Survey Finds Bosses Ears Open

A sampling of local executives and mid-level managers showed that by and large, employers who are encouraging employee input and expressing appreciation have the best office moral. Only a handful of respondents had overly negative comments.

The informal Northwest Arkansas Business Journal survey drew about 40 responses via the Internet, mail and phone. Given the area’s low 1.87 percent unemployment rate during 2001, and the difficulties of recruiting and maintaining quality employees, the point was to provide some examples of companies that are doing things right.

There is plenty of bad news about layoffs and slashed benefits, but many local bosses seem to be putting their workers first. In short, it’s still an employee’s market.

Participants were asked six basic questions, some with follow-up questions, including the following. Ratings used a one-to-five scale, with five being the best:

• Why in general is your company a good place to work?

• Rate your firm’s employee benefits/policies.

• Rate your coworkers attitude/productivity. How does management contribute to this positively? How does management contribute to this negatively?

• Rate your company’s office facilities. How does your environment contribute to the firm’s performance?

n Rate your firm’s performance against its competitors. What sets your firm apart?

• Would you manage the company differently? If so, how?

The average rating for local coworkers’ productivity was a 4.5 on the five-point scale. Company office facilities averaged a 3.8 rating and the workers’ companies rated an average 4.6 against their competitors.

What They Said

Attributions for quotes below are made with the permission of the participants. The Business Journal guaranteed confidentiality otherwise so that the managers would speak with candor.

Respondents came from all different industry sectors, including banking and financial services, education, manufacturing, technology, health care, energy, insurance and advertising.

More respondents came from the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business than any other single employer. Overwhelmingly, professors and administrators there had nothing but positive feedback.

Nancy L. Hart, Walton College’s director of constituent relations, was one of several of the school’s employees who mentioned “appreciation” as a source of motivation.

“You are appreciated, recognized and rewarded for the contribution you make to the overall vision,” Hart said. “People care about each other and try to be helpful. Management and staff work well together and support and encourage one another.”

Hart even called the college’s vacation and sick leave policies “generous,” and its health care plan “affordable.”

Chris Morrison, vice president of secondary/in-house mortgage lending at United Bank in Springdale, had a similar comment regarding management’s impact on productivity. She said by keeping a loose leash and an open ear, United Bank’s management team encourages hard work.

“We have a very team-oriented place of employment, and all employees are … able to give a lot of input into how things are done, and therefore, we feel like we have some control over our environment,” Morrison said.

Although sometimes her work is stressful, Morrison rated her firm a five compared to its competitors. She said the bank, always one of the area’s top performers in return on assets, is a success because it has “some of the nicest and most professional people” she has ever worked with.

Several non-profit organizations were also represented by participants. Mark Foster, director of education for Credit Counseling of Arkansas (CCOA) Inc. in Fayetteville, complimented his company’s variety of benefits and said although it’s a cliché, CCOA is “truly focused on the people [it] serves.”

He added that positive words and actions make the company’s management team effective. CCOA provides fun activities such as a staff pancake breakfast cooked by a director for a job well done, and all staff training days include some sort of fun team-building activity like bowling. In Sept., the CCOA office even participated as a group in the March of Dimes Walk to Cure Diabetes at the University of Arkansas.

The result, Foster said, is good camaraderie and moral.

“If I could add something, vision coverage would be nice,” Foster said. “Our best benefits are a gym membership as part of our wellness program and having a very good medical coverage plan.”

John Cook works for Intellimark’s IT Business Solutions division in Fayetteville. He said because the unit operates as an entrepreneurial startup, each employee is encouraged to act as if they were the chairman of the board.

“If you have an idea that has merit, IntelliMark will support you in growing that business,” Cook said. “If you are treated like an owner, you tend to act like an owner. We do not believe in micro-management, and because of that, we are very self motivated.”

Cook said IntelliMark is willing to go the extra mile and even take a loss at times if it means ensuring a strong, long-term relationship with a customer.”

Philip Whitehead, vice-president of commercial banking Bank of America, said even through a couple of mergers, his firm’s core employee base remains intact. The bank was First National Bank of Fayetteville before being bought by Worthen and eventually Bank of America.

Whitehead said most employees stayed because management’s “positive attitude” permeates throughout the organization.

“We’re the same people who were here when it was a little bank,” Whitehead said.

“We pride ourselves on still treating customers like they’re dealing with a small bank, but at the same time having the capabilities of an international institution.”

The most common suggestion for improving benefits was to add stock incentives or profit sharing. Most participants said their bosses’ worth ethic sets the pace for the whole office, and that when the big guy is down so is the rest of the team.