Bret Keisling shares an excerpt from Episode 011 of the Owner to Owner podcast with Jesse Tyler featuring three employee owners at Moody’s Collision Centers and their EO A-ha Moments and why Moody’s is a great place to work.
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Mini-cast 172 Transcript
[00:00:00] Bret Keisling: Welcome to the ESOP Mini-cast. Thank you so much for listening. My name is Bret Keisling, and as it says on my business cards, I'm a passionate advocate for employee ownership. In September 2021, we launched the Owner to Owner podcast as part of the EO Podcast Network. It's been a privilege and a blessing for me to work with host Jesse Tyler, to bring important conversations with rank and file employee owners to a broader audience. This podcast is the only vehicle we know of where an owner speaks exclusively to other employee owners.
[00:00:38] Earlier this week, we dropped Episode 11, which features three employee owners at Moody's Collision Centers. Jesse ends every episode the same way: he asks his guests to share their "EO A-ha Moment" and he asks them to give a little pitch as to why their employee-owned company is a great place to work.
[00:00:55] So, I'm going to turn over today's Mini-cast to Jesse Tyler and his three guests, Lori Waddell, Matt Tervo, and Mike Shaw, who are the employee owners at Moody's Collision Centers.
[00:01:06] Enjoy this excerpt from the Owner to Owner podcast. Here's Jesse Tyler.
[00:01:11] Jesse Tyler: I hope you know this, but Moody's employee owned is an incredibly respected ESOP, and that reaches well beyond New England. So, just to share that back with you, you're part of something really special and respected.
[00:01:24] All right. So, we like to ask our guests to share their EO A-ha Moment. And so, this is not really the first time you've heard about employee ownership or when you started to like it. It's that moment for you that you can look back on and say, ah, this ownership thing's going to be a game changer. Working here is going to be different.
[00:01:42] Can I get each of you to share your EO A-ha Moment? Start with Mike and we'll go back through again.
[00:01:48] Mike Shaw: So, the first year I had my first certificate, as far as stating what I had, you know, kind of in my ESOP balance, seeing that. And then the second year seeing the change between the first and the second year and having each line explained to me as to what it means and what it contributes to my, you know, future growth in ESOP.
[00:02:04] That was huge for me to see not only the change from the first to second year, but as far as projection goes in the future to what I can achieve, you know, staying and having a career here at Moody's.
[00:02:14] Jesse Tyler: That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. Lori, what was your EO A-ha Moment?
[00:02:18] Lori Waddell: I guess mine was the day when I found out that I actually got hired with Moody's, because being in dealership world for 10, 11 years, one dealership for a long time. And I was familiar with Moody's. I knew of what their standards and what it meant with the ESOP, and always kept thinking it would just be great to be a part of that.
[00:02:38] So, you know, the day that I found out that I was, I got hired, I was like, I knew it wasn't going to be great in the beginning, but it gave me an incentive of something to look forward to in the future that I am finally going to be able to be a part of something where I matter. I can strengthen into my retirement with ESOP in my retirement and had that opportunity.
[00:02:58] Jesse Tyler: That's great. Thank you for sharing that moment. And I just want to go back a little bit to something you said too, just so maybe other people can understand you mentioned sort of your experience in dealerships. And if you could share a little bit of insight on sort of what you were referring to. I have a good friend who's worked for years and dealerships. So, I have some insight on this. I'd love to hear it, sort of, with your insights.
[00:03:18] Lori Waddell: Well, being a dealership world, and it never changed my work ethic. I have a work ethic that is very natural. And I'm very passionate about what I do, doesn't matter where I worked, but it wasn't as meaningful at a dealership as it is here at Moody's where my voice really does matter. You know, like I said, being a dealership role, they didn't change that work ethic. I still cared about people. In dealership world, I was more on the service end of GMC Cadillac and then BMW.
[00:03:46] So, I still was there to help people, but personally and mentally, it wasn't as meaningful. I didn't feel like -- I didn't see myself retiring there. I didn't see myself, even though I enjoy doing what I did, I did not see ending my work life there. And when I, like I said, when I got hired with Moody's, that was my A-ha Moment.
[00:04:07] Like, yes, I'm going to be really appreciated. I'm going to be able to say this is going to be my last job or work career.
[00:04:15] Jesse Tyler: That's great. That's great. Thanks for the additional thoughts. Matt, please share your EO A-ha Moment.
[00:04:21] Matt Tervo: It probably had to be, I at first started in Gorham and I was a detailer quality control position. And Sean was walking kind of insurance company bigwigs through the shop, and he would stop them and like, you know, introduce me to them and said, this is Matt, this is what he does here. And that was just, kind of, that threw me off there. It was like, you know, owner of the company's basically like, I was lowest on the totem pole, and it just really made me feel a part of, and it kind of instilled that culture.
[00:04:48] And then, you know, it was like, okay. Well, I matter here.
[00:04:50] Jesse Tyler: That's great. That's great. All right. So, the big finish, why should somebody come and work at Moody's? What's great about Moody's? This is a chance to plug the company that you all own.
[00:05:02] Mike, why should somebody who's thinking, looking around in the, within reasonable driving distance of your 13 locations and growing, why should they come work at Moody's?
[00:05:12] Mike Shaw: I think the biggest thing is our communication. As far as talking to each other and letting each other know what we need to succeed. And helping each other. It's not competitive, especially being co-worker owned, you know, you all have a part to play and, you know, you're not against each other. Like Matt was saying, we are coworkers, not employees.
[00:05:30] So, I think that's the biggest thing working at Moody's is -- and it does feel like a small company when you work for Moody's, as far as everyone's so close and it makes it seem so, you know, everyone seems so accessible even from other locations. It's just, it's very nice to have that.
[00:05:44] Jesse Tyler: That's great.
[00:05:44] Lori, why should somebody be looking at Moody's as their next employer?
[00:05:49] Lori Waddell: It's a great company to be a part of and a great company to say that you are a part, a coworker at Moody's. Like Mike said, that we're all in it together. We're all here as a team. No one here wants to see anyone fail or struggle.
[00:06:04] We're all here to pick each other up and we're all going through the same or maybe not the same difficult issues or times, but we're here to help everyone. You're getting back to what you put in.
[00:06:14] Jesse Tyler: That's great. Matt, what are you, what are your thoughts on why Moody's employee owned is great place to work and why others should join you and fill those open positions?
[00:06:22] Matt Tervo: Kind of just continuing with what Mike was saying with just the teamwork aspect. There isn't the competition, you know, we're here to lift each other up and you know, it's a company that really looks after their employees and tries to make it fun at the same time. And yeah.
[00:06:35] Jesse Tyler: That's great. That's great.
[00:06:36] Bret Keisling: I hope you'll check out Episode 011 of the Owner to Owner podcast, as well as its entire catalog of back episodes at OwnertoOwnerPodcast.com. And I hope you'll join us next Tuesday for a brand-new episode of our primary EO/ESOP Podcast.
[00:06:52] Thank you so much for listening. This is Bret Keisling. Be well.
[00:06:56] Bitsy McCann: We'd love to hear from you. You can find us on Facebook at EO Podcast Network and on Twitter @ESOPPodcast. This podcast has been produced by Bret Keisling for the EO Podcast Network, production assistance by Victoria Huerta, original music composed by Max Keisling, branding and marketing by BitsyPlus Design, and I'm Bitsy McCann.
Standard Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are my own and don't represent those of my own firms or the organizations to which I belong. Nothing in the podcast should be construed as guidance or advice of any kind in any field and the fact that I mentioned an organizational website or an advocate or a company on a podcast does not reflect an endorsement, but if you've heard your name or your group's name mentioned on this podcast, I'd love to have you come on and talk about it yourself.
A note on the transcript: This transcript was produced by Descript, an automated transcription service. While it has been reviewed by The EsOp Podcast, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the transcription. Please refer to the original audio when citing sources.