Russell Stover Candies is a recognized brand name in the boxed chocolate candy market, yet we are a very small company that competes with the giants in the candy world. "Only the finest" is found on every box of our chocolate candy, and that claim extends to "only the finest" employees in the confectionary business. After all, our employees are our most valuable ingredient.
The ability to attract talented people and to develop, motivate and retain employees, presents challenges to every human resources department. At Russell Stover, we use some very basic processes, or "recipes" to meet that challenge.
Key Ingredient: Developing In-House Talent.
Recruiting only the finest employees at Russell Stover involves processes that extend beyond traditional recruiting methods. Utilizing employee referrals, personal observation and contact, media channels, college recruiting and old-fashioned word-of-mouth, our recruiters are always looking for only the finest candidates.
Our team consists of members of different departments in our company who also participate in the recruitment process and conduct interviews. Members of our human resources team act as facilitators encouraging selection of only the finest.
Efforts to retain talented employees involve periodic performance evaluations, as well as a unique seven-step work assessment program, designed to strengthen skills. Our supervisors work very closely with employees to engage in open communication to facilitate continuous feedback and to identify in advance any possible undesirable performance. This assessment program is not only designed to address performance deficiency, but to highlight areas of accomplishment as well.
Coaching and support are encouraged and incorporated throughout all seven steps. Supervisors, trained in coaching techniques, work with the employee one-on-one to audit performance and summarize observations made while working with the employee. If deficiencies are identified, objective action plans are designed. Placing a value on developing in-house talent has resulted in over 10 percent of our workforce receiving job promotions in just one year.
Blending HR with Business Functions Creates Strong Business Partners.
At Russell Stover, the human resources team contributes to resolving company issues well outside the traditional human resources role. Company managers look at the human resources department as a business partner, allowing the human resources team to be part of the entire business team, in-house and in the field.
With over 50 retail outlets, 5 manufacturing plants and 7 distribution centers, as well as a 400-person-strong field sales force, the Russell Stover human resources team members are road warriors who wear many hats. Recruiters resolve employee relations issues; benefits coordinators are cross-functional, working with HRIS development to provide training and generate reports as well as tackle issue resolution; and risk-management professionals handle fleet management responsibilities. Our human resources managers cross the traditional HR departmental lines and assist our location managers in every aspect of our business.
That´s because the boxed-chocolate market is highly segmented with hundreds of competing domestic and foreign competitors. In recent years, the leading US candy bar manufacturers have entered the boxed chocolate market by extending their existing brands. This has challenged Russell Stover to become more cost efficient, marketing savvy and focused on timely issue resolution.
Serving Up Solutions to Industry Challenges.
The success of the Russell Stover brand builds our "family tradition" and maintains a few simple principles:
- Produce the highest-quality candy possible
- Sell it at an affordable price
- Follow through with exceptional service
These same principles are shared by the human resources team and only the finest employees in the confectionary business.
Where practical, in-house teams of managers and employees work with the human resources staff to coordinate many activities or events involving manufacturing and productivity issues, as well as community and employee-involvement programs.
HR, for example, oversees the company-wide "Great Savings/Great Ideas" awards program - a no-risk vehicle for all employees to present their own suggestions to improve the company. Monetary rewards are made for suggestions that are great ideas that will save the company money.
Each year, plant-wide employee communication meetings are held. Company managers and human resources team members discuss the state of the company and solicit and answer questions specific to each location.
We also place computer workstations in lunchrooms so plant-manufacturing employees can access their medical and pension information, as well as scan a summary of location-specific activities.
It doesn´t always take employee-involvement programs to involve and excite - and retain - our employees. The television show Made in America starring John Ratzenberger shot an episode at our Abilene, Kansas, manufacturing facility. In addition to stimulating nationwide awareness of our product line, it also enhanced the recognition of our only the finest employees.
Just as most of our candy-making process is still accomplished by hand, our managers, supervisors and employees use a hands-on approach to dealing with daily issues. This low-tech approach removes the impersonal mask or barrier that often crops up with high-technology approaches.
At Russell Stover, there aren´t any buzz-word concepts or cutting-edge human resources programs used when it comes to dealing with people. Our approach is simple: Engage in daily contact and personally acknowledge and recognize the contributions made by each employee.
About the Author
Robinn Weber is senior vice president of human resources at Russell Stover Candies in Kansas City, Mo. The article originally appeared in Workforce Insightson Veritude.com, an online resource about emerging labor trends and issues.
If you would like to participate in the Workforce Insights guest author program featured on Veritude.com, please e-mail Patricia.Fox@Veritude.com.
About Veritude
Veritude provides strategic human resources - the talent, technology and tactics that growing firms need in order to anticipate and adapt to changes in the workplace. Veritude is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. Headquartered in Boston, the company serves clients throughout the United States and Canada and is part of Fidelity´s ongoing investment and leadership in outsourced HR services. To review other articles, research and expert analysis relevant to HR professionals seeking to stay informed, please visit www.veritude.com. For more information, contact: inquiry@veritude.com or call:1-800-597-5537.
©2006 Veritude,LLC. Reprinted with permission.
