The Dwyer Group is a company that lives RICH. Living RICH is shorthand for their company values.
RICH stands for:
- Respect
- Integrity
- Customer Focus
- Having Fun
Dina Dwyer-Owens implemented these values throughout the 14 service companies and more than 2,700 employees which make up her $1.4B enterprise. Their brands include Mr. Rooter, Molly Maids, Mr. Handyman and Glass Doctor, to name a few.
Her journey was featured on the CBS reality TV show Undercover Boss in Season 3, Episode 2.
Dwyer-Owens is an author and motivational speaker. Her two books are Living RICH and Values, Inc. The books tell the story of her experience as the CEO and then Chairwoman of The Dwyer Group.
Her father started the company with a code of values which she says were emotionally based, and drove the culture. When she took over leadership of the company, she revised the values to become operational.
Dwyer-Owens says she believes in creating a system around the values to replicate them. To do that, she developed behaviors behind the values to bring them to life.
The Dwyer Group Code of Values includes the following behaviors to live RICH:
Respect
- Treating others as we would like to be treated
- Listening with the intent to understand what is being said and acknowledging what is said is important to the speaker
- Responding in a timely fashion. Speaking calmly and respectfully, without profanity or sarcasm
- Acknowledging everyone as right from their own perspective
Integrity
- Making only agreements we are willing, able and intend to keep
- Communicating any potentially broken agreements at the first appropriate opportunity to all parties concerned
- Looking to the system for correction and proposing all possible solutions if something is not working
- Operating in a responsible manner: “Above the line”
- Communicating honestly and with purpose
- Asking clarifying questions if we disagree or do not understand
- Never saying anything about anyone that we would not say to him or her
Customer Focus
- Continuously striving to maximize internal and external customer loyalty
- Making our best effort to understand and appreciate the customers’ needs in every situation
Having Fun – Having fun in the process!
Dwyer-Owens believes you have to review the values every single day to keep them center focus.
At PeopleResults, we have clients who work diligently to embed their core values into the common vocabulary and very fabric of their organizations. They leverage employee communications and training experiences. Managers discuss values in staff meetings and incorporate values into reward and recognition programs.
However, as Dina Dwyer-Owens illustrates, nothing takes the place of powerful sponsorship and behavior modeling from the very top. When the Chairwoman sets the example on a daily basis, everyone else follows.
As Dwyer-Owens says, “When you live the values, the profits follow.”
Betsy Winkler is a Partner at PeopleResults. She can be reached on Twitter @BetsyWinkler1. Sign up to receive the PeopleResults blog at Current.
