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Murat's story is relatable in today's climate. He's always been very open about his struggles both personally, and in business. He talked to us about balancing priorities [family time vs. handling business matters] and what he's learned along the way. Despite the success and accolades he's earned over the years, Murat remains humble. He's quick to praise his team for the company's achievements. He's a leader's leader.
Canpa is based in Turkey, and in 2015 they faced some really challenging times which many organizations can relate to today. Are you struggling with employee engagement, low profitability, productivity, or layoffs?
Murat Ozcan is Vice President of Canpa. He manages a team of 100 out of Instanbul, Turkey. His family-owned materials distribution firm has been in business for over 35 years. They bring high quality products to the needs of the construction sector. In 2015, Canpa was facing colossal business challenges, and they came very close to closing their doors for good.
Turnover was one of their most expensive problems. “We were training everyone and just when they were good enough to contribute to the company, they left and contributed somewhere else,” says Murat Ozcan, Canpa Vice President. “On average if we lost 12 people, that cost me about $150,000. That was our loss in retention, just imagine the cost in customer dissatisfaction.”
Things became worse when they were forced to go through with enormous lay-offs. “Pscyhologically, it was a hard time for everyone in the company. We would say never let go of your teammates’ hands and then we had to let go of so many people in one day,” says Murat.
From declining profitability, a 30% employee turnover rate, low productivity, and poor company morale, Canpa’s leadership needed to correct the direction of the company, or they’d face eliminating entire departments, or even worse, closing their doors for good.
“When we don’t prioritize what we want as individuals and as a company, someone else will decide our priorities for us. That was one of the greatest learnings.” - Murat
Murat read Delivering Happiness and was inspired to attend a DH Masterclass [see our virtual solutions]. The DH team led Murat and his employees through exercises to identify the company’s core values and higher purpose. With this foundation in place, Canpa could finally structure their culture around values-based initiatives and behaviors.
DH coach|sultants® supported the team in developing a culture roadmap based on the science of happiness. They aligned their culture foundation with their business goals for better profits, less turnover, and greater growth.
“I think a handful of believers versus hundreds of non-believers within the system made all the difference.” - Murat
Business doubled and they saw a 4x increase in revenue, 7x increase in profit, and their turnover rate dropped from 30% to 0%. As Turkey’s economy tanked, Canpa’s business continued to grow year after year.
The crisis in 2018 affected small and large businesses across many industries when their currency, the lira, hit record lows.
Inflation and joblessness were alarmingly high, growth was minimal, and fears of what was ahead was on everyone's mind.
As Turkey’s economy tanked, Canpa’s business grew, generating a 4x increase in revenue in 2018 alone. They were awarded FIRST PLACE in Turkey’s 2018 “Great Place to Work” assessment, considered alongside organizations like H&M, Microsoft, E-Bay, and Hilton.
“Business grew year after year, and I worked much less,” Murat laughs. “Every aspect of business enhanced, not only retention, but profit, revenue, the amount of customers we gained, and so forth. When you let culture do what it does, which is small acts of kindness, and when you share it with your customers, it makes a big impact.”
To read their full story and new company updates from Murat, click here.
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