Workplace Practices Help Firm Weather Multiple Downturns
When it comes to the core values of Tarlton Corporation, a Missouri-based general contractor and construction management firm, their Senior Project Engineer, Andrew Nelch, says teamwork is at the top of the list.
"It's a family, not just a job," he told Winning Workplaces as part of the due diligence for our 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces award, which Tarlton won. "People get together annually for a 20-person Dragon Boat race and have won it the last three years. It shows that our people can work together well, and not just on construction stuff."
A hallmark of the winning workplace this 66-year-old business has built is that their 371 employees feel this way about an organization that has had to make some tough choices to come out ahead from the downturns it has faced – choices which, in the hands of a leadership less committed to creating a great workplace long-term, could have resulted in markedly lower productivity, higher turnover or other undesirable outcomes.
In 2009, for example, Tarlton, like many of its peers in the midst of the Great Recession, conducted some rightsizing with office staff and filled those voids through a partnership with another company.
"Lots of companies were laying off 50 percent of their employees," Project Manager Kim Tompras told us. "We laid off five people and it hit everyone, even the executives hard."
Yet, as with past rough patches they've faced, Tarlton was able to weather this one: they worked to retain expertise and used the downturn to invest in operations such as fleet tracking and a new website. This helped the firm recover from a decline in revenues in 2009 to experience moderate growth in 2010, all while keeping turnover at 10 percent (their industry average is 14 percent).
Like a number of our honored small businesses, to some extent Tarlton was able to see the current storm brewing and prepare for it accordingly, all while promoting open communication and drawing a clear line between individual employee performance and company success through the powerful practices of open book management combined with financial literacy training.
"Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend our annual meeting where we go over revenues, profits and goals," Tompras says.
Yet, the company's long track record of success also hinges on a longstanding, intentional focus on employee development. In 2009 alone, Tarlton sponsored around 90 employee training sessions on wide-ranging topics relevant to all aspects of their business including Lunch & Learns put on by individual departments, outside speakers, "Toolbox Talks" to educate field personal, personality assessments and a host of outside conferences.
"I've had people above me to learn from and work with," says Nelch. "We do a lot of training for entry-level people to make sure they're ready for those challenges when they come up."
One of the key strategic and bottom-line results that several Tarlton employees pointed to, proudly, which have come in part from these workforce practice investments is having the experience and competencies as a general contractor to not do what a number of their competitors do and bid-shop – that is, call a subcontractor and let them know the lowest bid to see if the subcontractor would go lower. Instead, the Tarlton team has the confidence to bid for a wider range of projects – and tends to win them at higher price points based on quality of work.
This speaks to another core value which, in addition to teamwork, was apparent both from Tarlton's responses to our award application management questionnaire, and from our outreach to their employees in our due diligence phase: integrity.
"This is not the kind of company that does price shopping," Nelch says. "We want to keep customers happy and keep them coming back."
For their contributions to the bottom line and commitment to long-term growth and sustainability, the firm's employees are generously rewarded through such benefits as 85 percent company-paid medical insurance coverage for both workers and their dependents, instructor-led workout classes, massage days, flexible scheduling and even per-employee tuition assistance of $10,000 annually.
These investments go a long way toward helping Tarlton stay ahead of its peers in terms of attracting and retaining top performers. But, tying back to the strong company value of teamwork mentioned above, so does an incredible level of employee communication, under the philosophy that doing right by workers is good for the business. Estimating Manager Scott Snyders raves about the input he was asked to provide which resulted in his wish list item – more light in the workplace and a better view of the St. Louis skyline – which came true when Tarlton implemented employee suggestions in the construction of its new headquarters six years ago.
"This is a family-owned business and they treat you like family and with respect," Snyders – a 14-year veteran of the firm – told us.
"In fact," he added, "I get calls all the time from recruiters and I say, 'No thanks, I'm happy where I am.'"
Company: Tarlton Corporation
Web site: www.tarltoncorp.com
Industry: General contractor and construction management
Location: St. Louis, MO
Number of Employees: 371
Sales: $121 million
