Lincoln Industries

Here at Lincoln Industries, creating a great culture has been the right strategy for many good reasons. The health and happiness of our people — and our company — top the list. This column will detail how this approach has paid off for us, as well as provide real-world examples you can apply within your own organizations.

Despite 18 consecutive years of revenue growth, Lincoln Industries also navigates the difficulties of our national economy. We are working to grow (not save) our way out of the current challenge. And, once the economy bounces back, we are certain we will thrive again.

How do we know? Because our culture has been a driver of strategic change all along.

By design or by default, every company has a culture. At ours, we begin with values — our "Beliefs and Drivers" — which all our people live. For five years in a row, this approach has earned us recognition from the Society of Human Resource Management as one of the United States' best medium-sized companies to work for. In fact, we are one of only four companies in the country to have received this honor every year since the list was first created.

Our Values Drive Everything We Do

Every major company gathering, including meetings with customers and suppliers, begins with a review of our values. Every major decision we make is based on these values. I believe that operating according to these values has allowed us to move from being a small local provider of plating services to a national company that manufactures and manages the supply chain for thousands of parts for some of the nation's most recognizable companies.

At the heart of our culture are the relationships we have with each other. Our people feel they can count on their friends and colleagues at work for help and cooperation, and these relationships translate directly into a passion for serving customers. To reinforce this passion, our communications programs are transparent and open to everyone. For example, as we navigate the current economic downturn, our company president, Hank Orme, sends a companywide weekly communication to share what he learns at weekly state-of-the-business meetings with senior leaders. "You'll see and hear what I see and hear," he tells them.

To this end, Orme also holds monthly meetings on all three shifts, providing a business and growth update, and then fields questions from anyone in attendance. Afterward, a monthly update letter is sent to our people's homes, so spouses or other family members can stay current on the status of the company's financials.

Focus on Development: Talent and Wellness

Selection is another important factor in building a great culture. It ensures you have the right people in the right seats, successfully doing the things that come most naturally to them. We ask each person, regardless of his or her position, to complete a talent profile. This helps us maintain our focus on developing emerging talent.

But, our wellness program is perhaps our most visible example of how our culture has made a positive impact on strategic change. When Lincoln Industries first introduced a wellness program 20 years ago — a trailblazing move — we believed then, and still do, that healthier people are happier, more engaged and more productive in their work.

Our people are required to participate in quarterly physicals and a wide range of other activities that impact their health. For instance, we have initiated a nontobacco campus and made wellness a part of our performance-improvement process.

Beyond these programs, most wellness activities are voluntary; still, more than 90 percent of our people participate. As a result, our healthcare costs are far below the national average; our workers compensation rates are among the lowest in the industry; and, most important, our people are healthier than ever before.

We enjoy receiving awards and feeling good about each other. We enjoy recognizing people for heroic acts of service — those who take the 3 a.m. phone call and drive through the night to deliver parts that meet an immediate customer need. We also enjoy having a world-class wellness program.

Beyond these payoffs, a great culture has many pragmatic benefits that cannot be overlooked. A great culture makes people more innovative, more adaptive to change and more cooperative with each other. All this lends itself to improved customer satisfaction — and, in the end, higher profits.

Our efforts at building a great corporate culture have paid off for us; they can deliver results for other organizations, as well.