There’s an old saying we like: You can’t pour from an empty cup.

At Dow Smith Company (DSC), we believe in hard work. We believe in doing what it takes to make sure projects are completed both on time and on budget. We believe in a servant culture that offers the very best possible experience for our clients and our community.

To do that, our employees need to be invested in our mission, excited about their work, and growing in their lives and careers. Serving our clients starts with serving our staff. We know that when our team members are happy and fulfilled, their attitude and energy will come through in their work.

That is why Holley Potts is so important to the Dow Smith Company team.

As our Director of Well-Being, Holley is available as a life coach to all of our employees and their families.

Holley helps Dow Smith employees in a variety of ways. “For some people, it’s losing weight and being healthy. Or it could be budgeting and personal finance,” says Holley. “For others, it’s purchasing a house or handling big tasks they need to get done. Maybe they need help with time management. Some people have big ideas and they want to know how to get them heard.”

Holley explains that “coaching isn’t about me giving advice. It’s about helping people hear their own voices. You will know what will work for you.”

But beyond all of that, it’s helpful just to have someone to talk to. According to an article in EHS Today, 80 percent of construction workers have experienced stress at work. What’s worse, most people who are struggling with mental health don’t seek help or express their feeling to others.

“Workers in the construction industry are more vulnerable to burnout than in any other field—and for good reason. Long, irregular hours spent in dangerous work environments, along with the added stress of job insecurity, are major stressors,” Jill Fleming writes in the article in EHS Today. “The majority of construction workers never express their feelings or seek help. Nearly 60 percent of construction workers reported struggling with mental health but only a third said they would communicate this to their employers. Their reasons for not telling their employer about their struggles include fear of embarrassment, a belief their employer wouldn’t be able to help, and the fear it would negatively impact their career.”

Holley says it can be a challenge to get tough construction workers used to operating heavy machinery to sit down in a soft chair and talk about their feelings. But we don’t want anyone on our team to just grind their way through day after day without help. We’re making it a priority for our team members to have aspirational goals and dreams. This makes life better for our employees and it makes them safer and more effective on our clients’ job sites.

‘This is how we do it’

DSC President and Owner Dow Smith says having Holley at the company for the past year has created a more stable work environment.

“Any employee of ours who has spent time with Holley Potts has seen an increase in productivity,” says Dow. “When you get an hour of work from our Project Managers, it’s the same as two to three hours from our competitors. That’s how we keep projects on time and on budget. Everybody talks about it, but this is how we do it.”

While meeting with Holley is optional, she’s already seeing 14 team members at least once a month.

“When they see other people benefiting, they come,” Holley says. “The very first person I coached was Dow. He set the standard from the start.”

Project Manager and Estimator Aaron Fisher started meeting with Holley shortly after she joined Dow Smith Company.

“It’s been very beneficial,” Aaron says. “Holley asks the right questions to help you process your thoughts in a different way.”

Superintendent Zac Neely has been meeting with Holley for several months. He’s been excited to attend their sessions and is glad DSC has made her a part of the team.

“Holley offers a different perspective and helps me see things in a different light,” Zac says. “She helps me narrow down what I want my goals to be and gives me different things to look at to help me achieve those goals.”

While Zac didn’t have any hesitation about meeting with Holley, he says he understands that some people might.

“Being a superintendent, I hope my going will make people feel more at ease with meeting with Holley and talking to her,” he says. “I think we have a stigma about talking to people, especially as men in the South. But it’s been one of the greatest blessings for me, being able to open up and talk to people I trust and get some good advice.”

Zac says that he’s already seeing progress toward his personal and professional goals.

“It’s just one more person to hold me accountable to the goals I want to achieve,” he says. “We’re all good at procrastinating when we don’t want to deal with things. But when you’ve got that person who wants to see you succeed and do well, it gives you that extra initiative to go ahead and get it done.”

Building trust

A big part of coaching is accountability. The fact that DSC works so hard to create internal accountability is just one more thing that sets us apart.

“I think this goes back to the question, ‘What kind of person are you hiring and what kind of company are you trusting your project with?’” Holley says. “When we focus on employee engagement and well-being, we create consistency. Repeat clients are seeing the same employees on this job that they had on the last one. Things like that are important.”

Holley knows that creating this level of consistency and accountability can require some difficult conversations, which are all confidential. But if she starts to see themes emerging with the conversations she’s having with staff, sometimes she’ll ask, “Would I have your permission to bring this up as an issue?”

By talking with so many employees, she’s gained a better understanding of how everyone on the DSC team fits together and how they will work best together. This allows us to put our best foot forward with everything we do.

“When you’re hiring someone to design and build a project, you have to be able to trust them,” says Holley. “And knowing that our company has placed such a priority on well-being says a lot. We truly are a company that does everything to have our act together, personally and professionally.”