Building Value
Hygenic Corp. trains workers for multiple jobs for flexibility
As human resources director at Hygenic Corp., an Akron-based synthetic rubber sheeting and tubing manufacturer, Carol Stahl knows she's lucky.
"We've had almost no voluntary turnover in years," she says. "And most of our [production] employees have been here 10 to 15 years."
Not having to fill vacancies and train new workers makes Stahl's job easier. She can concentrate on adding new jobs and keeping her current workers happy, which doesn't seem to be a problem for the 78-year-old company. Hygenic provides materials that end up in fitness and training tubing and mats, hunting and fishing equipment and medical fluid delivery and collection systems.
The high retention rate is possible because Hygenic makes its 50 production employees feel valuable, Stahl says. An efficiency suggestion program encourages employees to recommend changes to improve production. If an idea is implemented, the worker receives a bonus. Also an annual bonus is awarded to production employees every year based on the company's profitability.
But the greatest contributor to the high retention rate has been cross-training its workers for more than production duty. Workers are trained to perform three or four of the possible dozen operations in the manufacturing facility in case of a demand shift.
"We've been a stickler for cross-training in other areas so we don't have to reduce people," Stahl says. "It also keeps them from getting bored."
— Morgan Lewis Jr.
Back to School
RJF International retains its top technical minds with sales training
The best engineers and product designers may be able to explain how products work from the inside out, but many don't have the business skills to sell them to customers.
And who better to sell for the manufacturer than employees with the most valuable knowledge?
RJF International, a Fairlawn-based building products developer, struggled with this issue and decided to invest in its technical staff's education. The result has been more loyal employees and greater sales for the company.
In 1997, the manufacturer of products such as commercial wall coverings, flooring and weather-stripping seals launched RJF University. Using classrooms at the University of Akron's Fisher School of Professional Selling, sales training courses are taught by experienced marketing and sales managers from RJF International.
In a small-class format, students learn how to make an effective sales presentation and build the interpersonal skills needed to close a sale. There are also courses offered for time management, organization, new business development and reading architectural blueprints.
"It's absolutely helped in our retention," says James Nardell, RJF's director of human resources, who estimates more than 200 employees a year enroll in one or more programs at RJF University. "Our employees feel valued because we're investing in their education."
— ML
Brain Gain
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems transitions college students to employees by offering opportunities.
In 1999, Andy Cifranic was a sophomore at Kettering University in Flint, Mich. But little did he know he was already starting his career 200 miles away.
That year, Cifranic enrolled in Elyria-based Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems' college co-op internship program in the vehicle brake parts manufacturer's marketing department.
For three years in college, Cifranic evaluated customer surveys, conducted competitive research, developed the company's Web site and supported the sales staff. The college co-op program has been a successful recruiting tool for Bendix, helping it retain skilled and experienced young employees. Nearly all of the co-op students who are offered a job continue with the company.
Cifranic is one of the approximately 30 students a year enrolled in the college co-op program, where he also earned the opportunity to work at Bendix's parent company headquarters in Munich, Germany, for two, three-month stints assisting with international sales.
In his senior year in college, Cifranic accepted an offer from Bendix to start as a market analyst and hasn't looked back.
"Bendix offers you a lot of opportunities you won't find at other companies," says Cifranic, 28, who today is a brand manager at the company and runs the marketing department's co-op program. "Even as a student, I was trusted to take on new responsibilities, and that's continued as an employee."
— ML