BLOY: Employee focus brings growth to upscale construction firm
So it only makes sense that the companyâs founders and management would emphasize those qualities in the way they run their business, and treat its employees.
Their secret? No secrets.
The 150-person private firm, based in Holden, practices a unique style of open book management, where every single employee can see the companyâs financial records â what it spends, how much it makes and what everything costs. The only items left unrevealed are individual salaries, although the total figures for a department are disclosed.
Husband and wife co-owners Ted and Kim Goodnow, who started the company in 1980, switched to open book management about eight years ago, after reading Jack Stackâs book on the practice, The Great Game of Business. They hoped it would encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in employees that would benefit the bottom line.
It has. Woodmeister has enjoyed an average annual growth rate of 10 to 15 percent, and had revenue last year of $30 million.
Hand in hand with its open book management is a unique, tiered management structure comprised of the owners, the senior executives, and rank and file employees from the shop floor, all of whom make suggestions, guide decision making and held build consensus between management and employees.
"With every pair of hands comes a free brain and a free heart, and you need to use them," Ted Goodnow says. Keeping employees aware of the financial performance allows them to see the big picture. It empowers them to be entrepreneurial, he says, and that finds its way to the bottom line.
Employee-focused
For Woodmeister, that big picture goes further. President Gary Ludden, who has been with the company over 20 years, says that Woodmeister has culture of helping its employees.
Four years ago, Ludden helped start a year-long program called the Next Level Leadership Program, which trains eight employees in team-building and self-management. It also provides a counselor and job coach who can help employees work through any problems or challenges they face either on the job, or in their personal lives.
"All that we ask for in return is a one page sheet letting us know what the best way to manage that person," Ludden says. The waiting list for the new session of the program is 30 names long.
Shop foreman Joe Melanson, a 16-year veteran of Woodmeister and graduate of the program, credits that training for his rise through the company.
"[The Goodnows] are caring people and like everyone in the company, they get the most satisfaction from watching people grow and progress. Itâs not just about money," he says.
Next Level is only one of many training programs that the company has built up in the last several years that provides extensive on the job training for new workers and those looking to move up into management positions.
It also offers mentoring and co-op experience for local vocational training schools such as Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical School. And Woodmeister employs a large number of graduates from vocational programs throughout the area, including the former Worcester Vocational High School, Assabet Valley Technical High School, and Montachusett Regional Vocational High School.
Kim Goodnow says Woodmeisterâs culture is one that emphasizes personal and professional growth, and close ties.
"Weâre really like a family here," she says. And that family is one that frequently gets together for cookouts, fishing trips and other fun activities throughout the year.
The industry has taken notice. Trade magazine Professional Builder in 2005 named Woodmeister one of its top 50 companies to work for, citing its low turnover, good benefits, professional development, leadership, corporate culture and personal satisfaction.
Also in 2005, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts trade association presented an Achievement Award to Woodmeister for its industry leadership.
Once a month, employees from Woodmeisterâs three divisions â millworking, construction and lifestyle management â all get together to review the books, and look for ideas how to improve the company. Once a year, they put together a unique company-wide meeting that emphasizes teamwork, and self-betterment.
At that meeting last year, the company brought in motivational speaker Kyle Maynard â a congenital amputee who was a successful collegiate wrestler â to talk to employees about overcoming lifeâs challenges. He later taught founder Ted Goodnow a lesson in humility as Maynard repeatedly tossed him on the floor during a wrestling match in front of the whole company.
Woodmeister treats its community the same way it does its employees â with help, involvement and contribution.
A number of important local projects have benefited significantly over the last several years from the involvement of Woodmeister and its employees and owners.
The new glass studio at The Worcester Center for Crafts was a project spearheaded by Ted Goodnow and Woodmeister, which gave $125,000 worth of materials and resources. In addition to the Crafts Center, Woodmeister has partnered in the past with Worcester Art Museum and the Fitchburg Art Museum.
At the Princeton Town Library, Woodmeister completed substantial renovations after the original contractor backed out of the project.
In Nantucket, where Woodmeister has a satellite office, it has worked closely with the Nantucket Historical Society, and the Nantucket AIDS Network to sponsor and help run fundraising programs.
Woodmeisterâs management also gives generously of its time. Its owners and managers sit on or work with the boards of directors of a variety of organizations, including the Craft Center, The American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts and Childrenâs Friend.
It has also been a strong financial partner over the years, and has made significant donations to charitable causes that have been matched by clients. Those include a $20,000 total gift to AmeriCares and $100,000 total gift to The American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts.
Low environmental impact
Woodmeister has also taken the lead in a number of eco-efforts designed to minimize its impact on the environment.
Some of these efforts include a paper and recycling program that sends Woodmeisterâs substantial amount of sawdust and woodchips to local farmers who use the material in their horsesâ stalls.
Many of Woodmeisterâs wood scraps are sent out to schools for use by aspiring young woodworkers.
Its new Holden facility, where the company relocated to in October, uses energy saving light fixtures and bright white paints designed to lower lighting bills.
And Woodmeister is starting to work with The Green Goat Partnership, a Cambridge-based initiative that recycles usable fixtures and materials â such as sinks â that are being replaced in renovated homes.
A model company
For its employee-focus, community-mindedness, and unique corporate structure, Woodmeister is a "model private company," says Ed Ottensmeyer of Clark Universityâs Graduate School of Management, the sponsor of this yearâs award. "More firms should follow its lead," he says.
The Goodnows say that, with the companyâs recent relocation now complete, Woodmeister will look to further improve its position in the coming years as a leading corporate citizen in Central Mass. â particularly now that it ranks among Holdenâs largest employers. And it will continue its winning recipe of employee focus and social responsibility, they say.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments