Continuing the series of CEO responses to a recent Forbes article, I spend time with a dozen CEO, Founders and Presidents to further unpack how and why they are leaning into their workplace culture, training and development more now than ever during the many 2020 crisis.
Listen in for answers from today's guest Meghan Gardner, Guardian STEM Adventures
To get you going, two questions I asked Meghan and her response:
Q: How much did you spend per employee before vs. now on training and development?
A: We have spent about 3x more on staff appreciation gifts, staff socializing time (while being paid), more paid breaks, and more one-on-one touch time and training with them. As the CEO, I am the only one who went on unemployment so that my salary could help support our staff.
Q: What happened that shifted your thought process?
A: I knew that I could not wait for my staff to tell me that they were experiencing stress or that they needed a break... or that they were scared of the uncertainty. I couldn't see their body language and wouldn't be able to connect incidentally with them so we had to go on our understanding of how we thought they would feel. By being proactive in addressing these issues, we saw staff performance increase drastically. In fact, more than ever before.
More on Meghan and Guardian STEM Adventures:
Meghan Gardner is the founder and CEO of Guard Up, Inc. and Guardian Adventures, which owns and operates Wizards & Warriors and Zombie Summer Camps, programs and events. These informal educational camps and events are STEM and story-based experiences where instead of watching movies or playing video games about heroes, mythological creatures, mystery, and adventure, the participants get to live the adventure. For the past 20 years, Meghan has headed up the formation of programs and camps for kids, teens, and even adults to play a character of their own design and fighting monsters with foam swords or NERF Blasters, physics, biology, chemistry, and more.
Meghan is the Lead STEM Curriculum Designer for ST Unitas (the parent company of The Princeton Review) in the development of their Mission to Mars STEM Adventures in east Asia and in the USA. She is also a guest lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and other major universities, and an international speaker on the topic of Informal Education and Learning for all ages. She has been interviewed by NPR, the Joseph Campbell Foundation, The New Yorker, Disney Radio, Wired Magazine, and all of the major news outlets regarding her company’s innovative approach to STEM education and using entertaining and immersive stories to inspire informal learning.
In her free time, Meghan volunteers for hospice and works with terminally ill patients of all ages as well as their families.At Guardian Adventures, we inspire our heroes to become lifelong learners who want to make a difference in the world. We do this by creating a safe, fun, and educational environment where they can learn and grow. As a company, we aspire to be the preeminent source for story-based informal education while acting with courage, honor, and compassion.
Shelley Smith, your host can be found on a variety of social platforms. www.premierrapport.com
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