Tweet
No HR. No layoffs. No timecards. It's NO problem!
Armstrong International in Three Rivers builds employee morale with trust, respect and sense of belonging.
Jennifer Youssef / The Detroit News
THREE RIVERS -- The cash register in the company lunchroom is full of money, with the drawer left gaping open. The "human resources" department is nonexistent. The chapel in the basement provides workers with a moment of serenity and workers keep the plant floors so clean they could eat off them.
And not a single lock or time clock can be found anywhere inside the building.
Welcome to Armstrong International Inc. It may look like a factory to make steam-related utility systems, but the sign on the front door reads "Home Sweet Home."
That's how CEO David Armstrong wants everyone who walks through the doors of his family's 106-year-old business to feel. "I'm all about making it an enjoyable experience," said Armstrong.
It's been that way for more than a century. What's more, it works.
Giving workers respect and a sense of belonging and job security has kept annual turnover at the company low -- less than 1 percent, compared with the average 29 percent at U.S. manufacturing plants, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. An employee has never been laid off in the Three Rivers factory.
The company ranks in the "top tier" in revenue in the industry, said David Casterline, director of communications. The privately held company wouldn't disclose details about its finances, but listed more than $125 million in sales.
The focus is on building trust and loyalty between management and workers -- but also promoting good old-fashioned hard work. Armstrong, 48, believes you can't have one without the other.
>
>
Armstrong International in Three Rivers builds employee morale with trust, respect and sense of belonging.
Jennifer Youssef / The Detroit News
THREE RIVERS -- The cash register in the company lunchroom is full of money, with the drawer left gaping open. The "human resources" department is nonexistent. The chapel in the basement provides workers with a moment of serenity and workers keep the plant floors so clean they could eat off them.
And not a single lock or time clock can be found anywhere inside the building.
Welcome to Armstrong International Inc. It may look like a factory to make steam-related utility systems, but the sign on the front door reads "Home Sweet Home."
That's how CEO David Armstrong wants everyone who walks through the doors of his family's 106-year-old business to feel. "I'm all about making it an enjoyable experience," said Armstrong.
It's been that way for more than a century. What's more, it works.
Giving workers respect and a sense of belonging and job security has kept annual turnover at the company low -- less than 1 percent, compared with the average 29 percent at U.S. manufacturing plants, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. An employee has never been laid off in the Three Rivers factory.
The company ranks in the "top tier" in revenue in the industry, said David Casterline, director of communications. The privately held company wouldn't disclose details about its finances, but listed more than $125 million in sales.
The focus is on building trust and loyalty between management and workers -- but also promoting good old-fashioned hard work. Armstrong, 48, believes you can't have one without the other.
>
>
Comment