Smiles in the workplace
Lawrence D. Maloney, Editorial Director -- Test & Measurement World, 3/1/2004
For millions of US workers, the past few years have offered little to cheer about: layoffs, reduced benefits, and heavier workloads. Even those who escaped these unhappy developments worry that their companies might embrace similar tactics.
Fortunately, some businesses still put people first, and you can read about them in Fortune magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" (January 12, 2004, issue). You'll find two firms in the test field: W.L. Gore (ranked #12), a producer of cable assemblies, and National Instruments (ranked #63), a pioneer in software-based instruments.
The Delaware-based Gore is one of just five companies that have made this list every year since the survey began in 1998. A glimpse of its culture offers some food for thought for companies grappling with sagging morale. Bob Doak, an electronics division business leader who chairs Gore's "People Committee," cites some reasons why Gore scores so high with its worker "associates":
No hierarchy. Gore avoids titles. Business and engineering leaders emerge naturally and recruit followers and get resources, based on the merits of their ideas.
Small is beautiful. Though Gore employs 6000 worldwide, it keeps plants small—around 200 people—to allow for greater autonomy and more participation by individuals. Engineering teams, typically three or four members, can move faster and exercise more authority than many large teams at other firms.
Sharing the wealth. Rather than have a boss evaluate employees, members of Gore teams rate each other, based on contributions to the team's success. Result: An engineer who made a vital technical contribution may reap a greater reward than the team's business leader. Gore associates also get regular stock grants and participate in the company's profit-sharing system.
"These factors contribute to a very strong level of trust among Gore associates," Doak told T&MW. "People challenge each other to do what is best for the company."
And since Gore avoids employing people whose sole job is to check on others, there's a premium on hiring self-starters, adds Des Connolly, an engineering leader in Elkton, MD. "There's a complete lack of hierarchy, and every associate is free to make decisions, provided that people don't go beyond their area of expertise."
Making the Fortune "Best Companies to Work For" list every year has given Gore the sense that "we're on the right track," says Doak, but the company doesn't stop with the survey that a random sampling of its workers fill out annually for Fortune. Gore conducts its own survey of its associates each year, with some 50 questions designed to spawn even more progress in creativity, leadership, and personal development.
Contact Lawrence D. Maloney at lmaloney@reedbusiness.com.
