Your Beautiful, Valuable Culture - Amazon S3...From “Retiring the Generation GAP” by Jennifer J....

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Your Beautiful,Valuable Culture

David Fitz-Gerald CFO, Carris ReelsProctor, VT

Session Description

• Working definition of culture• How it affects the senses (Relics)• Story telling• Through the ages (Family Owned to Employee

Owned)• Different generations (Workforce Task Force)• Across the miles (Centralized/Decentralized)• Exercise #1 – Wheel of Fortune• Exercise #2 – Your Relics• Exercise #3 – Your Culture is Showing

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Introduction to Carris ReelsCarris Reels

Headquartered in Vermont Founded in 1951 by Henry Carris Bill Carris, his son took over in

1980 Manufactures packaging for

wire/cable Grown to 610 employees across

the USA, Mexico and Canada ESOP formed in 1995 Majority owned in 2005 100% employee-owned in 2008

“Carris is weird” – notable ESOP expert

ESOP Company of the Year

Culture Definition

The sum of attitudes, beliefs, and customs that distinguishes one group of people from another.

Relics

• Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.

“Once upon a time…”

Imagery and SymbolismFamilyowned

In the past the best words to describe us

“get the wood out”

They must describe us still…

warm

fuzzy

Helping each other win

food

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charitable

Openbooks

Employee-ownership month

what are the relics at your company?

BREAKOUT SESSION – 10 MINUTES

A recent conversation with a new site manager

• “Before I came to Carris Reels I worked at a lot of different companies in different industries. What you have here with the Carris culture is very special and hard to achieve.”

• “Is it valuable like an asset is valuable?”• “It’s extremely valuable and it gives us a

competitive advantage”

Who is responsible for developing this valuable, intangible asset known as a strong

“Ownership Culture?”

we all are

How do we know if we’re going a good job?

Employee Surveys

• Measures culture• Measures the

effectiveness of our Leadership Development Program

For more information attend:“Using Surveys to Improve Your

Ownership Culture” During Concurrent Sessions 7 at 1:30 this afternoon

decentralized

Galien, Michigan Plant

DECENTRALIZATION

• 1 CULTURE WE SHARE AS A COMPANY

• 8 CULTURES ARE “Site Specific”• Each McDonalds Restaurant is the same.• Each Carris Reels site is very different.

MULTIGENERATIONALWORKFORCE TASK FORCE

Multi-Generation Workforce Task Force: A Study Group

• 7 people / 3 in their 20’s• 6 summer Tuesday’s together

• Final report pending…• Final meeting of study group with senior

management team forthcoming

Charter• A multi-generational workforce task force will

get together to study diversity from the standpoint of age and years of service. The task force will study and discuss ways in which generation gap issues can be addressed, reduced, eliminated and/or mitigated. The task force will not have any powers or responsibilities beyond making recommendations for consideration by management and/or the corporate steering committee

2015

Mul t i Genera t ion

WorkforceTask Force

Kids These Days

• “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers.”

Socrates, approximately 400 BC

From “Retiring the Generation GAP”by Jennifer J. Deal, Ph.D.

’30’s & 40’s

50’s 60’s

70’s

80’s

90’s

00’s

10’s

Each generation communicates very differently

1) Family

2) RESPECT

3) Trustworthy leadership

4) Attitude towards change

5) Job loyalty

6) Development

7) Feedback

Research showsWe value the same things

C R O S S G E N E R AT I O N A L D I S C O V E R I E S

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Culture Goals: What we will have achieved ?

• Employee owners will have a great understanding of the ESOP & ownership culture early in their employment

• Surveys will result in a complete turnaround regarding our communication

• Employee owners will be more involved with the company / greater participation

• Leadership developed across many levels

Culture Goals: Measurable outcomes

• Revise corporate orientation materials and add modifications at each of the sites

• Adhere to orientation schedule 60/90/180 days

• Establish ownership enhancement committees for all sites

• Ownership enhancement committees recruit employee owners from their sites to attend ESOP conferences and corporate meetings

“Excuse Me…”

yourCulture

is showing

Who’s Wearing SomethingWith the Company LOGO

yourCulture

is showing

Your Culture is Showing

• It’s on your shirt• It’s on the walls at your company• It’s on your website• It’s in the way you tell the company story• It’s in the way you follow your traditions• It’s who we are• It’s what we do

WHAT’S IT ALL FOR?