Donna Cutting - Employees First!: Inspire, Engage, and Focus on the Heart of Your Organization

Donna Cutting's new book is filled with compelling stories, actionable strategies, and tremendous heart. Employees First! will help you build a winning service culture with inspired team members who serve better, care more, and love life!

Ron Kaufman, New York Times bestselling
author of Uplifting Service

Employees First! is a must-read for anyone running an organization. Cutting has done an incredible job outlining what it takes to create a culture where your employees feel valued and, as a result, are more engaged and excited about the work they are doing with your company. It's an easy read with practical advice that will absolutely get you thinking about how to improve your company.

JJ Ramberg, cofounder, Goodpods and
former anchor, MSNBC's Your Business

You can't deliver amazing service unless your employees are feeling the love. With Employees First!, Donna Cutting gets real about creating a culture that inspires your people to want to give the best service to your customers.

Shep Hyken, customer service/experience expert and
New York Times bestselling author of The Amazement Revolution

I love this book! Using current research and real-life stories, Donna has powerfully advocated for the desperate need to address the human aspect of service. Both employees and customers are served best when feelings, empathy, empowerment, and appreciation are present along with necessary policies and procedures. In order to be successful in this post-pandemic culture, every leader should read and apply the ideas and principles in this book.

Barbara Glanz, Hall of Fame speaker and author of
The Simple Truths of Service: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger
and Care Packages for the Workplace

Donna Cutting's Employees First! is authentic, powerful, and relatable. In this must-read, she tells a story of experience, empowerment, and leadership that will resonate with you as we navigate a pandemic and the many shifts that now exist in the workplace. There couldn't be a better time for this book to hit the shelf!

Dr. Simon T. Bailey, executive coach,
author, and thought leader

Donna Cutting shines new light on the connection between happy employees and a healthy bottom line. Through inspiring stories and real-world examples, she creates a practical path for leaders to maximize the experience for employees and customers alike. Apply the prescriptive advice in these pages to fuel the growth of your people and your organization!

Richard Hadden, CSP, employee engagement speaker,
coauthor, Contented Cows STILL Give Better Milk

Donna has done it yet again, another masterpiece on the importance of customer service but this time as it relates to your employees. Her message could not be more relevant with the workforce crisis employers find themselves in. Read this book, execute upon it, and make employees the heart of your organization rather than its Achilles heel!

Traci Bild, CEO, Bild & Co and
author of Zero Lost Revenue Days

DONNA CUTTING

Foreword by

JEFFREY W. HAYZLETT

This edition first published in 2022 by Career Press, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.careerpress.com
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2022 Donna Cutting

Foreword copyright 2022 Jeffrey W. Hayzlett

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-63265-200-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Kathryn Sky-Peck

Interior by Timm Bryson, em em design, LLC

Typeset in Adobe Garamond Pro

Printed in the United States of America

IBI

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TO

Lucy Bosy, Mary E. Collazo, Rachel Street,
Michelle Merger, Katie Locke, David Mendes,
Chris Perillo, Julie Read, Beth Johnson, Brandi Hand,
Linda Wright, Raj Anderson, Connie Portman,
and all who have contributed to the mission and
message of The Red-Carpet Way!

It's always about the people! They are the engines that make businesses run and any organization's most valuable asset. Treating people well isn't a new, or novel, concept. It shouldn't be, at least. Much focus has been placed on profits, spreadsheets, corporate boards, and shareholders. Often people have been sacrificed to the altar of profits, but the shift in corporate culture in recent years has made everyone pivot... and rightfully so.

People over profitsit's that simple.

However, where's the red carpet for our own workers? Those who ensure that the leadership team hits their mark, things run smoothly, and everything is executed flawlessly? The people behind the scenes are the unsung heroes of every organization.

It's critical for every organization to inject humanity into the workforce. Right from the onboarding process, your employees need to feel like they matter, that what they're doing matters, and that they're helping move the needle forward. However, they won't know unless you tell them.

Leaders need to remember that it's their people who will eventually become their brand ambassadors. They're the ones who will live the company's mission, vision, and values and those who will evangelize the brand internally and externally.

When employees feel appreciated, they become your constants. With so many changes happening in today's world, executive leaders need to rely on their true norths to carry them through difficult times. You reap what you sow is more than just a common adage, it's something everyone should live by. You provide a red-carpet treatment for your employees and they'll reward you with their effort, time, and loyalty.

There's no longer a clear distinction between the professional and personal. It's all blended together, and the sooner we recognize that we can't use silver bullets to fix employee retention issues, the better for our businesses.

With this book, Donna has taken a slightly different approach, shining the spotlight on another group: those who make customer service happen. With business moving at warp speed, the workplace has transcended beyond leaders having the solution to every problem. Power has been decentralized and it's on every leader to empower every employee to find the answers and even help leaders figure out a solution that's beneficial to all.

Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, primetime TV and podcast host;
chairman and CEO, C-Suite Network; keynote
speaker; and bestselling author

There couldn't be a better time to reimagine the employee experience. Face it. What you've tried hasn't worked. The recognition programs, the pizza parties, the surveys, and the suggestion boxes have not helped you retain employees. They are tactics that amount to tap dancing around the real problem. You're not going to resolve turnover with a program. You'll find the solution in your culture. It's about how your people feel in their relationships with their boss or their coworkers. It's about whether they truly feel listened to and included. It's about feeling connected to a purpose rather than a paycheck (although that paycheck also comes into play). It's about feeling like there's time to do what truly matters, and it's feeling like you (their employer/boss) care about them.