Five Steps to Workplace Desirability

Some organizations have more luck than others these days. Everybody wants to work there. But why?

Des-Case Corp. president and CEO Brian Gleason knows something about how to make a workplace great. His company, manufacturer of specialty lubrication-related contamination-control products, was named last month by Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper as a Top Workplace in an annual, national competition that identifies companies with the most desirable workplaces. Efficient Plant asked Gleason to elaborate on why his company, based in the Nashville suburb of Goodlettsville, received the honor.

“When employees enjoy where they work and feel they have the freedom to accomplish great things,” he explained, “not only do you retain them longer, they produce better products and deliver support services that truly make a difference in customer retention. We believe our focus on these attributes is just as critical to our success as what we spend in technology and R&D. It’s a key reason we’ve continued to grow.”

Gleason pointed to five specific steps he believes managers can take in building workplace desirability levels.

—Rick Carter, Executive Editor

Build A Desirable Workplace

Show employees the vision and give them the freedom to help attain it. “Help employees see the end goal so the day-to-day efforts make sense, then stand back so they can take detailed steps to help get you there,” Gleason advised. “At Des-Case, we share our strategy, mission, vision, values, and goals with every employee in personal meetings, quarterly all-company meetings, and in various communications, such as posters and KPI charts throughout the plant and offices.”

Be open and transparent. “If you’re not open with employees, how can they perform?” Gleason asked.  “People can’t read minds. Give them all the information you can so they better understand the entire picture. Each year we get our top and mid-level managers together in a one-day offsite meeting where we develop strategic planning objectives for the following year. Through the year, to continually reinforce those metrics and discuss performance, as well as provide company updates, we have 10-minute morning daily conference calls to review the previous day’s manufacturing, sales, and financial performance. Additionally, every Friday the entire company gathers at our main manufacturing location or via conference call to hear performance and project updates from each department. It’s a great way to get employees together, to discuss the positive stories across the organization, and ensure that every single employee in the company knows exactly where we are going and how we’re getting there.”

Help employees see their impact. “Knowing they can actively affect the company’s bottom line,” Gleason noted, “will always spur employees toward achieving big, hairy audacious goals. Set clear metrics and hold everyone accountable to reaching them. We make it a point to publicly share those moments of innovation—and the extra miles employees take—with everyone to demonstrate the performance level we appreciate and want to see.”

Train them up. As Gleason described it, “When employees know what to do and how to do it, they’ll become valuable parts of the team. Leave them guessing about the broad steps to take and only a few will perform as well as they can. Our organization has a Continuous Improvement Program that is focused on perfecting our business processes. Each year we send two employees to train as new CI leaders on how to organize a project.”

Be human. “Employees want to work and win for an employer who treats them like family,” Gleason insisted. Acknowledging that families can sometimes be demanding, he stressed that people respond better when a human heart is involved. “I make it a point to spend personal time with employees as often as possible,” he said, “so they can see I’m just another worker like them striving toward the same goal. Everyone in our company—including the leadership team—is extremely collaborative and countless times has jumped in on the plant floor to help when we’re pushing to get product out the door. It’s an amazing sight to see when an entire company comes together to see a goal completed.”

Gleason added that while Des-Case may be a smaller company, large manufacturing operations can also be known as highly desirable places to work. “The most successful companies,” he concluded, “are the ones that employees believe in.”

To learn more about Des-Case Corp. and the comprehensive range of products and services it offers in the area of lubrication-contamination control, visit descase.com.