How do you do you form an employee-focused organization and what are the advantages?

Chris Davitt, Partner and President of Ruppert Landscape, has the secret.

Ruppert is a very unique, employee-focused culture built on hard work, high energy and attention to detail. Davitt believes his company's No. 1 asset is its employees so he devotes significant attention to hiring employees and keeping them for life.

Some of the topics covered include:

-Celebrating successes and longevity
-Performance Based Bonus Plan & discretionary bonuses
-Growth and promotion
-Opportunity for Training & Development
-Organizational / branching structure to enable autonomy
-The role of charitable giving
-Innovation: green, organic and sustainable development and what is their role

Ruppert Companies is composed of the Ruppert Landscape, Ruppert Nurseries, Ruppert Properties and Ruppert Ventures entities. Davitt shares responsibility for the overall management of each company, including strategic planning, personnel development, financial management, quality control, systems development and management, facilities planning, public and customer relations, and acquisitions and growth.

Ruppert Landscape provides commercial landscape installation and landscape management services in the mid-Atlantic region and currently has 15 branches in 5 states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. In his role as president, Davitt oversees all landscape management and landscape installation operations and ensures that the company's visions and values are integrated into its daily operation. He works closely with the management team on its planning, personnel development and systems control processes.

Davitt serves or has served as a member on the: University of Maryland Advisory Board (landscape management); American Electrical Services Board of Directors; Associated Landscape Contractors of America (now PLANET), The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and St. Anselms Abbey Highschool. He was a former member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and is a current member of the World Presidents' Organization (WPO).

In 2000, he was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year award by Food For The Poor, the number one international relief and development charity in the United States, who provide emergency relief and micro-enterprise assistance in the Caribbean and Latin America. Davitt raises money annually and plans home building trips to Haiti and Jamaica to provide relief assistance for this organization.

He attended Frostburg State University and the University of Maryland and is a graduate of the Owner, Presidents, Managers program of the Harvard Business School. Davitt lives in Silver Spring, Md. with his wife, and he has six children and two grandchildren.

For more information, visit Ruppert Landscape at www.ruppertlandscape.com.