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Make your company a great place to workBy Amanda Kramer
commitment and continuous improvement. They're the seven most important characteristics of a great place to work, said the Edgewood College business professor. They're the characteristics that prospective employees should seek out when they're looking for a job and they often function as a checklist for companies in gauging corporate success. "A business has a moral obligation and a financial obligation to create an environment where someone can create a life," Beaubien said. "And the really good news is that what makes a good work environment also creates an environment of terrific loyalty. In my classroom I try to convince people that when a corporation uses these good business practices they make sense financially, as well as ethically." While Madison may top lists like Forbes' 2004 "Best Places For Business" and make Fast Company's 2005 ranking of "Up-and-Coming Hubs for Creative Workers," the accolades mean little unless the area's businesses are really stepping up to the plate. And that means leaders need to make sure they're creating better businesses, Beaubien said, where employees get up for work and say "I get to go to work today." Among her "7 Cs," Beaubien highlights a few of her principles, and first is courtship: "Right from the very beginning, excellent employers make a great impression. The initial contact should be carefully planned with an eye to a long-term relationship," she said. "Great employers are clearly pleased to have the person on board, they take some time get to know the employee and have the employee get to know them." She said good businesses also recognize the importance of compensation. "People need to feel fairly and equitably paid for their labor," she said. "Take a broad view of compensation and explore its many forms. Creativity and flexibility will be the hallmarks of a compensation plan that is designed to retain employees." While there are hundreds of Capital Region businesses staying on top of their game, we're highlighting five organizations that have mastered the "7 Cs" and created some of their own keys to creating a great work environment. COURTSHIP "Like all courtship, great employers are clearly pleased to have the person on board, they take some time get to know the employee and have the employee get to know them; they honestly showcase their strengths; they don't make promises they can't keep; they ask for a commitment and they make their expectations very clear." COACHING "Once the selection is made, the employee needs to build confidence and competence. Training, instruction, encouragement and education are critical to an employee's orientation. While many organizations do a fairly good job of orientation and training, in order to develop long-term loyalty the mentoring and coaching of an employee should be ongoing." COMPENSATION "Compensation is important. Creativity and flexibility will be the hallmarks of a compensation plan that is designed to retain employees. Build some flexibility into your plan according to what you discover through researching your employees' wants, needs and suggestions." COMMUNICATION "Communication must flow through all levels of the organization to get work done and to increase the satisfaction of all members of the work team. Both receiving information and having the opportunity to share ideas and suggestions are important to hard-working, professional, well-trained employees. It's the component that links people and tasks together and enhances the experience while increasing the productivity of the work group." COLLABORATION "There is no doubt that when someone feels like a valuable part of the whole, they will be more favorably inclined toward the employer. Building teams creates a sense of connectedness and this, in turn, leads to a great work environment and longevity of service." COMMITMENT "Individuals seek responsibility. They'll commit to the organization when the organization commits to them. After the courtship, the orientation, training and the discussion of ideas, comes the steady, hard work of daily activity. Frequent feedback, appreciation, and recognition will keep people committed. In addition, building trust, empowerment and not taking any employee for granted are essential in maintaining commitment." CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT "An organization must continuously update the skills, knowledge and abilities of its workforce. Employees who are not updating their skills will be left behind. They will begin to feel frustrated, unfit, uncertain, and inadequate. These are painful, unpleasant feelings and impact on both morale and productivity." Elder Care of Wisconsin Elder Care of Wisconsin is a mission-driven organization that attracts seriously committed employees who see Elder Care as their life, not just a job. "I know of people at every level who've left higher paying positions to work there," said Karen Ostrov, a Capital Region executive coach and principal of Konect Consulting, Inc. "I think that everybody wants to work for a company that believes strongly in what they do and where their values are in sync with what yours are," said Holly Bonnicksen-Jones, Elder Care's human resources director. "We offer a place that actually walks that walk." Elder Care provides older adults with services so they can continue living independently. The nonprofit has a team of nurses and social workers who work with the elderly across the region. Elder Care, with nearly 300 employees, has grown by leaps and bounds since it started in 1976. The key to keeping both clients and employees happy, said Bonnicksen-Jones, is creating an environment that stays true to its goal. In this case, she said, the goal includes providing high-quality care, partnering with friends and family, and advocating for older adults. Cindy Desch, Elder Care's support services division manager, has been with the organization for almost 19 years. And, Desch said, she couldn't imagine finding another organization that fits her and her life better. "It never ceases to amaze me when we get a call from a nurse on Friday and we need someone to be with a person ... we have people volunteering," she said. "People believe in what it is they're doing. We have a commitment to the work." Door Creek Pharmacy Karen Ballweg has never been able to express true contentment with a job. That is, until now. "I've never worked for a place and said 'I love my job,' " said Ballweg, the assistant store manager for Door Creek Pharmacy in Cottage Grove. The pharmacy and gift store, owned by husband and wife team Kevin and Janell Hoey, makes its livelihood off treating Ballweg and its other employees like they're part of one big family. "It doesn't feel like a drag getting up to work. These people are good people and they treat everybody that way," said Ballweg. Crystal Slinker, a pharmacist who's worked for the Hoeys for nearly six years, said she couldn't imagine working anywhere else. "I'd say one of the things that appeals to me the most about working here is that's it's very family-oriented," Slinker said. "When a crisis comes up I think they know the importance of family. I think that even comes out in the way we help our customers as well." The Hoeys' business, currently celebrating its 10th year of operation, is doing well. A pharmacist himself, Hoey runs the store in Cottage Grove, and he and his wife, whom he calls the "nuts and bolts of the operation," recently opened a store in Deerfield. Hoey said the key to making the pharmacy run smoothly is simple: He's extraordinarily selective about whom he hires. And the people he selects make for loyal employees. "I look at their qualifications and their people skills," Hoey said. "You have to be intuitive to what their people skills are ... whether you're the cashier, the stock boy or the managing pharmacist, you have to be good with people. That's high on my list, probably higher than they got a degree at Yale or Harvard or a degree at the University of Iowa." Hoey's also given his employees room to grow and be creative. For example, Slinker said that ever since pharmacy school she's been intrigued by compounding prescriptions, which involves creating custom-made recipes for medications. "I was interested in starting compounding and was able to grow that," Slinker said. "We started a little subset, and we're making things that aren't commercially available or are tailoring something to a patient." Webcrafters Jac Garner has been with Webcrafters 19 years. In that time, the printing company's president has seen a number of employees who are the second and third generations in their family to work for the company. And, Garner said, that's a testament to the type of workplace Webcrafters is. "We certainly are not perfect and we certainly have things we need to work on in terms of all our business operations," Garner said. "But there are fundamentals we stand for. "As a company we are very committed to the Madison area, we believe in strong, stable jobs, we pay well, there are good benefits and we rely on extraordinarily talented people to make us invaluable to our customers. We have employees whose knowledge is so deep and complete." Webcrafters, with plants in Madison and Westport, is owned by the Frautschi family. Reggie Williams, a digital imager who's been with Webcrafters for almost three decades, said he finds his job incredibly satisfying. He said he feels like he's giving back to the community by helping to create many of the educational materials the company prints. He also said he's felt like Webcrafters has always had his best interest in mind. "Webcrafters has always been very loyal to their employees," he said. "I've been here 27 years and I've never seen a layoff. In slow periods they'll find something for you to do. ... It's especially important because I have a family to raise. I appreciate that." Williams said he's also taken advantage of the company's tuition reimbursement plan. Just a few years ago, Williams earned his computer information service degree from Madison Area Technical College, something he was unable to do right out of high school. "After I graduated (from high school) I came to Madison and went to the UW for a year and a half ? then I got married, we had a family right away and that took me away from my education for a time," Williams said. Garner said that while Webcrafters may not be flawless, it remains a strong example of an organization that's doing right by its workers. Other companies looking to do the same, Garner said, can focus on a few simple things: supporting a sense of family, supporting the community you do business in and giving your employees opportunities for growth over a long period of time. PLANNING Design Build, Inc. Cindy Howery said she'd always heard good things about PLANNING Design Build, Inc., but it wasn't until she came to work for the Madison firm in 2005 that she got to experience the company's atmosphere for herself. "I'd always heard they treated their employees well ... that it was a corporate environment without being a very rigid environment," Howery, an interior designer, said. "It's been a really eye-opening experience for me. I notice from the owners on down, as a new person everybody learns your name. You feel welcomed. That's 100-plus people here so that's kind of a big deal." Ken Pientka, the chief operating officer with PLANNING said what sets the company apart is not only the work they do ? it's a full-service design-build firm with architects, designers and engineers on staff, which is unusual - but also the way they value their employees. "We've got some good chemistry going here and I think there's a couple factors at play," Pientka said. "I guess at the highest level we make PLANNING a place where employees can learn and grow professionally." Pientka said one way they avoid "pigeonholing" employees is by nurturing a "diversity of projects," from a big water park such as Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells to a Steinhafels superstore to Aunt B's Pet Resort in DeForest. "We also try really hard to develop our people," Pientka said. The company has an organizational development manager dedicated to individual development plans. "We look at skill sets an employee has, compare them to skills PLANNING needs and identify gaps or areas where they need training. We look at employees' interests for longer-term growth. We develop them and we're willing to invest training them in a thoughtful way," Pientka said. PLANNING also believes in good compensation. Pientka said employees get paid solid, competitive wages and a good benefits package. There's an incentive system where employees who go above and beyond the call of duty are rewarded accordingly. And last, Pientka said, the company takes its environment seriously, aiming to create an inviting space rather than the sterile ambiance of many workplaces. The office features abundant daylight, outside views for most employees, warm colors and furnishings, and non-rectangular geometries in many rooms. "Other features such as plenty of outside air, high-quality artificial lighting systems and lots of individual temperature control zones enhance the work space quality," he said. Safe Bridge Solutions Margo Sanchez had a handful of potential job offers when she moved recently to the Midwest after 13 years in California's technical industry. But one company's offer stood out: project manager with Safe Bridge Solutions, a 35-employee business and information technology firm in Madison currently approaching its two-year anniversary. "I couldn't get away from it," Sanchez said of the firm. "I kept thinking it's such a risk, they're so new ... but how charismatic they are, and I couldn't pull myself away." Sanchez started her position in May and hasn't looked back. She's currently consulting on a handful of projects with CUNA Mutual and said Safe Bridge has bent over backward to make sure she's working with companies that are a good match for her working style. "They (Safe Bridge) care about their people so much and I think that's a big difference between them and other consulting companies," Sanchez said. "They don't just stick someone in a position. They look for the right fit for you and the company." Sanchez said Safe Bridge's unique personal touch is one key characteristic that's keeping her content. She said the company recently decided to offer a 401(k) plan, and instead of simply emailing all of the consultants, the company's managers brought the group together for a lunch. "They rented out a whole back room of a restaurant and then explained the materials to us," she said. "It was even personalized with our names and how it would affect each of us. I had a couple of questions afterwards and called the lady who was handling it. She got back to me right away. I felt so handled." Gary Reitz, the managing director and co-owner of Safe Bridge, said creating a business that thrives isn't easy. Reitz and partner Dan Millin started the company after working for many years in the insurance industry. And after nearly 20 years of watching different management teams succeed and fail, he and Millin learned one simple rule: "Maybe we're not being totally realistic, but we are trying to treat people the way we'd like to be treated," Reitz said. "I always want to have what I call a 'win-win-win' situation - it's three wins - the employee has to win, the client has to win and then in turn our company wins. If any one of the three parties don't win, there's a problem." They're checking you out; make sure to check them out While hiring managers may be fierce about interviewing candidates, potential employees should be just as inquisitive about the organization and its track record. Barry Gerhart, a UW-Madison professor of management and human resources, offers the following hints for matching time, talents and interest with a new place of employment: Make sure the business is on the upswing or at least stable. Find out about sales and earnings trends and whether there is an expanding customer base. If it's a publicly traded company check Yahoo Finance, or info provided on the company Web site, perhaps under an Investors tab. The Securities and Exchange Commission also makes company financial filings available online at www.sec.gov. You probably don't want to invest yourself in a company where your job might disappear in the near future. If you are interested in helping pull off a turnaround, at least go in with your eyes open to what the challenge will really be. Look for good pay and benefits. This type of research usually requires contact with someone at the company. This may seem obvious, but there are many management gurus who make it sound like people aren't interested in such mundane things. Go to a business that will make you more valuable and help you further your career. That means look for companies that provide you with opportunities to develop valuable skills and gives an edge to companies that have strong reputations. Fortune has annual lists of best companies to work for and the most admired companies. There are also lists of high-flying technology and private companies published annually by Business Week and Inc. Of course, not all good companies will be on such lists. If you choose to move on in the future, companies that see you've done well at these companies will consider you to be someone who can be successful at their place. Choose a company that fits you. Will you feel good about the product or service they provide when you talk to others about where you work? Match the company's culture with your style: Is there a culture where work is the only thing or are people able to leave work behind them. kramer.news@gmail.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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