AT WORK
Best companies to work for practice open, two-way communication
By Dawn Sagario
The Des Moines Register
Jelly giant Smucker's was recently named to the No. 1 spot on Fortune magazine's 100 best companies to work for.
Anthony Townsend, a professor at Iowa State University, suggests some intelligence-gathering to determine if a company might be a good one to join: • Watch workers go to lunch. Pay attention to how co-workers are acting and interacting, and listen to what they're saying. • Look for the late-night lights. What kind of hours are people keeping? Are a lot of the offices still lighted at night? And what are workers' expressions when they do come out of the building? • Conduct research. Is involvement in the community a priority for the business? Find those tidbits of information using online research tools. "An hour spent kind of scoping that place out can hopefully help you raise the right questions when you get to the interview," Townsend said.
So what made a 107-year-old company that makes jams and fruit preserves No. 1?
Good or bad?
It wasn't fancy perks like pet insurance for your pooch.
Instead, Fortune cited the straight-forward management style and simple code of conduct of co-CEOs Tim and Richard Smucker in Orrville, Ohio: "Listen with your full attention, look for the good in others, have a sense of humor and say thank you for a job well done."
Listen well? Look for good in others? Say thank you for someone's hard work?
In a time of corporate scandal, a la Enron and the mutual funds mess, I thought ethics like those were something you would more likely find in reruns of "Leave It to Beaver."
The anatomy of a good workplace is built on a basic, no-frills foundation of open, two-way communication between higher-ups and subordinates, experts said. Management's genuine respect and recognition for employees' work-life balance, as well as the effort put forth on the job, are directly linked to employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Sarah Gyolai, 29, won't forget the personal thank-you she received from Pella Corp.'s vice president of manufacturing. The window and door maker, headquartered in Pella, Iowa, ranked No. 22 on Fortune's best list this year.
"With a company this size, I thought that it was pretty impressive to find time personally to come out to my assembly line and shake my hand and thank me for my effort. It was pretty rewarding," Gyolai said.
The open exchange of ideas and feedback between bosses and workers is a common attribute among Fortune's best companies, said Cynthia Judkins, project manager at the San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute Inc., which compiled the list and surveyed workers at the various businesses. (For the full list, go to www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa.htm.)
The CEOs at Smucker's worked their way up from janitor jobs. Employees call them the "boys," according to Judkins. Workers find comfort in their bosses' roots, and don't feel intimidated by them. That has helped the Smucker's CEOs build trust and credibility with their workforce, Judkins said.
Employers need to take the initiative in creating that positive work culture, said Anthony Townsend, an associate professor at Iowa State University's College of Business.
Higher-ups first need to recognize how valuable their workers are to them,Townsend said . That can start with being attentive and sensitive to the work and personal life concerns of employees.
Management then needs to nurture its relationship with the workforce by viewing it as a long-term partnership, he said. "It's like a marriage. It's not enough that you just care about your workers; you also need to show them."
A genuine concern for employees is bolstered by things as simple as a company barbecue, T-shirt giveaways, a pat on the back or a thank-you letter for a job well done, Townsend said.
Pella Corp., which employs about 7,100, uses a team-based approach focused on satisfying its customers, spokeswoman Kathy Krafka Harkema said.
The company holds what it calls "continuous improvement" events, where employees are asked for their suggestions in developing solutions for company issues that arise, Harkema said.
"It's not a top-down process. Everyone is involved in the process every step of the way."
Add to that a wealth of company perks that include a profit-sharing plan, tuition assistance, a matching-gift program for charitable contributions, dry cleaning on site and reserved parking for expectant mothers. The company will even arrange to get a worker's car oil changed during the workday.
"It all adds up," Harkema said. "At the core of it is a respectful workplace. We value everyone's individual contribution, and we celebrate our success, and we're very open with our team members."
Bad relationships between workers and supervisors consistently surface in workplace studies as a major reason why people leave their jobs, said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York, a nonprofit center for research on the changing workplace, family and community.
A 1997 study by the institute showed that while pay and benefits are important to workers, they were not sufficient in providing them with job satisfaction, Galinsky said.
There were very strong links between job loyalty and factors like how the boss treated employees and available learning opportunities.
A work environment that's flexible, supportive and respectful — and one that provides employees with opportunities to be challenged — is a strong indicator of the level of job satisfaction, said Galinsky, who cited data from the institute's 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce.
"It's about being respected in a way where you have a responsibility, you're not a cog in a machine," she said. "Your view is valued."
