A few years ago, Jan Bergmann sent two engineers to Germany for a three-month installation project. Bergmann, president and owner of Perry-based Controls Unlimited, flew one of the engineers home to Cleveland every third week so he could be with his family.
“We have a rule here,” explains Bergmann, whose company builds control panels and circuitry that run industrial machines. “Anyone who’s sent to a customer for a project comes home every three weeks, no matter how long the project takes.”
And what of the second engineer on the project? Explains Bergmann, “We flew the other man’s wife over to Germany to stay with him every third week instead. Cost-wise, it was the same if we flew him back here or her over there.”
At a time when engineers are at a premium, and the lure of big money draws many people away from traditional engineering toward anything in the computer design field, Bergmann realizes he has to take that extra step in order to attract and retain employees. When he was named president of the company in 1994, one of his first acts was to find ways to stop the turnover of his engineers.
He discovered that building a family atmosphere created loyalty and went a long way toward his goal. That familial attitude is more than just lip service. There was the time a winter storm left the wife of one employee in a tough situation.
“One of our field services managers was out of town on an assignment and it had snowed the previous evening,” says Bergmann. “So our operations manager drove over to the man’s house and plowed his driveway for him. The field service manager’s wife couldn’t get out of the driveway.”
While these scenarios are not necessarily the norm, Bergmann, who bought the company in June 1998, has done his best to offer extra benefits and unique perks that his competitors do not.
“It kind of hits you when you start losing good people over benefits,” says Bergmann. “So you have to be competitive to get them and then to keep them.”
Besides the typical health care, life insurance, disability, 401(k) and vacations, one unique benefit Bergmann offers is tuition reimbursement. It applies to courses relevant to work at Controls, such as math, engineering and science, and employees must obtain a C or better in the class.
“That shows they’re making an effort to learn,” says Bergmann. “We also send our engineers to customers’ companies for regular training classes.”
Bergmann recognizes that the day of the traditional workplace is gone, and provides flexible hours for his staff. He allows employees to work from home if their projects don’t require them to be in the office.
Controls also has a profit sharing plan that pays out twice yearly and is made up of a minimum of 10 percent of the company’s profits. “It’s typically been around 20 percent,” Bergmann says.
One of Bergmann’s goals when he took over the company was to develop a workplace where every employee felt as though his or her contribution made a difference. That includes adding a personal touch. Bergmann recognizes wedding anniversaries and birthdays and hangs a plaque in the lunchroom recognizing five- and 10-year employment anniversaries.
“At 10 years, we give a free dinner for the employee and their spouse,” says Bergmann. “At 15 years, they get a getaway weekend anywhere in the continental U.S. If they’ve been producing for you for that long, it’s not a bad way to say, ‘Thanks.’”