budget that allows you to do one thing, Tom, if you’re a corporate business leader and your budget allows you to do one thing, what is the most important thing to any of us? Our families, period. What is the most excited thing that happens throughout your entire year that you look forward to more than else?? Your vacation. If the employer can only do one thing, they can do all those other things too. But the first thing they need to do is certify that they are PTO affirm certified. To sign up to be PTO affirm certified because what that looks like is a promise that you can put on every job post that says, this organization is PTO affirm certified and compliant. What does that look like to me? Okay, I’m thinking about working here. I’m going to click on that link. Oh my gosh. After a couple minutes reading that website, I realize that, oh my gosh, if I actually come to this company, their culture is going to be good. I’m going to get my vacations. And everybody in the company is also going to be happy. We’re going to be able to collaborate, we’re going to be friends, and nobody’s going to be so burnout and stressed.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (06:40):
What is PTO certified?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (06:43):
I’ve been developing for the past year a third party verified culture certification that employers can get. As a job seeker, there’s about a dozen certifications depending on industry that I should have when I come to the hiring table. As a business owner, as an employer, there is nothing regulating, well, there’s regulation, right? There’s regulation. There’s things that we can do if somebody wrongs us. As an astute professional and salesperson and marketer and journalist, that I can sell good culture to any organization, and I’ve been doing it. I’m excited. This is a new thing that we’re doing. This is something that I’ve trademarked. I want organizations to know that they can have a gold seal of approval when it comes to their culture that they can tell the world about to get better employees, better customers, better investors, better clients. It helps everybody. And after researching this for over a year, I realized that PTO affirm is the one thing that can mean everything to the employee and to the organization.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (07:45):
If a leader listening in says, what’s one thing I can do? Really dig into that PTO, that paid time off for their staff and for their team.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (07:54):
Yes, and PTO is important. I think two weeks is not enough. I think a month is perfect. That’s what we had in the military, and I think that was really, really good in order for you to clear head and take some time off, but it’s not about the amount of time, it’s about the quality of time. As an employer, you can say, we’re not going to bother people while on vacation. Great. Maybe you don’t, good for you, but why not be certified and tell the world that you are certified for that? I think that’s a pretty good total rewards package, don’t you? Also, for all those CEOs that are in levels five or six above, I don’t think a lot of them realize that their mid-level managers don’t ever get a break. Their mid-level managers go on vacation and are called constantly, and that’s toxic. Your cortisol levels cannot go down if you’re being called, even if you’re on a cruise. If you’re being called constantly, you’re going to be pulled out from that peace and that chance to regenerate and you’re not going to be able to have a vacation. You’re going to have a toxic soup of a broken promise you made to your family. And who needs that?
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (08:58):
This is a great time in the show. We make a transition. We ask every guest the same four questions before they go, and the first question we ask is, have you had a miss or two on your journey? And something you learn from it.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (09:08):
Obviously as I’ve gone through my career, we all live and learn. In my younger years, there were some things that I did that I was shocked at, and I think once it left my mouth, I became mortified. I instantly knew that the mode had changed. I’d share that miss with you.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (09:29):
Sure. Well, thank you. Well, let’s talk about on the other side. How about a make or two?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (09:33):
When I stopped listening to my small quiet voice, there was a couple of times I talk about in my book and I drifted off course. I think the biggest makes for me have been times where I’ve meditated, breathed, sought outside help, prayed, and just figured out what she was saying because I have experiences in my life that have led me down this path, and my hand is being held by my psyche. I have the solutions, I just might not be able to channel them yet. When I start listening to my small, quiet voice, and sometimes I dance, sometimes I walk, sometimes I go for a run. It just depends on the day and just sometimes just being quiet and trying to figure out where your mind is going and where you need to be. At the end of the day, it’s journaling. Oh, every time I’m able to put something to paper and I can write it down and I can figure out my truth. The last time that I had a major win was when I quit my corporate job and I listened to her.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (10:39):
Wonderful. Well, let’s talk about a multiplier. The name of the show is Multiply Your Success. Have you used a multiplier to grow yourself or companies, organizations you’ve been a part of?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (10:50):
Whenever I’ve been in an organization, whether that be as a logistics troop in the Air Force in my early twenties or I had a direct sales position where I went into people’s homes and I made food for them and demonstrated kitchen tools, you might’ve recalled it’s a little something called the Pampered Chef. Whenever I’ve been involved when advertising executive or as a newspaper journalist or a magazine editor or in environmental services or insurance, there’s so many roles I’ve had over the years and I’m a job hopper. I’ve really tried to find the culture that fits me good, fits me the best. It was always a challenge. And sometimes I found good employers. I won’t say they were all bad, but about 85% were not a good place to work based on most of, not just my criteria, but other people that I was in the organization with.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (11:34):
The multiplier that I always have implemented and tried to oversee and integrate into the community was looking at what people really needed to do their job, right? And so finding systems and different software or different things we could do to improve the organization. I don’t know if that would be necessarily considered a multiplier, but it’s something I’ve done time and time and time and time again in order to create a better work environment where operations can thrive because at the end of the day, culture is just about operations. Culture is about caring enough about your people to do the right thing and implementing the systems that they need in order to do their job correctly.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (12:10):
The final question we ask every guest is what does success mean to you?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (12:15):
Well, I feel pretty successful right now. I’m working in Tampa in this local area and I’m talking to businesses and working through their culture issues and trying to find the right solutions for them. I would like my company to be the premier culture certifiers in this country. And I have about 200 people behind me that are willing to lend their times and talents to making that happen. And I’m ready to take it on. And there’s lots of times in my career where I didn’t see my legacy, but I can now and that’s what success looks like for me. I want to help the American worker. I want to make sure that when people go home at night, they’re not so stressed and frazzled that they can enjoy their family. When they lay their heads to bed each night, they know they did a great job at work and that their family appreciates them and they’re being paid enough and they can support their family in a way that really is fair. And until I get to that point where I can help the American worker ROI itself out of this mess we’re in because it is possible, I don’t think I’ll be able to be done. We need to do better. I need a team of people to do that, and I’ve found many of them, but I’m looking for others to come along with me on the ride.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (13:28):
Before we go here, Shannon, is there anything you were hoping to share or get across that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (13:34):
The catalyst for You Have Arrived was really my husband’s diagnosis of prostate cancer. And as the years go by, more and more men in younger ages are being diagnosed with prostate cancer wear a zero prostate button on most of my calls to remind people about this silent killer. A lot of men don’t go to the doctor as often as they should. They think they’re superman and they’re never going to need the doctor. But starting age 40 is the new gold standard for men’s health, and I do believe that it’s a very affordable test, the PSA blood test in order to check for prostate. You don’t have to have symptoms of traditional prostate cancer before you actually have it. And it’s important that you monitor that and talk to your doctor and figure out a way to treat your advancing or lingering cancer development in the prostate.
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (14:28):
Thankfully, my husband caught it early and we are getting wonderful treatment, but this is the couple’s disease. And I would also mention that if anyone, any of your listeners know someone that has prostate cancer and they have a spouse that they recommend my book because it is a really good resource. There are places online where people can find support, there’s a couple of really great Facebook groups, but people are really not talking about this. I started a blog last year in the midst of our first six-month delayed injection. My husband got a delayed injection called androgen deprivation therapy, which takes away his testosterone and his ability to communicate and be the person that he needs to be for our family and for his job. Androgen deprivation therapy was really, really tough, and it still is. We’re still going through it, but there are ways to handle it. There are ways to make your spouse feel better, and I share a lot of those on my blog. There’s a link to it on shannonjoymekeel.com, that’s S-H-A-N-N-O-N J-O-Y M-E-K-E-E-L. There’s a blog page on there and it’s called The Prostate Wife. I want to just make sure that folks know that prostate cancer is something we can beat, but we definitely have to partner with wonderful physicians and communities and there’s not a lot of communities for this. I’m trying to create that here locally in the Tampa region.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (15:47):
That sounds great, Shannon. And for someone who says, I’m interested in getting a copy of your book or learning more, where can they go?
Shannon Joy Mekeel, SJM Consulting Services (15:53):
The books on Amazon just put in, You Have Arrived, bright pink, looks like me. I’d love to talk to thought leaders, consultants and recruiters and CEOs who are looking for a way to improve their organization by shedding the bright pink light of empathy, because that’s really what it takes. I spoke to a CEO last week who said, we need more moms in our companies. And I said, yep, we sure do.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (16:19):
Shannon, thank you so much for your time and for our interview. And let’s go ahead and jump into today’s three key takeaways. Takeaway number one is when Shannon talked about approximately half of all employees are looking for new jobs or are not satisfied, and I found that to be a really eyeopening statistic and just something for leaders to be aware of that half your team on average might be dissatisfied or looking for the next employment situation. Takeaway number two is when she talked about listening to the small quiet voice inside of her. And I think that’s a great reminder for all of us. It’s just to trust yourself, make sure you’re listening to yourself as you go. Takeaway number three is at the very end of the episode when she just gave a great reminder to all the men out there, especially if you’re 40 plus, to get checked for prostate cancer. Her family is going through that struggle right now with her husband going through treatment for prostate cancer. And so it’s very real and something to think about. And now it’s time for today’s win-win.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (17:38):
Today’s win-win is when Shannon talked about paid time off and paid time off policies and her certification program that she had. And really for me, what I see as the win-win is making sure that you have a paid time off policy, but even more so than that, it’s not just having one, it’s actually encouraging your team to take it and when they’re not at the office or when they’re not at work or not at your place of employment, to encourage them to really be checked out. I know that’s something we do at our company is really encourage people when they’re on vacation, don’t check your email, don’t return voicemails. That can all be done when you come back. And most of the team, they may even just take a few days at a time or a week at a time. It’s something that we try to do internally to make sure that they do that.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (18:27):
And you ought to be making sure you’re taking vacation time. A lot of times as the leader, the owner of the business, I know I’ve seen it a lot in the clients I’ve worked with and in myself over the years that I don’t take a vacation or I see leaders not take time off, and you need that time away as well. And so that’s the episode today, folks. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast and give us a review. And remember, if you or anyone might be ready to franchise your business or take their franchise company to the next level, please connect with us at bigskyfranchiseteam.com. Thanks for tuning in, and we look forward to having you back next week.