New employees at Randy’s Ring &Pinion in Everett are in for a shock – a rather pleasant one – sometime in the first few months of their hiring.
“They are really surprised when we ask them for their opinion on a policy or strategic matter,” said Randy Lyman, president of the auto parts supplier, whose success is drawing international attention.
Employees are surprised because traditionally the auto parts industry is known more for pushing products than worrying about what its workforce thinks about matters such as growth.
But Lyman, an out-of-the-box thinker, has put the future of his business in the hands, hearts and minds of his 78 employees, including a management team of about a dozen.
“The main thing people want at work is to be acknowledged and to be listened to,” Lyman said.
Combined with a penchant for employee development, recognition and rewards, having fun while working hard, this people-powered business has won industry and national acclaim for its continuing success.
We’ll add one more, this column’s 2003 recognition as Snohomish County employer of the year.
Actually, we’ve been scooped. Randy’s Ring and Pinion, the company with the funny name but eye-popping business success, was named among America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies in October by Inc. magazine, with a 350 percent growth over the last five years.
Unlike many employers cited by the entrepreneurial magazine geared to small- to medium-sized businesses, Randy’s gave credit where it was due. “At Randy’s, the employees work together to maintain our leadership position as the one-stop source for differential parts and service,” Lyman said in the press release announcing the Inc. recognition.
Look anywhere, and employees are part of the process at Randy’s, which has had gross sales growth rates from 37 percent to 57 percent annually since moving to Everett’s Paine Field-Airport Road industrial complex in 1994, when the total workforce totaled four people, including Lyman.
To maintain its employee-powered culture, Randy’s offers employees cash bonuses for referring friends and associates who the company hires. “Like minds think alike,” Lyman said. “Our people know our values and are good at recommending people who will fit it.”
Often when a candidate survives human resource muster, they are turned over to peer review, especially when it involves a managerial position.
“We’ll pull people out of the department and have them interview the candidates and give their opinions,” Lyman said.
Employees’ opinions are considered carefully because, as Lyman puts it, “they become invested in the process, which can do nothing but enhance the working relationship they’ll eventually have with that manager.”
Lyman concedes employee recognition remains a personal challenge, one he leans heavily on his managers to promote actively. “Me, I’m a numbers guy, so sometimes it’s hard for me to single out good work,” he says. But managers know how important such recognition – even if it’s a “good job” compliment – is to growing the business.
“Day-to-day recognition is hard, but our employees are at the center of our culture,” Lyman said. “When the management team meets to consider strategy or changes, the first question we ask is, ‘How is this going to affect our people, how is it going to affect their lives?’
“If you have your people on board, everything seems to flow so much easier,” he said.
One example was the suggestion to Lyman by two managers to slow the company’s growth to 25 percent in 2004, to maximize profits and revenue to attract outside investment for a major expansion in 2005.
The general idea was reviewed by many employees whose goals had been to achieve 40 percent or greater growth annually. Would this affect their work ethic? Were they comfortable with such a change?
“When you run ideas – even major strategic initiatives – past your employees, you get buy-in and commitment,” Lyman said. “That means you (as a manager) don’t have to go out and sell the idea.”
One thing not open for debate is the company’s name. The main components of a truck or automobile’s rear-end differential are the ring and pinion gears. Put Lyman’s personal stamp on the name, plus his employees’ commitment, and you have a recipe for business success that can and has thrived the upturns and downturns of a volatile economy.
Write Eric Zoeckler at The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206 or e-mail mrscribe@aol.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
