EP2: Building a People First Culture: Training, Hiring, and Leadership in the Service Industry

Celton talks about his leadership journey from store manager to CEO at CC’s coffee, the importance of maintaining a people-first culture (a la southern hospitality + mentions to qualities he looks for in candidates), and the challenges of training and developing employees in the service industry. 

Celton shares insights from his recent store visits, emphasizing the need for effective training and the value of listening to employees.

Timestamps:

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to CC's Coffee House and Leadership Journey
05:03 The Importance of Community and Guest Service
05:04 The want for more training
08:07 Why Celton chose Opus
08:36 Jam Session - example
10:40 Identifying people-first leaders
11:45 Aspirational Leadership and Legacy Building
12:32 The Power of Continual Improvement
16:12 Learning from Failures and Accountability
16:31 Lightning Round: Personal Insights and Favorites
21:01 Power of learning a new skill

About Us
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Transcript

Rachael Nemeth: 0:00

Hi everyone, this is Rachel Nemuth, CEO of Opus Training. You are here today at Back to Basics Opus Fireside Chat Series with great CEOs in the service industry. I have had the pleasure of meeting Selton Hayden, one of the most inspiring leaders I've seen, who has really grown within. And that's why I'm excited to talk to him. Selton spent two decades, he'll correct me on that, at CC's. Starting as a store manager. Starting as a store manager before leading its spin-off into an independent company. And what really strikes me most is about how he's maintained this really authentic, warm Louisiana hospitality at the core of CC's, even as the company grows, which is a real challenge for scaling businesses. So today we're going to talk about how his frontline experience has really shaped the way that he develops people and culture at CC's. Sultan, I'm going to turn it over to you. Can you just introduce yourself, name, title, a little bit about CC's so people know who you are?

Celton Hayden: 1:08

No problem. Hey, Rachael. It is first off, let me start, it is a pleasure to have this opportunity to talk with you and all the folks in the Opus universe and beyond. I'll tell you about CC's. Well, for me, my name's Sheldon Hayden Jr. Um I am currently the CEO and president of CC's Coffee House. For me, I started as a store manager with this concept back when we had operations in Texas. Um started in a suburb of Dallas, Carrollton, Texas, um, when our former parent company, Community Coffee, had a foray into Texas expansion with their coffee house concept called CC's Coffee House. The CC stand for community coffee. Um, but just the operations weren't strong enough to sustain that division of the company. So the decision was made by the family that owned community and its management to sort of circle the wagons and protect the originating territory of southern Louisiana for the brand. So myself and a colleague, um, we were retained as part of the uh the exit of that market, and I moved to Louisiana and um worked my way up through operations over the course of that time.

Rachael Nemeth: 2:25

Incredible. And I mean, that's what I really want to start with is the how is you know, the the spin-off from community coffee. How how did you approach preserving what made CC so special to begin with, but but continue to build something new?

Speaker: 2:46

You know, there there's we have a phenomenal place that we've built. A cultural icon, a place of real value and purpose exists inside this thing that was really kind of done as an as an offshoot. You know, so it's like, hey, I'm not trying to say it was a we might as well, but it was a we needed to do it. But we kind of accidentally discovered the secret sauce, which was let's let's have a physical place, people inside of it, who are rooted in a value system of highest level of quality and camaraderie and community and service. And by the way, let's sell some coffee while we're doing it, and we just mushroomed from there.

Rachael Nemeth: 3:39

I want to talk about that a little bit. You know, ultimately you're a community-driven business, but you're a business, there's still a bottom line, and so you know, there's a lot going on in the coffee industry, drive-through concepts, new products, tech, etc. Why is, you know, the bet on community and guest service at CC's as a way of driving those top line and bottom line results?

Speaker: 4:08

I will say guest service and the way in which you engage with a community perhaps are two components of a business model that are hard to copy.

Rachael Nemeth: 4:18

That's fair.

Speaker: 4:19

Uh uh now there may be other things, Rachel, like your story. You know, no other coffee shop can claim our origin story. Um, there's no our biggest competitor can't claim the origin story that is exists in our former parent community. You couple that non-replicatable asset and your most value asset, your people, and you book in that with a great service proposition. And for us, it's Southern hospitality, the the ability to treat everyone truly like a guest, like a guest in my house. I just want the opportunity to give you the most highest quality experience I can. And I just happen to know it's better than someone down the street can do.

Rachael Nemeth: 5:03

And can we okay? So let's dig in. I had a question for you about this because in a recent conversation that you and I had, you shared that you're basically doing jam sessions or kind of a listening tour across the stores right now. Yeah. And I really want to know what you learned, what you discovered from going getting back into the stores. You know, it's obviously different as a CEO than it is as a store manager. What were some of the takeaways?

Speaker: 5:34

Well, it it it has to be said they want more training. Yeah. And and and I always felt it. Like uh I was trained in CCs, right? You know, back in 2001, I went through all the layers, the pancaking of all the roles, and and I and I remember it all, and I know the value of it. You know, a a well-hired individual who's trained well performs well, right? And there's a bunch of stuff that goes in between that. So across the board, the listening sessions I've had, it's young people, the 18 to 25-year-old set, want great training. They they they just they're starving for it. It's like, teach me what you want me to do.

Rachael Nemeth: 6:24

Was it not there before?

Speaker: 6:26

It it's there, but it gets tossed to the wayside with the demands of what may be happening. We're open 14 hours a day. If you're in a staffing depleted sort of my uh mode, you know the first thing that goes is like, hey, the the modules, nah, I need you to do this.

Rachael Nemeth: 6:45

Yeah.

Speaker: 6:46

Right? And then if you compound that with a store leader who themselves need an off day, right? We're human. Like, I really need to do my laundry. So uh I know you're not 100%, but here's the key.

Rachael Nemeth: 7:01

Right.

Speaker: 7:02

You so you you you end up your manuals and your programs just collect dust. And you end up moving into a space where the needs of the business get defined by the store unit, the store leadership. And if that's um infrequent or less competent than ideal because of whatever circumstance, it all compounds. And you know who it falls on? The line level employee. Well, you have to arrest control of that and be and be very, very clear about how you're gonna deploy resources to tackle it and simplify the game. Young people need the freedom and the space to absorb the information you're throwing at them because it is highly complex. And the coffee house industry, we try to make a very complex thing simple in the hands of our customer. And the simpler the experience is for your customer, the correlation is, the more complex the training, coaching, and accountability processes are for that experience to be. And I know as we're excited to work with Opus and we're moving into a bright new future of a better alignment of technology, um, the correlation of resources, really square pick to square hole attempt to really make an ideal experience for uh our team members. This is a volunteer army. They chose to come to you and today's economic environment, but they chose you for whatever myriad of reasons. Doesn't that matter? A young lady had been with us 90 days, was sitting across from me. Um, beautiful, vibrant attitude, right? And she says, Mr. Selden, you know, I have something to say too. And she raises her hand and she says, uh, well, since you asked what you can do for us, is I need to be trained. And I'm I'm like, wait, Kayla? I said, Kayla, what? Her name's Kayla, and she's and I'm saying, You've been here 90 days. Yeah, I learned by watching everybody else. I'm okay, but I'm like, but what did she see? What did she copy? So if she copied less than the ideal state, what is she now replicating? And that example begets an example, which begets an example, which begets an example. And then you look at the PL and you're like, hey, where's why is my traffic down? Oh, it's the the the drain is is it's exponential when you have a hundred plus percent turnover, trainers who are don't even know they're training people, they're just training by osmosis. So you have this diminishing return equation that's happening, and guests experience that and they choose other places, or they come to you less frequently. And um, it is central to the growth expectations of CCs, is now that we're national franchise or that we develop systems and processes that are nimble enough to handle that environment, you know, and help young people or older people, doesn't matter, five generations in the workplace, just learn what they need to learn and get about serving. Just get them out there and let them be themselves, let them express our values, be real, be exceptional, and be passionate. And those are so simple, but they get very complex and clouded when we muck it all up with too much administration. We have to strip that thing back.

Rachael Nemeth: 10:40

I want to keep on this people trend. You know, it's so um you obviously take this people first mentality, which um is exceedingly rare. I think there's a lot of buzz that you hear, but the truth is, is it really doesn't it it's not built into the fabric of many organizations. What are a couple of specific things that you really look for when you're identifying potential leaders in the company who can help embody that kind of people first mentality? You know, what's the interview question or what's the spark?

Speaker: 11:13

Wow, a great question. I just I had a conversation about this last week um with our our HR leader. Um try to remember the answer. Here's what I look for. Here's what I look for. I just look for zap. Like, do you gotta jazz about you? Uh like I I don't need you to be a PhD. No one needs that, right? It's just do you have an innate desire to please and smile? I'm a terrible interviewer, by the way. So I don't really spend a lot of time on resumes. The resume doesn't show up on day 45. It's Rachel who's got some bills. She's worried about her parents, uh, her pet may need some care. So that's the real part of our values. So I try to get to that. And what I look for is an aspirational person. Like, where are you going? Every subsequent day that you're blessed to live is another day you should be advancing. And can we at CCs be part of your advancement somewhere? So if you're in school, what do you want to do? What you know, what's your dream? How can we be a part of that? What can CC's do for you? Hey, we want to be a part of that story for you. She just started.

Rachael Nemeth: 12:35

You know, one of our um values at Opus is 1% better every day. And we have no expectations, right, for perfection, but we do have high expectations for constantly striving to improve as a person and as a company. And something you said just resonated with me around this notion of well, maybe the the dirty little secret about improvement is helping others. Maybe if it's your if you're constantly thinking about how you're helping other people, you're extending that you know value, that virtue.

Speaker: 13:10

When when I was younger, um, one of my mentors taught me this lesson. I do not know if it was original to him, but I've carried it now. I've been working since I was 14, started as a grocery sacker, right? And and it when I first got into management, this guy taught me, he's like, hey, hey, Selton, walk backwards out of your store every day, physically and spiritually. And when you do so, ask yourself, did you leave it better today than it was when you walked in? Including the people. Like, did you give your gifts? And I don't have a lot of money, and I don't have degrees, I got this. And did I, through the gift that I I know I was given, through through conversation and language and the desire to inspire people, did I give of myself? And whether or not it all resonated, 99% of it is goofy, you know, oh, Selton's a goofball. But man, did I land 1%? Like you talk about that 1%, like that one thing that that struck a card with a person, whether it was a technical skill they didn't know, or it was a conversation about what majors should they be taking, or how should they invest or 401k based on my experience? Just if you can give, right? And that's what service is, is giving.

Rachael Nemeth: 14:37

Right. Right. That's where real ownership comes from. You know, I I hear CEOs all the time say, I wish that my team had more ownership over their role and their company, but you can't just ask that of somebody. It has to be these kind of other pillars that ultimately lead to feeling like you have purpose there. And I I I love that mentality around leaving something better than you came in.

Speaker: 15:03

Um it's hard to do.

Rachael Nemeth: 15:05

It is and it's hard to remember to do, you know.

Speaker: 15:08

Yeah, it's hard to say why. Yeah, yeah. I was in I was in soft lines for a number of years, and you know, I would end my shift or or closed at night if it was a close, and I would say, hey, you know, the displays look great. You know, the floor is swept. Tomorrow morning is ready. Hey, I worked with Gerald. Gerald had a good day with me. He made some bonuses, he sold some stuff, man. Um, he's happy, he had a good engagement. I taught him something, I learned something about him. We we have talked about when we're gonna work together again tomorrow. And did I make any differences? Did I make anybody happy? Did I did I give a guy a great outfit, right? Did I did I what did I do today? And did I, you know, and last in that analysis, what did I get? Okay, good. You know, that's great. Am I excited about tomorrow? Yeah, I am. Tomorrow's gonna be hard work, sure is.

Rachael Nemeth: 16:25

So I wanna I wanna end things with a nice uh uh uh shot of lightning. We call this our lightning round. Um really quick questions and really quick answers, just so people who are watching can get to know who you are a little bit better. One, what is your go-to coffee order?

Speaker: 16:45

Oh, go-to. I love this question. So some um I'm I'm dialing it back for this year. Um, I want to get back to some roots. I'm I'm trying to work through a renaissance, if you will. So a double espresso with a twist of lemon and one raw sugar.

Rachael Nemeth: 17:05

That's fair, that's uh, that's classic. Yeah.

Speaker: 17:08

Yeah, the the twist of lemon brings out the notes in our espresso blend, proprietary super secret formula, right? Um, but it it it tactically tests a few things. Do we got lemons in store?

unknown: 17:19

Right?

Speaker: 17:20

That's interesting. Yeah. Do we have raw sugar where it needs to be? That type deal. So, but the the espresso is the base of our beverages, and it has to be produced perfectly. If if two shots can be pulled off a machine perfectly and preserved and presented and cared for, you kind of know that everything else is going to be great.

Rachael Nemeth: 17:41

I love that. So what's the last book you read or podcast you listened to?

Speaker: 17:48

Well, podcast, I am um addicted to smartless. Don't, you know, just I am. Um and and oddly, uh Oddly is for the construction of the podcast. I I don't the entertainment factor, yeah, it's kind of cool to catch, you know, something that'll make you laugh or or thoughtful, but I like the mechanics and the the the way in which the the three guys construct a book that I'm revisiting Seven Habits right now.

Rachael Nemeth: 18:19

Oh, interesting. Huh.

Speaker: 18:21

Um, an oldie but goody. And after that, I'm gonna go back to Who Moved the Cheese. I'm kind of I'm going back to a suite, yeah. I'm going back to a suite of books that were put forth to me by one of my mentors in the business, Kathleen Wood. Um and she gave me a ton of education. And you know, I'm I wanna when I'm looking at myself when I felt I was doing it better was when I was starting out. And I want to discover what was it about me then, where the trains were running on time, and what were the the techniques and the conversation.

Rachael Nemeth: 18:59

Well, in that spirit, last question, and it has to be in the spirit of training. What is one skill that you are working on right now?

Speaker: 19:07

It is my bar skills. My bar skills. I used to proudly say I was the baddest barista in the company. Like, and and I talk it now, like I go on stores, like you don't want me to get on that machine. Like, yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna hurt your feelings. Um, it's it's important I as a CEO of a company, especially with my history. The best job that I was the best at inside CC's was a store manager. And and I just really in that moment hurt my feelings because I used it in past tense. And that's unacceptable. I'm checking myself right now in this moment. I won't get emotional. It's not a was job, it's an is job.

Rachael Nemeth: 19:50

Sure. Yeah.

Speaker: 19:51

And that's where our leaders are born. It's those men and women who are taxed with the responsibility of nurturing other people through a service proposition to take care of customers and one another. And I love that job. And in the center of that job is the quality expression that comes off of the Law Mazarka three group expression machine or the new technology that we're testing in our stores, the Eversis machines. Things are beautiful. But that's our centerpiece. What we we make it front and center in our stores. The turret is what we call it. It's the theater. I want to get good at the bar again because it's a place of conversation. You learn so much about your people when you stand next to them and pull drinks.

Rachael Nemeth: 20:35

Yeah. Yeah. I and work a blender. A very short stint as a barista. Um, I didn't cut it. Uh and I still remember Hey, come work for I know. Maybe I need to work.

Speaker: 20:49

I need to help.

Rachael Nemeth: 20:52

But uh I still remember the sense of pride I had making just a great.

Speaker: 20:57

Isn't it phenomenal? It is I went through in 2001, we had to train for two weeks before we ever saw a customer. And um I remember vividly having these moments of like, am I a failure? You know, being I dropped out of AM, right? And some of my my friends, um, my best friend was able to stay at AM and finish. I knew who was making more money than me and who was more accomplished by whatever standard than me. And here I was, 28, on the verge of getting um married, and I'm like, look at me. You know, I'm I'm a barista. But at the end of that two weeks, this thing washed over me. It's like, I have a skill. Like I can do something. Now, is it neurosurgery level? No, and I get that, but I have a suite of education and the ability to take my innate talent with the expected talent to do a thing, and I create stuff. I really have this thing well over me. Like, I'm awesome. And I I want that feeling for all of our employees. Like, yeah, you may leave, but you'll never forget the fact that you can walk into any coffee shop and run circles around somebody and serve people. And like that, that is, that is something that can never diminish. It is so invaluable. And I learned the essence of service and care for people through the conveyance of a of a food and a beverage.

Rachael Nemeth: 22:31

That is the intimacy carries through, yeah.

Speaker: 22:34

It does. It it if it were not for being in the restaurant industry, I wouldn't be as good of a father and husband, and a brother, and a son, just from what I've learned with empathy and caradery and sacrifice. It's just a phenomenal place to be. Thank you for investing time with me today.

Rachael Nemeth: 22:51

Thank you for your time. I'm just totally inspired and blown away. And um, every time I talk to you, I learn something new.

Speaker: 22:59

So and I you, I you. I knew we were gonna work together. Sitting there at that restaurant in Dallas, I'm like, hey, you have me at hello. Where's the paperwork?

Rachael Nemeth: 23:10

Likewise, I thought this person knows exactly how I think when it comes to the world of work. Um well, Selton, thank you so much for joining us today. My pleasure. Really appreciate you. Enjoy that store visit. Um and um uh we'll talk to you soon.