The Charles Penzone Salons is involved in many community volunteer opportunities.
We sponsor Komen Columbus, the American Heart Association and CMH Fashion Week. We ride in Pelotonia, and do hair and makeup for countless benefit fashion shows. We even close our salons to host Mother/Daughter Spa Day for girls who are battling life-threatening illnesses and their mothers.
Our professionals volunteer hundreds of hours every year, and guess what? We love it.
Due to our extensive community engagement, business leaders often ask me “Why?” Why are you giving back so much? What are the rewards for all the effort, manpower and money?
Many can’t see the end result that eventually builds an internal culture where your brand empowers your people to know that they make a difference.
Building a company of compassion is more than writing a check. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and getting to work.
Caring for the team, clients
I recently celebrated my 28th year with Charles Penzone Inc., and I’ve seen how our involvement has made a difference in our team, our community and the lives affected by the causes we fight to help eliminate.
When someone battles an illness, we fight for him or her. We raise money. We raise awareness. But more importantly, we’re engaged as a team, which strengthens our bond and grows our trust in each other and the company.
At Charles Penzone Salons, we take care of each other, and as a result, we take better care of our guests. After all it’s not about us, it’s about how these acts of kindness, volunteer efforts and fundraising change lives.
Start at the top
Changing company culture doesn’t happen overnight. It starts at the top with your company leadership, which needs to set the standard consistently.
It has been a long, steady journey for us, but we continue to show up to volunteer for events, year after year, and it pays off.
We’ve been recognized locally, nationally and internationally for our service. It has taken time to evolve, but it has become one of our core values that strengthens and empowers our entire team.
No price tag on the return
As far as the return, what would you pay to have the next generation of new talent put down on a job application that this is the No. 1 reason they want to work for you?
Your company’s culture starts to attract like-minded professionals who want to join “the tribe” and get involved.
How about when a customer tells you how proud she is of all that your company does and how much it means to her because she is a cancer survivor?
I have found that you cannot put a price tag on what the French call “esprit de corps” — the team spirit, public spirit, enthusiasm, devotion or sense of honor shared by the members of a particular group or organization.
By volunteering our hands and hearts to our community, it empowers our culture to a level that I have always dreamed it could be.
Debra Penzone is the president of Charles Penzone Family of Salons. Debra’s expertise as a business leader, hair professional and her avid philanthropy have earned her the respect of the salon industry and the nonprofit community.
