Steven Kraus not merely runs a third generation family business, Skyline Windows, but also a business filled with families. Located in Bronx, New York, the business was founded in 1921 by his grandfather, Sam Kraus. David Kraus, Steven’s dad, overran the company in 1948. David passed the reigns to Steven, who’s grooming his son, Matthew, to be CEO. Steven’s brother and sister also just work at the business.
In a period when many companies have a problem with employee retention, his family business design has supported a culture where many employees have stayed for a lot more than twenty years and refer their family for employment. I needed to learn Skyline’s secrets to longevity and loyalty. Some tips about what I learned:
All Aboard? Shoot for Perfect Employee Retention When Hiring.
Through the economic depression everyone in the business took hook pay cut. Steven operated the business enterprise with the knowing that they would have less margin.
"It had been the very best decision we made," says Steven, who attributes that decision and similar ones to why his category of families are loyal and succeed. "Whenever we face problems, most of us suffer together. However when it works, it feels good." Senior associates of Skyline have children, nieces and nephews who work there. Steven’s brother may be the longest tenured salesman in Skyline’s custom division and has cultivated a number of the company’s largest, high-profile building accounts over 30 years.
I really believe that family is a robust tool for community development and I needed to learn the impact of Steven’s family business in his area. As it happens that another key ingredient to Steven’s capability to garner loyalty may be the fact that he hires at least 20 percent of his workforce in a community which has been hard hit.
"There is nothing just like the joy of giving employment and opening your doors wherever you are," said Steven who has moved his company around often. He shared that his company attracts their most loyal and best performers because his team targets looking within their own backyard for talent. A reliable stream of folks from the community head into the office and complete applications.
A FAMILY GROUP Business With an Open-Minded Hiring Policy
Steven’s son, Matthew, was promoted to senior vice president on your day of my interview. Steve confessed that he had not been strategic about Matthew’s leadership development. Matthew started with the business employed in individual apartment window sales. He spent some time working in many regions of the business enterprise, including marketing, physical plants, conference rooms, show rooms and data systems.
Matthew has taken the initiative to explore the many areas of the business, diagnose and solve problems. Steven gave him the area to learn how exactly to prosper, and he has.
Steven also shared what dealing with his son appears like: "Most mornings, I’ll link up with my son, Matt, and we’ll review current initiatives and hot projects. The target is to have our efforts align, as he’s centered on processing our work from an operational stand point, while I am mainly centered on home based business development."
He’s also pleased with his daughter, Lauren, who’s a talented photographer and has chosen to pursue her passion. He admires her and supports her decision to select a path not the same as growing their family business.
Steven doesn’t paint family business as perfect. He admitted to presenting problems with his dad in the first days, and that the journey could be painful. He explained that there surely is pressure to execute in a family group business. It hurts when employees and others make negative comments about your loved ones running a business.
With that said, Steve ended our conversation with, "Whose back would you favour than your loved ones? When it [family business] is effective, it really works well." He feels fortunate to have so many family, not only his, work alongside him each day.