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“All happy families are alike,” wrote Leo Tolstoy
in Anna Karenina. And the same appears to be
true of the companies on this year’s list of the
Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for
in America: While each company on the list is
different and possesses its own unique business
needs and issues, many have in common
a certain special quality.
Like happy families, they are alike in a
significant way: Employees seem to feel they
belong. They feel respected, appreciated.
They even use words like “family” to describe
their work environment. As a result,
many give more of themselves to the job.
They stay on board longer and become more
involved in running the business and in suggesting
improvements.
In other words, these companies inspire
employees to actively participate in the operation
of the business.
Many companies offer good benefits,
competitive pay, a comfortable workplace
and competent management. But great
companies create strong, positive company cultures that foster happy, engaged employees
who feel empowered to make
decisions in their daily work.
And here’s how they do it.
The Johnsonville Way
Johnsonville Sausage LLC, a 60-year-old,
family-owned company headquartered
in Kohler, Wis., has a clearly defined
culture that emphasizes employee
involvement in the business.
It’s a culture that is immediately evident,
starting with the company’s terminology:
Johnsonville Sausage hires
“members,” not employees; supervisors
are called coaches or team leaders; and
the company is organized into teams
rather than departments.
But the company does more than
use friendly words. It makes sure that
all Johnsonville members get to know
all aspects of the organization. Within
their first six months on the job, new
members attend a series of four, four-hour classes at Johnsonville University,
beginning with an overview of “the
Johnsonville way.” Subsequent classes
cover such topics as teamwork, diversity
and “Apples and Oranges,” which reviews
financial information about cash
flow and profits.
And employee involvement doesn’t
end when training does.
The company has a “culture of empowerment,”
says Kelly Siegel, a production
member and training coordinator
at Countryside, Johnsonville’s largest
manufacturing facility. Production
members hold meetings before each of
the three daily shifts to discuss how
things are going and address any problems.
All members are authorized to
shut down the production line at any
time if they see something that isn’t
right.
As one worker wrote in response to a
survey by the Great Place to Work‚ Institute
(the survey helps determine the
companies on this year’s list of Best
Small & Medium Companies to Work
for in America): “People here at Johnsonville
are given the responsibility to
run the company.”
Johnsonville reinforces its culture of
involvement by paying monthly bonuses
that are tied to profits. Each team has a
monthly production goal, and if that
goal is not met—as occasionally happens—
members gather to discuss improvements
they can make.
Ann Mitchell, a team leader at the
company’s Riverside facility, says problems
are addressed immediately and
members’ ideas are given serious consideration.
Mitchell, who started working
for the company 17 years ago while in
high school, says she can’t imagine
working anywhere else.
Johnsonville’s willingness to consider
employees’ ideas and suggestions helped
Debbie McFarlane, SPHR, land a job as
co-director of member services nine
years ago. At the time, Leah Glaub,
SPHR, held the position of director of
member services alone, but wanted to
cut back her hours after the birth of her
first son. She proposed that the company
hire another part-timer and allow
them both to share the human resource
position.
The company wanted to keep Glaub,
so it agreed to her proposal. The opportunity
to job share suited McFarlane,
who also had small children and was
looking for more flexibility than her job
offered. She saw the ad, applied, and she
and Glaub have happily job shared ever
since. Each works three days a week,
with one “overlap” day. The company
benefits because it gets “two SPHRs,
years of experience and two very different
styles,” says Glaub.
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How the Best Are Selected
The Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America are selected and ranked by the
Great Place to Work Institute Inc., a workplace research and consulting firm headquartered in
San Francisco. Each company participating in the ranking process earns a score based on two
primary factors.
Two-thirds of the score is based on the answers given by employees to a special survey instrument
designed by the Great Place to Work Institute. A total of 18,690 employees filled out
this survey instrument.
The remaining one-third of the score is based on responses from employers to a second instrument
designed by the institute.
The list is broken into two categories: small and medium companies. Small companies must
employ between 50 and 250 U.S.-based full- and part-time employees throughout the selection
process. Medium companies must employ between 251 and 999 employees.
To learn more about the eligibility requirements and nomination information for the 2005 list
of Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America, visit www.greatplacetowork.com/best/nominations/nom-sme.php.
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The company also benefits more
broadly from its willingness to involve
employees in the business. While the average
turnover in the meat industry is
close to 20 percent, McFarlane reports
that turnover at Johnsonville is about 8
percent.
‘More a Mission Than a Job’
Another organization with highly engaged
employees is the Hospice of Marion
County (Ocala, Fla.) Healthcare
Alliance. Because the work can be extremely
stressful—CEO Alice Privett
says working at a hospice is “more a mission
than a job”—the hospice works diligently
to respond to employee needs.
For example, when the annual organizational
effectiveness survey revealed
that employees wanted senior management
to be more visible, the organization
established the Adopt a Senior
Manager program. Alec White, SPHR,
director of human resources and volunteer
services, says about 50 employees
have participated in the voluntary program
since its inception in 2001. Participants
can “shadow” as many senior
managers as they like, and be shadowed
in turn.
Sandy Parr, now a hospital liaison,
took advantage of the program when she
worked as an admissions nurse. At the
time, the hospice was making an effort
to significantly increase the number of
patients who could be admitted each
day. Parr, who thought the initiative was
problematic, invited Privett to shadow
her.
“I’m not afraid to speak up,” says Parr.
“I said, ‘Alice, you need to come and see
how things work.’ ” Privett spent time
shadowing Parr and another admissions
nurse, Mary Miller. After that, says Parr,
“the pressure was reduced.”
Perhaps more important, the shadowing
experience ensured a healthy mutual
respect. Privett says she was
impressed by “how very, very good they
are at their jobs.” And Parr calls Privett a
“user-friendly CEO” who is “not afraid to
get her hands dirty.”
Parr says shadowing also is available
to new employees, who shadow workers
in all disciplines when they first arrive
at the hospice and then shadow
workers in different segments of their
own department. New workers also
pass through an orientation program
that Parr describes as “phenomenal.”
Newcomers spend their first month to
six weeks learning and working with a
mentor. At many companies, she says,
“they need you badly, so you are thrown
in right away.”
The turnover rate at this company of
about 400 employees is 12 percent—below
the average for the industry, which
ranges from the teens to 20 percent, says
White.
The reason employees stay here probably
has little to do with pay or benefits.
Although Parr says both are good, she
adds that nurses can earn more money
working in a hospital.
For Parr, and others, the allure of this
particular organization is a combination
of the work they do and how they are allowed
to do it. While working with patients
at the end of their lives is not for
everyone, it is the right type of work for
Parr and Miller.
Working at the Hospice of Marion
County allows Miller to do “what I
went into nursing to do,” which is to
work with patients. “Hospitals are not
patient-oriented,” she says.
Parr, who keeps an eye on hospices
throughout the country, says the Hospice
of Marion County is a “shining star”
among such institutions and has the best
team environment she has seen in 25
years of nursing.
Tapping Individuals
In a Team Environment
At Mitretek Systems -- a Falls Church,
Va., nonprofit organization that conducts
scientific research in such weighty
areas as counterterrorism, criminal justice
and the environment—tapping the
collective insights of employees through
effective teamwork is a key part of the
business.
“The atmosphere,” wrote one employee
in response to the Great Place to
Work‚ survey, “is very conducive to creative
thinking and team brainstorming.”
Jim Ackermann agrees with this assessment.
Ackermann, who is director of
the company’s information technology
services in the Center for Information
and Telecommunications Technologies,
says an entrepreneurial spirit prevails at
the company.
Tawaba Abawi, an associate in the
business and economic analysis center,
says that at Mitretek all team members
contribute—and are treated—equally.
Discussing a team he currently works
on, he says: “There’s a team leader, but it
doesn’t feel that way. We all put in the
same amount of work; there’s no dictatorship.”
And team members aren’t shy about
sharing information and ideas, he adds.
When you work on teams at Mitretek,
says Abawi, “you get help from everybody
else, you get other people’s points of
view, other people’s experiences.”
Brion Ferratt, a senior contract administrator
and negotiator, says that he
is surrounded by talented and experienced
professionals, which makes it easier
to brainstorm and collaborate. “We’re
able to bounce ideas off of one another,
and I enjoy that very much,” he says.
Ferratt recalls a recent meeting
where employees brainstormed ways to
improve the contracting process. “I like
that,” he says, “because there are always
areas for improvement in any organization.”
And he appreciates it “when management
essentially humbles themselves,
as it were, to say, ‘Hey, we can do things
better—how can I help you do your job?’ ”
The result of such interaction, of
course, benefits the business. Says Ferratt:
“When we sat down as a department
and put forth those areas where
processes could be improved, where
there are redundancies, and how we
could speed up the general administration
of contracts for Mitretek, we know
that we can improve the way Mitretek
deals with its customers.”
The ‘Flexibility
To Innovate’
Genencor International, a Palo Alto,
Calif.-based biotechnology company
with three U.S. sites, has a nonhierarchical
culture that plays to employee
strengths, says Jim Sjoerdsma, SPHR,
the company’s director of human resources.
For Mike Felton, a director of operations
at the company’s Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, facility, the culture is the best thing
about the company. Felton’s work with
industrial enzymes used in detergents
and cleaning products involves a 24/7
fermentation process that is constantly
being refined and improved. Having the
“flexibility to innovate” allows employees
to come up with process innovations
that can be implemented quickly, he
says.
The time it takes for an idea to become
reality may be as little as two or
three months, Felton says. “One person
runs it by the team; maybe they say, ‘Yes,
that sounds good, but have you thought
about this?’ The team refines the idea,
and then we say, ‘Let’s get it down on paper.’”
If implementing the idea requires
a capital expenditure, says Felton, the
necessary funds are requested, and, if
approved, the idea is implemented.
Felton recalls a time when the Cedar
Rapids plant was experiencing “more
variability in our fermentation process
than we liked.” The fermentation team of
engineers and technicians was challenged
to look at the root causes, examine
the process parameters and improve productivity.
The team met that challenge
and received a group award that amounted
to about $200 per person.
Employee rewards are handed out frequently,
encouraging employees to share
their ideas. Rewards range from relatively
inexpensive options, such as dinner certificates
or small items that can be given
immediately by employees at any level, to
cash bonuses of up to $2,500 or more for
ideas that result in large savings for the
company. For ideas that save the company
a great deal of money, employees may
receive a percentage of the amount saved.
In addition, employees are encouraged
to “walk in each other’s shoes” through
the company’s Knowledge Exchange program.
For Felton, who has degrees in
industrial technology and business management,
this meant an opportunity to
spend a year and a half at the Palo Alto
headquarters to learn more about the
company’s operations. “When they asked
me if I’d like to go to Palo Alto and work
in a different department,” he says, “I was
surprised. I said, ‘But I’m not a chemical
engineer.’ ” The company’s response was,
“That’s exactly why we picked you.”
This kind of “cross-pollination” means
that employees are exposed to many different
ways of thinking, Felton says, “and
that adds strength to our team.” He adds
that having a diverse group of employees
from many different countries and backgrounds
fosters a team environment, and
he appreciates Genencor’s willingness to
“spend the time and money to help people
[at all the company’s sites] get to
know each other.”
Felton gets calls from head-hunters
now and then, but “the thing that keeps
my head from turning is the freedom and
flexibility I have to do a good job and to do
what is right.” Genencor is doing important
work that excites people, he says, and
“we share everything, including the pain.
“We’re a close family. Competition
here is from the outside, not the inside.
It’s definitely not a stress-free environment,”
says Felton, “but the stress is
healthy stress, because it’s self-induced.”
Feedback Keeps
Employees in the Loop
Encouraging employees to be actively
involved in your business brings with it
the responsibility of providing timely,
honest feedback so they can tell if their
efforts are meeting expectations. A
company that asks employees to give
suggestions and extra effort, but then
fails to acknowledge that effort or help
guide it to meet the needs of the business,
is following a recipe for discouragement.
Northeast Delta Dental—a Concord,
N.H., firm that provides dental benefits
plans to employers and individuals in
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont—
seeks to avoid that pitfall by providing
lots of opportunities for feedback.
Employees, for example, are encouraged
to keep “me” files—copies of work
they have accomplished, praise they
have received, and learning and growth
experiences they’ve had. Claims analyst
Martha Pereira, who joined the company
in 2001, says her file is so big that it’s
“a ‘me’ book.”
The “me” file is used as a learning tool
and is part of a larger process of feedback
and performance review. Rounding
out the process: Employees do
self-appraisals, rate their managers
(anonymously) and undergo 360-degree
assessments. And managers receive
training on how to give and receive feedback.
For employees who have trouble
confronting others about a problem, the
reviews provide a forum to address issues
and resolve conflicts. They also can
provide an opportunity to hand out
praise. The reviews “are not a negative
thing,” says Pereira.
Executive administrator Barbara
McLaughlin agrees. McLaughlin, who
has been with Delta Dental since 1987,
says the company has a “blameless” culture
that focuses on solving problems
rather than assessing blame.
That openness to consider new options
seems to manifest itself in employees’
willingness to offer ideas on
ways to better the business. The company’s
Bright Ideas program encourages
employees to come up with
suggestions for improvements. In
2003, 153 ideas were submitted, and
more than 40 percent of those ideas
were implemented, according to Vice
President of Human Resources Connie
Roy-Czyzowski, SPHR.
“We are encouraged to try new
things, and we are able to be ourselves,”
says Pereira. As a result, “I want to come
to work and give 110 percent every day.”
Roy-Czyzowski adds that CEO Tom
Raffio encourages frequent employee
and manager reviews and is fond of saying
that “feedback is a gift.” If so, then it
is a gift that employees receive in abundance --
and that pays dividends back to
the business.
What the Best
Have in Common
A common element among many of the
companies on this year’s list of Best
Small & Medium Companies to Work
for in America is a responsiveness to the
needs of their own particular employees.
Look closely and you’ll find that
these companies include their employees
in the loop. They communicate well.
They value an entrepreneurial spirit.
They encourage input from employees.
And they treat employees as equals. As
a result, their employees feel good about
the company and themselves, and they
care about their work—which translates
into a boost to the bottom line.
If there is a lesson here for employers,
it is that being a great place to work
is not about bricks and mortar, or massages
and meditation rooms, appreciated
though these may be.
Employers that want to create a
great workplace need to treat employees
with evenhanded respect. Ask for
their input, then listen to it. It’s not necessary
to agree with everything that’s offered,
but it is critical to listen and
respond fairly, accurately, honestly and
in a timely manner.
Being a great employer means ensuring
that if employees feel stress, it’s
good stress -- the kind that comes when
workers have the opportunity to stretch,
grow and develop.
Will that make employees happy and
push your business into new successes?
Just ask the companies on this year’s
list.
Ann Pomeroy is senior writer for HR
Magazine.
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