ILMA Compoundings - June 2021 - 32

of COVID, our focus was on overall
well-being, both mental health and
physical health, " she added. " Our
health and wellness leader has always
been trying to get people to move. It
really took off this year, and we think
it was due to our emphasis on taking
care of yourself and taking care of
your family.
One example was an annual holiday
event to pack and send gift boxes
to U.S. service members deployed
overseas. " This year, we set it up so
everybody could participate from their
homes and could pack the boxes with
their families, " said Taylor. " We sent
over 2,000 boxes, and for the first
time more than half of our teammates
participated - by far the most participation
we have ever had. "
Another example came in February,
with skyrocketed engagement in the
company's activities for American
Heart Month. With a theme of " Get
educated, get active, give back, " the
company provided tools for employees
to see videos focused on health tips,
engage in step challenges and assemble
meal pack kits to give to a nonprofit of
a staff member's choosing.
Through a smartphone app, employees
from different Lube-Tech sites
across the country, such as Shreveport,
Louisiana, and Des Moines, Iowa,
prodded each other with good-natured
" trash talking, " Taylor reported.
The company has a rich history of
coming to the aid of its communities
and nonprofit groups, in the neighborhood
of $1 million raised for 100
nonprofits annually. But enticing
employees with internal company
endeavors has been more of a challenge.
In this regard, Lube-Tech experienced a
welcome shift amid the pandemic.
Whereas a typical engagement with
the step-challenge initiative has been
about 40 people companywide, this
February, 268 participants jumped
in, said Taylor. " Especially in light
32
JUNE 2021 | COMPOUNDINGS | ILMA.ORG
" We are all about relationships -
with customers, with one another, "
said Taylor.
Emigh said that fostering those
relationships is not only the right
thing to do, but also good for business.
He is not prescriptive about what
companies ought to do in recognizing
and applauding employees. The key,
he said, is that they do something -
consistently and genuinely.
" We know people are anxious about
the unknowns around their health
and economic realities, job and family
concerns. Any way of saying thanks -
'We appreciate you, we see you, your
work matters,' " said Emigh. " The best
leadership during a pandemic is trying
to understand how employees are
experiencing 'right now.' "
Pre-pandemic, companies that
already had a strong, supportive
culture and set of values were better
positioned to make adjustments to
the curve balls and challenges that the
pandemic presented, he added.
" One issue is remote working, and
there is many a top leader who absolutely
feels like working remotely isn't
good, because you can't tell if your people
are working at any given moment, "
said Emigh. " What the pandemic has
done is forced them to realize that they
could trust employees more and some
of the measures they were using for
productivity were outdated. "
Inevitably, some positions - based
on their actual duties and responsibilities
- require on-site presence, while
others do not. " Enter the dynamic
of tension and anxiety, " Emigh said.
" That begins to feel like a fairness and
equity issue. In those cases, it's important
to involve people in the solutions
affecting them. Any time a leader can
delegate to the person closest to the
problem that is occurring, the better.
That was especially true this past year. "
For those who do work remotely,
particularly members of family ownership,
making an occasional site visit
can achieve wonders for raising morale
and building trust, Emigh said.
" Physically being with people is
profound leadership when people are
worried and uncertain, " Emigh noted.
" It's very reassuring. Showing up on
the floor, masked up and socially
distanced, and maintaining high safety
standards - to say, 'I will be with you
in this place that you may perceive to
be dangerous to talk about the issues
you are facing.' "
In its 34-year history, Allegheny
Petroleum has grown to five independently
run facilities connected to
the corporate headquarters in Wilmerding,
Pennsylvania.
Helping to connect those locations
is the use of remote team meetings to
bolster communication and training.
The company had pivoted to that
technology several months before the
pandemic, and it has been a key component
of binding operations together.
" A lot of best practices get shared
on that, " said Kudis. " Those virtual
meetings have allowed us to collaborate
from different angles, and we can
get more people involved than before. "
She also extols the value of being
able to see someone, rather than just
hear a voice, in those meetings. Allegheny
Petroleum invested in cameras
for that purpose.
" There is something to be said about
seeing somebody, " Kudis said. " There
is more accountability in what you are
saying when you can be seen. "
During those sessions, discussion
of issues and opportunities " allows us
to draw on the experiences of our seasoned
people companywide in an effort
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