A Sensible Business
Over 50 years ago, Ruth C. Bigelow, with strong encouragement from friends and family, took her hobby of home-blended tea and created a business. Today, Fairfield, Conn.-based Bigelow Tea produces more than 1.2 billion tea bags a year and is earning over $100 million a year in sales.
To Cindi Bigelow, president of Bigelow Tea and Ruth's granddaughter, tea is more than just a beverage: It represents an experience through which people can meet and exchange thoughts and ideas, thereby bringing them closer together. At Bigelow, it is of equal importance to create that same sense of community among its employees.
"The way we see it, we're lucky they work here," says Bigelow. "Every day I try to find a way to say, 'Thank you for working here.'" That kind of support not only breeds high morale, she argues, but contributes to a business that is growing nicely, up almost 30 percent over the past five years.
The company not only goes out of its way to show appreciation for its employees, it looks after their well being. For example, the company provides an Employee Assistance Program. Whether it's personal or family problems, or merely the need to talk to an objective third party, employees are allotted up to three free, confidential meetings per family member per year with a counselor. If a therapist indicates the need for additional time, Bigelow is flexible, allowing family members to use each other's visits. When long-term therapy is indicated, a referral will be made and the visits will be partly covered under the employee's insurance plan. All sessions are arranged for the convenience of the employee or family members.
Although Bigelow believes that taking care of employees makes good business sense, it is not the primary reason the company supplies this program. "You do it for the moral reason first," says Cindi Bigelow, "then the business follows."
In fact, Bigelow is one of the largest independent specialty tea distributors in the United States. Beyond its Fairfield base, Bigelow operates two plants in Boise, ID, and Louisville, KY. They also own a tea plantation in Charleston, SC.
The company emphasizes the need to remain competitive in a global industry. This begins with strong two-way communication. "Employees must understand that staying competitive allows us to keep producing as we currently do," Bigelow says. "Then everyone wants to control costs because everyone wins."
Company meetings are regularly held to keep employees abreast of both successes and business challenges. Employees at Bigelow are encouraged to join Employee Involvement Teams -- groups which are trained to recognize and deal with efficiency problems within the company. After identifying a particular challenge, the teams are charged with devising a strategic plan to tackle it. For example, one team sought to determine whether Bigelow was overusing FedEx. After analyzing the use of overnight delivery, the team pinpointed a problem area and put controls in to drive down costs, saving approximately $80K per year. To further solicit employee feedback, Bigelow conducts employee opinion surveys every two years, which are assessed by an outside firm.
"We feel like family," says Mariella Wilches, a machine operator who has been with Bigelow for five years. "This company thinks about you." Wilches takes advantage of ESL classes, courtesy of Bigelow, through which she hopes to become equipped with the language skills needed to move up in the company ranks. Similarly, Alvaro Palacios was hired at Bigelow in 1999 as a machine operator. In just a few years, he has worked his way up within the warehouse. Today he works in the main office as an expediter in the purchasing department and is hoping to some day become a buyer and manager.
Wilches and Palacios' stories are not uncommon. In fact, the company estimates that 25 percent of employees are in their positions by virtue of a promotion.
Bigelow has found that creating motivated and engaged employees is crucial in an uncertain economy. The company faced a rough patch in sales post-9/11, and, at a meeting of senior managers, one proposed significantly raising the employee share on health insurance. David Bigelow, the company's chairman and Cindi's father, refused. Rather than risk damaging employee morale by cutting major health care benefits, the company pared smaller programs, deferred capital programs, and cut back non-essential programs.
Although Bigelow has been gradually raising health insurance co-pay costs for several years, the company takes pains to lay out the rationale. Vice President of Human Resources Richard Whalen says he has taken numerous employees aside to explain what he calls "the hidden dollar."
"Sometimes it's as simple as putting a dollar bill on the projector," he says. "I tell them that for every dollar they make in payroll, there are about 60 cents made in fringes."
Such openness, even in the face of some pain, is part of the Bigelow culture and helps explain how the company has weathered economic pressures. Cindi Bigelow takes the long view. "Success is making sure 350 families have jobs in 10 years," she says.
Company: Bigelow Tea
Web Site: www.bigelowtea.com
Industry: Consumer goods
Location: Fairfield, Conn.
Employees: 350
Sales: $100 million
