近距离内射合集

The St. James Tearoom has secured a No. 1 Top Workplace honor for two years in a row, and CEO Daniel Higbie says placing in the competition is no accident. For him, it is the result of an intentional, ongoing commitment to the people who show up every day to make the experience what it is.

Higbie has been part of the tearoom鈥檚 story since the beginning, when his mother, founder Mary Alice Higbie, opened its doors in December 1999 as a 27-seat establishment just north of Old Town.

Over the past 26 years, what started with three employees hoping to offer Albuquerque a cozy corner has grown into a popular date and hangout destination 鈥� and, it turns out, one of the city鈥檚 best small businesses to work for.

The business offers coaching to its employees by assigning company leaders from within to champion career growth.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Higbie. It has been edited and condensed for clarity.

This milestone marks the fifth consecutive year The St. James Tearoom has earned a Top Workplaces honor. What does this mean for your business?

We apply to the Top Workplaces yearly because it helps us know that we will be held accountable for keeping our internal employee culture strong. Consistency is a hallmark of excellence. And so we consistently focus on valuing and equipping our employees. And by doing this, it kind of naturally flows through to them, creating an excellent experience for our guests. It鈥檚 become kind of part of our process to make sure that we鈥檙e going in the right direction as a company.

How does management support employees who want to meet personal goals within the company?

We believe that every employee should have a growth pass. And if they don鈥檛, it鈥檚 our failure as a company. We have a coaching process, so we鈥檙e constantly training up new leaders and encouraging them to grow not just in their position, but as a leader on the whole. We鈥檙e always working on it. I think we鈥檝e probably created at least four new training programs this last year alone, because we鈥檙e always trying to keep things fresh.

How do you support employees in a fast-paced and demanding work environment?

Great companies create positive, emotional environments because a positive emotional environment produces performance. If you value and equip every employee and respect them 鈥� not just to fulfill a function, but as a valid thinking member of a team, pushing the company toward its goals 鈥� then it creates a very positive environment that lends itself to performance. And of course, when there鈥檚 a real negative environment, it really kills communication between team members because you don鈥檛 want to talk to somebody who鈥檚 negative. And so we really focus on creating that positive emotional environment the whole way. We also have internal incentive programs that really try to make the team members want to work together to get to know each other and then to work together 鈥� not in a competitive way, but in a way where they understand they鈥檙e both going in the same direction. The food service industry, a lot of times, unintentionally creates a ruthlessly competitive environment. And so we work really hard to create a non-competitive environment where everyone is pushing hard in the same direction, and then they are encouraged and compensated that way.

What qualities do the best employees at The St. James Tearoom exemplify?

They鈥檙e very genuine and authentic. They鈥檙e very personable. They value people 鈥� they really value other people. They understand that they are not the only ones. They鈥檙e others-focused, and they love to serve people and create that wonderful experience for them. Great work ethic, for sure. We all work really hard in the food service industry, and if you want to go above and beyond, it takes even more. So everyone鈥檚 got a great work ethic, but I think it鈥檚 that ability to be very personal and authentic, and value people, that sets them apart.

You've owned The St. James Tearoom since 1999. How has the workplace evolved since then?

It鈥檚 evolved a lot. New generations take different approaches, and you have to take that into account. The people that we hired 20 years ago are 20 years older now. It鈥檚 been a joy for 26 years just working with all the different people that we鈥檝e been able to work with. But this environment is definitely not the same as the early 2000s. The world has changed, and so we constantly, every year, are trying to adjust and make sure that we鈥檙e changing with it. Regardless, one thing never changes 鈥� that idea that if you, in your company, can create a positive emotional environment, it will produce performance. I think in any age that works.

Keelin Fisher is a business reporter for the Journal. You can reach her at kfisher@abqjournal.com.