Viewpoint

As a supplier of precision roller products to independent and integrated manufacturers of corrugated packaging, and displays for some of the most recognizable products in the world, ARC International endeavors to instill a sense of pride within its employees to ensure that we provide consistent quality and unmatched service to our customers. While most sales people are certainly aware of our mission and goals, we routinely include manufacturing, technical, quality, safety, and customer service personnel in meetings and training sessions to discuss demanding print samples, package requirements, corporate projects, and industry trends. When an active or potential customer visits one of our facilities for a plant tour or training, they are always introduced to both office and plant personnel. And when the customer is on the shop floor, we’re proud to have our machinists and operators describe their own manufacturing process.

ARC International has also sponsored Six Sigma Green Belt training groups that bring together employees from all aspects of the company—sales, customer service, production, maintenance, quality control, safety, shipping and receiving, and accounting. This creates a true team approach, as each participant presents his or her project that is aimed at creating efficiency and consistency to our customer base.

So, when our employees visit the grocery store, drugstore, or big-box merchandisers and witness the shelves being stocked or the point-of-purchase display units promoting items, they can feel a sense of pride knowing that their hard work has contributed to the successful distribution and marketing of so many important products. What a pleasure and honor it is to be a participant in the packaging industry that serves us all! — Steve Woodard, vice president of sales and corporate services, ARC International

It’s one thing to communicate, verbally or in writing—preferably both when it comes to company goals. It’s another to make sure the message has effectively been received and understood, with the final objective to get commitment and evoke a behavioral change with employees.

The message must be clear, concise, and specific as to how the employee can contribute, with his or her fellow associates, in reaching the mission and goals detailed from upper management.

“Repetition” of the same message is key. For us, we post on employee bulletin boards, in our CEO’s monthly newsletter column, in daily production meetings, and in face-to-face discussions. Enhanced frequency along with communicating the message correctly and consistently has a profound effect on commitment and understanding.

For those larger of strategy or transforming corporate culture, I believe meetings with all levels of the organizational chart are required, so that trusted subordinates can communicate their feelings, can offer solutions, and eventually feel they have a part in the successful implementation of a great future!

After 40 years in the business, I remember one thing my immigrant father always told me—always, always, listen to your employees; they are a lot smarter than you are! — Bob Nowak, general manager, flexo division, Braden Sutphin Ink Co.

At Automatän, we communicate our company’s mission and goals beginning at the first interview. The interview is not only used to learn about the candidate, it is the start of educating candidates about the company, our goals, and culture. This process is continued through the onboarding process, on-the-job training, management team meetings, as well as Open Town Hall meetings.

We understand the importance of positive communication, which is stressed whether the communication be in person, email, telephone, or texting. Positive communication is critical for the morale of our employees and the company’s success.

At Automatän, we also have an open-door policy. Our employees can bring concerns, whether positive or negative, to our attention at any time. By keeping an open line of communication among all departments, employee engagement is able to thrive, which in turn allows employees to discuss their thoughts, ideas, and tasks, and to discuss the company as a whole when wanted or required. By doing this, we have improved communication throughout our company, and this empowers our employees. In turn, they feel valued and take pride in their work, as well as know how important they are to the success of Automatän. Additionally, it is important for everyone to be on the same page. Identifying and clarifying common goals will provide a number of benefits.

Lastly, it is important to reward a job well done. We do this by celebrating with cookouts, pizza parties, potlucks, and summer and Christmas parties. We want our team to have a sense of camaraderie, togetherness, and family. We believe this helps with keeping the morale of everyone high.

We will continue to inspire, motivate, and educate our team in hopes that they are happy and believe in what we do as a company and with our products. We learn from our mistakes and continue to grow personally and as a company while we continue to deliver on our promises and bring value to our customers, both internal and external.

— Jennifer Hoernke, human resources manager/marketing, Automatän

At Bay Cities, we communicate our mission and goals quite extensively. This begins with the Leadership Group’s development of our strategic plan, which we develop annually and maintain quarterly. The development of this plan is done off-site for a couple of days, and we come back to the stockholders and communicate the plan companywide at a “State of the Bay” meeting. This plan is handled by breaking the different departments’ goals out with timelines and objectives that each department needs to complete, with their share of mastering the overall goal. Each department works with their group to grasp the at hand and master them.

The manager of a particular department is tasked with obtaining their particular goals by a particular time. This is usually a year. We break each goal down to its basic core and divide these efforts among particular associates in the departments. Each is given a scorecard toward mastering the goal. The manager then, on a month-to-month basis, measures

the progress of the scorecard’s status with the particular employee in their one-to-one (121) meetings. That status then is lifted into the overall status of the department, which is measured and monitored by the president monthly, then reported back to the leadership

team. If help is needed on any level, we all jump in and make it happen. The status of the whole plan is reviewed at the monthly State of the Bay meeting. This process works well enough that we know where we are all the time and what efforts toward our goals need extra attention.

Obviously, all of this upon its success drives the value of the company up, by which each employee participating in the ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) receives more valuable shares in his or her plan. Bay Cities allows two bites of the apple, so to speak, along the way. We set up every year a bonus owner success plan (OSP), which rewards everyone with cash for hitting the target annually. When the goal is hit, the value of the company rises sharply. Our payouts are based on driving the EBIDA [earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization] up and driving our customer satisfaction up. The payouts are 3–7 percent of the employees’ annual grab. We share all of this progress in monthly State of the Bay meetings, where our department reports are observed by everyone for their status, and frankly, the whole group may realize that there is an area that needs extra help, and like true owners, they roll up their sleeves and help out.

This is cascading the goals of the company down to the department and individual contributor level. The series of 121 meetings between department leaders and employees acts as a progress report as to where that employee is in their career growth and their contribution to the company. The scorecards are reviewed monthly for their completion along the way. The cascading up happens when the department managers report the success of their goals back to the CEO in their 121 meetings. Performance reviews really are not that necessary. On the other side, it is a great feeling to share the success of the company together, as that fires up the culture to do more.

This is a fantastic program that, after a bit of time when it becomes a habit, is very easy to accomplish. The winning years are truly something that brings forth a driven ownership culture that is really fun to work with and brings back some nice financial rewards for everyone. — Greg Tucker, Chair/CEO, Bay Cities

We communicate our company’s mission and goals through various forms of repetition. We speak about it during general and sales meetings. We discuss it during reviews. Our company’s mission and goals are reinforced on a regular basis through various facets of communication. — Rob Callif, president and chief operating officer, BCM INKS

Communication is hard in the best of times, and especially hard when you are dealing with staff in multiple time zones and physical locations. We handle most communications by utilizing a weekly meeting (always held on the same day of the week—along with all meetings) to minimize productivity loss, or through our weekly training webinars that allow us to promote one aspect of knowledge transfer each week. These methods allow for conversation and clear messaging, directly. With all meetings, we establish an agenda, capture notes, and post them on the company Sharepoint site for review at any time. We try to avoid sending emails, unless they are more like notification-related messages that require no follow-up to avoid a lot of back-and-forth email strings. — Jay Farr, CEO, Advantzware