On the morning of September 11, 2001, Sara Ellestad went to work just as she always did. It seemed like a typical Tuesday until the news reports started coming in. Two planes had crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another aircraft had flown into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. And a third hijacked plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania.
Because everyone was in shock and understandably unable to focus on work, the leadership team at the large bank where Ellestad was working as an auditor sent out a company-wide email.
“The email said ‘everyone should be at home with their families,’” she recalled. “Then my boss told my team ‘we’re not going to leave. We’re all going to stay here and work on paperwork.’”
Ellestad, who was still relatively new to the workforce at the time, remembers being disillusioned by her boss’s actions.
“We were being told to go home to be with our families, but also being told we had to stay,” she said. “I thought, boy, if I ever get the opportunity to have a team of my own, I’m going to show them that’s not how it needs to be.”
Fast forward to 2022 and that’s exactly what Ellestad has done. As the president of Andover-based Concierge Title since 2011, she has worked hard to create an environment where every person on her six-member team feels valued, respected and appreciated. And because of her efforts, she’s been able to do what many companies across the country have not – retain their employees and keep them excited about coming to work each day.
For Ellestad, it all begins with trust and she’s found that once you have that important piece of the puzzle in place, everything else starts to flow smoothly. Whether it’s allowing her employees the flexibility to work from home or empowering them to take on new responsibilities, she trusts that they’ll get the job done no matter what – and they haven’t let her down. Additionally, through leading by example and showing that she has unwavering faith in her team, they quickly learn that they can count on one another, too.
“It has worked out really, really well,” Ellestad said. “If one person has to be out, someone else can cover that person’s duties and as a result, everyone is able to have a good balance in their lives. I never want them to feel like they can’t take the time to spend with their families because they’re too busy at work.”
Ellestad is also a firm believer in making sure her employees know that their hard work and willingness to help one another doesn’t go unnoticed. To her, it’s just another part of creating trust and a positive company culture.
“By showing my appreciation, I think it helps them feel more confident,” she said. “They think ‘oh yeah, they appreciate me being here, I’m going to take on these duties and I’m going to rock them,’ and they always do!”
If you’re looking for ideas on how to make your team members feel valued, here are a few of the things Ellestad has done for her employees at Concierge Title:
- Send them away – on vacation, that is: Because Ellestad wants her employees to have time to recharge, she recently gave them some cash to take a summer vacation with their families. And because they knew that their team members would hold down the fort in their absence, everyone enthusiastically started making plans. “We had one person go to Denver, another one rented a houseboat in Northern Minnesota and someone else booked a big charter fishing boat for their whole family,” she said excitedly. “It feels so good to be able to do this.”
- Support their interests: One of Ellestad’s employees is passionate about suicide prevention and is very involved with a foundation dedicated to this worthy cause. When Ellestad learned about the organization’s upcoming silent auction, she didn’t hesitate for a moment to donate a gift. “I want my employees to know that what’s important to them is important to me,” she said, noting that she is also promoting the organization’s fundraiser on the Concierge Title Facebook page. “I am here to support them in any way I can.” Additionally, for a little levity, she ordered a cutout of country singer Jason Aldean to go along with their silent auction gift. “So we’ve got Jason Aldean in our office right now and we’re all going to be taking pictures with him,” she said. “We might even take him out for a ride together.”
- Volunteer together: Every year, Ellestad and her team volunteer for Toys for Joy, a program that ensures local children have Christmas gifts under their tree. Typically, they’ve been part of the crew that picks up the toys and delivers them to the sorting location, but this year, they decided to do something a little different. “We put on an event at a local restaurant and had a silent auction,” she said. “And we raised more money for Toys for Joy than any other single event has – $14,000 in one night! It was super fabulous.”
- Celebrate randomly: Many companies will do parties around the holidays because, well, it’s the holidays. But Ellestad doesn’t wait for a special occasion to roll around to show her employees how much she values them. For example, she was recently talking with her team – all of whom are women minus her husband, Darin – about how they were in need of pedicures. That was all Ellestad needed to hear, and within a few hours, everyone was together getting their nails done and enjoying some downtime with their coworkers.
- Think outside the box: For Employee Appreciation Day, Ellestad always goes above and beyond to give her employees a special treat. One year, she brought in a massage therapist to do chair massages. Another time, she hired a high school student who had just started his own detailing business to come out and spruce up everyone’s cars. “I was like, buddy. I’m gonna give you the business,” she said, eager to support a young entrepreneur. “I told him to come out here and we’ll see how you do, and he did a great job!”
- Recognize employees on a personal level: One of Ellestad’s employees has a tradition of picking up her kids on the last day of school. However, this year, she mentioned that she had too much going on in the office to get away. Thinking of her experience on 9/11 and how she never wanted anyone to miss family time because of work, Ellestad told her “no way.” She gave the employee money to buy the treats and insisted she go home to be with her children. “I want to make sure that my employees go do the things that are important to them,” she said. “And I want them to know that they don’t need to wait for someone to tell them it’s OK.”
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