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Family is at the heart of Kendra Scott’s personal and work lives.
In the Dec. 4 episode of Hoda Kotb’s podcast, “Making Space,” Scott explained how she’s seen the value of prioritizing personal relationships while building her billion dollar namesake jewelry business.
“So many times we separate work and family, and at Kendra Scott it is one thing. Family is part of work. Work is part of family. We’re together. It doesn’t have to be this separate thing,” she said.
Scott, who has six children, explained that she encourages her employees to “put family first.”
“I want them to put their family first, and I trust and believe them that they’ll do their job, whatever that looks like. And if they’re there for their families, I know they’re going to be much happier in their work, right?” she said.
The entrepreneur said her company has around 3,000 employees and described her team as “a female army of amazing women” who work alongside “some brave men.”
“We are a sisterhood. We lift each other up. We hold hands. We root for one another. We celebrate each other’s successes. We help each other during our hard times,” she said.
Many working moms struggle to balance their jobs with parenting, but Scott has cultivated a work environment where her employees are encouraged to have a life outside the office.
“When somebody is pregnant at Kendra Scott, I’m usually the first person they call. I don’t know many companies (where) they call the founder first, because I just get so giddy, like, ‘Another Kendra Scott baby!'” she said.
While discussing her leadership style, Scott described the meaning behind her company’s “sister rule.”
“We do this for our customers, how we treat our customers, but also how we treat each other. It’s, ‘How would you treat your sister?’ That’s your return policy. That’s your every policy, is, ‘How would you treat your sister?’ Answer that question. Unless you don’t like your sister, you know, there’s that. So let’s pretend you have a great sister,” she said.
These days, Scott estimates over 93% of her employees are female and many are longtime team members.