Founded in 1932, Barclay Water Management, Inc., has found great success through the principle that, ultimately, water treatment is a relationship-driven business. Headquartered in Watertown, MA, the organization manufactures and supplies environmentally friendly water treatment chemicals and equipment for controlling chemistry in boilers, condensers, wastewater streams and a variety of other water systems.
Having grown even in the face of increasing pressure from aggressive conglomerates entering the industry, Barclay's success in attracting top talent and winning over clients stems not just from the its "one share, one vote" employee ownership program, but from a dedication to the belief that happy employees do a better job.
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"We operate in a highly competitive industry and the best way we can meet the needs of our customers is to provide our employees a quality work environment," explains Barclay President Bill Brett. With an average employee tenure of nine years (two more than the average among the 2007 Top Small Workplaces), Barclay has built its business by keeping employees well informed and rewarded for their dedication.
It's a tradition that started with the company's founder, Stanton D. Barclay, Sr., over 75 years ago. He made it a point to foster a work environment built around respect, knowing that it would carry over to client relations. "Everyone works as a team and supports each other and we have fun doing it, which in turn allows us to have such great relationships with our customers," explains Susan Lurier, customer service manager.
Given that the tenet of mutual respect was set in place from the beginning, and Barclay sold the business to his employees 25 years ago, Brett feels that the stock ownership component is an appropriate add-on to the culture; it doesn't encompass it entirely. "I wouldn't say we're successful because we're employee owned," he says. "We're more successful because we're employee owned."
Barclay's system of direct stock ownership is uncomplicated. Employees are offered stock for purchase once a year, and they can sell the stock at any time. When they do leave the company, they must redeem the stock, and the company is obligated to repurchase the stock. This ensures that the only stockholders are current, active employees, which comprise more than 75 percent of the total staff.
Lurier says that each employee, as an owner, wants the company to do well and will find ways to ensure things are always moving in a positive direction. As Brett simply puts it, "Barclay employees control the business."
That control has often transcended stockholder meetings to have a lasting impact when addressing key challenges in the real world. For instance, several years ago General Electric purchased the second-largest water treatment firm in the industry, BetzDearborn. Barclay knew it was going to have to go toe to toe with a competitor far more flush in resources for equipment and marketing. At the next all-employee meeting, everyone voted on measures designed to support their best conceived defense – a good offense.
Deciding to forgo most profit for several years, the team approved the hiring of more sales engineers, leased additional space, and purchased new equipment to ensure that they could offer the same, if not better, products and services than GE. Within the first year, Barclay started to see the smoke clear. In fact, people started leaving GE and going to work for Barclay.
"We picked up a lot of talent, people with 24 years of experience with Dearborn that walked away from GE after one year," Brett says. Training and equipment no doubt kept Barclay competitive, but Brett feels the value proposition of the Barclay culture made the difference. "GE was surprised that water treatment people would know their customer by their first names, and their children's names, and would even go fishing with them," Brett says.
The team often falls back on the lessons of Barclay's founder, recognizing change as the only constant in business. To that end, their employees are continually learning about new water treatment approaches, including green techniques, and about the latest equipment coming to market to help them achieve their mission. Barclay even employs a director of training and technical development, who provides field personnel with rigorous scheduled training on top of their frequent opportunities for informal learning with staff.
This emphasis on training has meant that a lot less time, effort and money needs to go toward recruiting. The company often promotes from within:
The trick, says Brett, is to provide a work environment with safety nets so that employees can grow into leadership positions without fear of failure. In an industry where techniques evolve weekly, Barclay is working to ensure its employees are properly trained, talking to each other and being supportive, knowing they'll see the payoff in black and white come each year end.
Company: Barclay Water Management, Inc.
Web site: www.barclaywm.com
Industry: Manufacturing
Location: Watertown, MA
Number of Employees: 89
Sales: $14.8 million
Read more in our Manufacturing Success Stories archive.