The Weight of Employers

July 25, 2014

CG-Staff-visit-BAC

The weight of being an employer has grown as I’ve begun to understand the true responsibility of employing people.  Mine, of course, is with Common Grounds Cafe, and so I am not a full employer as I do not own Common Grounds, but the depth that I have begun to take on as an employer extends much further than what I had thought before.  Beyond the idea of simply paying someone to help your business succeed, becoming an employer that is worth being followed, communicates to their employees:

  1. “You can trust me with your livelihood for yourself and for those that depend on you”
  2. “You can succeed with this business and grow in knowledge and experience with me”
  3. “You can believe that I will make decisions with a long term vision for the best interest of you and the company stakeholders”
  4. “As a working member in this business, you have earned the right to be heard, to have your ideas heard”
  5. “I will expect you to continue growing in knowledge, experience, and value to this company, and to yourselves.”
  6. “You are an investment in the company and our community.”

I believe that at the core of being an employer lies the opportunity to be the human contact point between God and our employees.   Employers of any size have been given influence by God.  I believe whole heartedly this is for the specific purpose of bringing a tangible representation of God into the employees’ life through acting out forgiveness, grace, honesty, love, and integrity.  The reason? Because our eyes and hearts have been opened to the truth that we are working towards a greater goal than success for ourselves.  We are working to bring the Kingdom of Heaven onto earth, and into our employee’s lives.   With our eyes focused on this pursuit, every decision, reaction, and attitude becomes avenues for injecting the truth and love into our employee’s lives.

Some of the ways that we are learning and trying to become influential and worthy of being heard as an employer at Common Grounds are:

  1. Funding the medical needs of our staff
  2. Rewarding dedicated and deserving staff of scholarships to grow their future
  3. Providing a free meal for each shift worked
  4. Closing on Sundays, a day where everyone (and everything) can rest
  5. Paying above fair wages so that our staff can bless their families
  6. Promoting from within our workforce to give more opportunities to the staff that have earned an increase in responsibility, influence, and salary

Becoming an employer is a weighty responsibility, of which I have much to learn, but it’s a responsibility that I fully believe God uses to bring the hope of new life, forgiveness, restoration, and renewal of life to all people and all things.