Without question, my favorite baseball player growing up was Cal Ripken Jr.
Ripken played 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles and is famously known for his loyalty to the team. The Hall of Famer never played professional baseball for any other organization.
When I look at his career, I can’t help but think that level of loyalty isn’t as common anymore. Certain generations are known as the job-hoppers — in fact, 21% of millennials have changed jobs within the past year. And 6 in 10 of that group are open to new opportunities.
There are a lot of theories surrounding why people job-hop as much as they do, and I certainly don’t have all the answers. However, I do believe this trend stresses the importance of companies showing how they value their employees in order to attract and retain the right people for the right seats.
Finding the Right People
I value having people on my team I can trust, even if they aren’t always the fastest or most skilled right off the bat.
Some of my best employees are the ones who started with no experience and grew into their current roles. One employee who deeply embodies the values of our company started working for us when he was 18 and is still here 16 years later. I have two employees that have been with us for over 20 years.
One of those employees is a spray technician who prefers being on the job site rather than managing people. He thrives in the field, interacting with clients and staying hands-on with what he enjoys most. Instead of chasing promotions or the next opportunity, he’s built a fulfilling career doing what he’s passionate about—and it shows in the relationships he’s built and the high-quality service he provides. He’s got so much experience that I never have to worry about him. I just trust him to do his job and that it will be done well.
In today’s fast-changing job market, loyalty can be rare—but it’s something we value deeply. At Ahlum & Arbor we prioritize hiring individuals who demonstrate commitment and stability. Frequent job-hopping often raises concerns about reliability and long-term growth potential. For us, employees who invest in their careers with us—and in themselves—are at the heart of our success.
Investing in Your People
We’re no longer in a working world where everyone is remote all the time, and that makes it even more important to be engaged with your employees and their families. I recognize that quite often the biggest priorities for my team members aren’t related to their job. They have lives outside of work. They have families and other commitments. That’s why we’ve gotten more creative in how we engage employees.
This Christmas, we didn’t just want a typical holiday party for our employees and their spouses. We wanted to include the whole family. We rented out a level of the Blue Jackets arena for a game. It was such a joy to spend time outside of work with my employees and to see their kids run around and have a blast.
We’ve also done simple things like going axe throwing and having someone come and make pancakes in the office. We take time to do things like bring Gatorade out to the employees on job sites.
We also invest in the development of our people with biannual reviews where we set goals to help them achieve certifications. That is a win-win for us. They get the opportunity to grow and reach new heights in their jobs, and we get increasingly skilled employees working for us.
I wish I could say every single person at Ahlum & Arbor has bought into those growth opportunities and culture events, but truthfully, it doesn’t always happen. I don’t think I have ever had 100% of my employees show up at an event. That’s why I think it’s important for any leadership team to continually ask employees what they value. We issue surveys to find out what kind of events or development is most important to our team, and we make changes based on that input. You’re never going to please everyone, but you should always do your best.
Ripken was dedicated to his organization through the highs and lows — particularly during slumps in the team’s performance in the late 90s and early 2000s. Despite the team’s playoff-less years and losing key players, Ripken stuck with the organization.
The organization also stuck with Ripken when he faced playing slumps in the late 90s. It wasn’t just his talent that they valued, it was his commitment to being a good leader and his loyalty.
Every organization is going to face highs and lows, and people will always leave for different reasons. I have employees who have left for more money or different opportunities. Sometimes, they feel like they have to jump ship in order to grow. I don’t believe this is always the case. You can stay with a company and aim to make it better while bettering yourself. That starts with leaders valuing and investing in their people.
