Management in Action Tim and Richard Smucker Manage a Great Place to Work According to a study conducted for Fortune The play-well-with-others approach, a pre magazine by the Great Place to Work Institute cious as it comes across to an outsider , has clearly the best company to work for in America is won over employees. "At first I was skeptical headquartered in Orrville, Ohio (population says director of operations Brian Kinsey, who 8.000). Orrville is a quiet, tidy town 50 miles spent 10 years at P&G. "But this family feel south of Cleveland. Employees don't get any for real." Irrefutable proof of remarkably nerle-dazzle perk such as pet insurance. The high worker satisfaction: Earlier this year. Ken J.M. Smucker Co. is a 107-year-old family Tabellion, a 26-year plant veteran, used his own controlled business that is run by two brother time and money to crect a monument to the who tend to quote the New Testament and Ben company--a bouldet with a plaque expressing Franklin. It's a throwback to a simpler time. gratitude to the Smucker family Smucler's gimmick-free management starts Tim and Richard Smucker say that the with the co-CEOs, Tim and Richard Smucker, biggest challenge they have to deal with is to who took the reins in 2001. Tim and Richard are make sure the company's culture stays the way it popular with the 2.930 employees--they're is. The company may have some rough spots as affectionately known as the "boys" -- which isn't it absorbs the acquisitions from P&G. Any com- too surprising given that the company's stock had pany that's growing has to figure these things a total return of 100 percent during the past five out. It also has to survive the age of Adkins years. The vast majority of stocks lost about 25 mania, when sugar pretty much equals poison.) percent in value during that same period.) The But then, not every company has Smucker's average annual pay for the professional-level ace in the hole for employee morale the smell workers is $46,267, and $31.518 for hourly On a windy day, you can smell what's cooking at workers . The Smucker brothers also engineered Smucker's throughout Orrvill-jams, chocolate the company's purchase of Jif and Crisco from fillings, the works. "There's nothing fancy here." Procter & Gamble in 2002, which nearly says Ted Fry, a machine maintenance supervisor doubled the company's revenues to $1.3 billion and 21-year plant veteran, as he explains why so in fiscal 2003. many people stick around the company for so The boys have made sure Smucker adheres long. He takes a whiff of the grape jelly that's to an extremely simple code of conduct set for cooking a hundred yards away. "Maybe the great them by their father and CEO No. 3. Paul smell makes people happy," he says. "What do Smucker: Listen with your full attention, look they call it Aroma-something." for the good in others have a sense of humor, and say thank you for a job well done. Questions If nothing else Smucker brass takes that last 1. Which management functions are men- directive seriously. Plant supervisors have been tioned or implied in this story about J.M known to serve celebratory barbecues after Smucker? hitting new records managers routinely thank 2. Which managerial roles are mentioned or teams with lunches and gift certificates. There's implied in this story? also the annual commemorative Christmas 3. Would the smell of confectionary products plate, holiday turkeys, screenings of films in in your work environment contribute which Smucker's has a tie-in, such as The Cat substantially to your job satisfaction and the Har. Tonic Williams, director of marketing your willingness to stay with the company for peanut butter, says she's been thanked more in her two years at Smucker than she was in her nine years at Nestl. Kraft, and P&G combined