Education

Learning to trust

By Kristy J. O'Hara

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Jo Kirchner
president and CEO, Primrose Schools Franchising Co.

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When Jo Kirchner became president and CEO of Primrose School Franchising Co. in 1999, she believed that the early childhood education provider could become a national player.

But to reach that point, she first needed to understand what was important to the people involved in the business. Franchise owners needed to trust that she would do what she said she would. Parents needed to trust that that their children would be safe. And staff members needed to trust that she would give them the tools and training that they needed.

“The vision comes from understanding the stakeholders in the business delivery model,” Kirchner says. “If you understand what is important to them, then you can define the vision based on that importance.”

By fostering trust with all constituents, Kirchner has helped grow the company from just 10 schools when she joined Primrose Schools as a vice president in 1990 to more than 180 today, which collectively garnered 2007 revenue of $236 million.

Smart Business spoke with Kirchner about how she fostered trust among all her constituents to help her business boom.

Foster trust. It starts with the vision of the company, and that vision is carried through with every person affiliated with this company. Trust is an intangible, but how do you make that become a reality?

It starts with integrity. If you’re not honest, people aren’t going to trust you. Second, it’s fairness — being equitable with all people. Third, it’s social responsibility. Then the last one is enthusiasm.

One of my favorite quotes is Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.’ When you have passion and excitement for what you do, people want to be around people like that.

We live in a world today that is very commoditized, so it’s the people and the values that differentiate a company from anything else. If you have those four traits, they tend to create a culture where the organization is known for trust. You have to define your vision and your core values, and then you have to role model and live it.

Hire the best. It’s listening. In the interview process, quite often people have a tendency to be interviewing and doing all the talking and not listening. Asking open-ended questions that will let the person talk and give them the opportunity to tell you who they are and what they believe in is a critical component for recruitment.

Probably the most important one would be, ‘What is the most important thing to you in making a decision to work for our company?’ If they say money first, they’re probably not the right person in our business. If they say, ‘An atmosphere in which I can gain more knowledge and grow,’ or, ‘To make a difference in the lives of young children,’ or, ‘To be an important member of a team with a common vision’ — those are the right answers. People in our business, while money is important, are driven by making a difference first.