How can we create happy customers if we don’t have happy employees?
John and Mark X. Cronin, co-founders of John’s Crazy Socks, addressed that question when speaking at the Gratitude in the Workplace Conference sponsored by the New York Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). The father and son team answered two basic questions: what makes a happy employee? And why does it matter?
You can see the talk here:
They shared the 5 pillars of employee engagement from John’s Crazy socks:
- Give People a Mission Worthy of their Commitment
- Make Sure Everyone Know How His or Her Job Fits into the Mission
- Put People in a Position to Succeed
- Appreciate the Work People Do
- Stay Out of the Way
In their talk, the two Cronins used examples from John’s Crazy socks as well as other employers to demonstrate how to improve employee engagements And the results? Mark X. Cronin summed it up: “Happy employees lead to better morale, better productivity, better retention and help in recruiting.”
John Cronin said, “I am so grateful for the work my colleagues do and it is important to say thank you.”
In this time of growing labor shortages, when employers struggle to find enough qualified workers, and increasing resignations, between August and September over 8 million people quit their jobs, creating an environment where people feel valued and respected and fully engage with their work becomes a necessity.
John’s Crazy Socks is a social enterprise with a mission to spread happiness. They started when John could not find a job so he told his father, “I want to go in to business with you.” Ultimately, John suggested they sell socks. They started with a table full of socks and today they carry more than 3,000 pairs of socks, making John’s Crazy Socks the largest sock store in the world. More than half their employees have a differing ability and giving back is baked into everything they do.
“One of our core promises is to make John’s Crazy socks a great place to work,” said Mark X. Cronin. “Creating employee engagement and taking care of our colleagues is very important to us.”
About John’s Crazy Socks
John’s Crazy Socks was inspired by John Lee Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and his love of colorful and fun socks—what he calls his “crazy socks.” He and his father, Mark X. Cronin, started the company as a social enterprise with a mission of Spreading Happiness™. They do this by offering socks people can love that allows an expression of one’s true self… and by giving back, by creating jobs for people with differing abilities and by Spreading Happiness™.
For more information about John’s Crazy Socks, visit our webpage, Facebook page, Instagram account or YouTube channel. You can also contact us at 631-760-5625 or via email at service@johnscrazysocks.com. Please contact John’s Crazy Socks if you are interested in having John and Mark speak at your event.
