Welcome to On Time In Full, a podcast from Designed Conveyor Systems. Welcome to another episode of On Time In Full. I'm your host, Yasmeen Hassan. Today, we're diving into what truly drives business success, building a strong and intentional company culture. Joining us is Megan Schrader, People and Culture Manager at IMI. Megan will share her expertise on fostering a positive workplace environment, the impact of initiatives like Installing Hope, and how a thriving culture empowers teams, drives success, and strengthens community connections. Let's get started.

Megan, thank you so much for joining us today.

Absolutely. Thank you for having me. And of course, on my favorite topic, company culture. Love it. Love it. So many people are talking about culture. I just mentioned DCS and IMI being part of the same company. And let's start there. How do you really see that partnership really benefiting IMI employees?

Absolutely. So I kind of look at it into two parts. And one part being just that cross collaboration. We have so many of our employees here at IMI that are working hand in hand with employees at DCS on projects, using each other for resources. So it's like having a whole nother group of employees that you can turn to, to say, how have you handled this situation? Or we're thinking of handling a policy this way or a process this way. What are your thoughts? And so it's sharing ideas. It's again, sharing resources. Probably one of my favorite stories is the engineering department at DCS invited the engineers here at IMI and they get together, so they work hand in hand, of course, and they get together every Friday afternoon for those that have time and want to participate. And they do, again, resource sharing, idea sharing, book of the month club. They do different trainings together. Then they talk about the training. So again, you're talking about taking expertise from two different companies who are working together and just really maximizing that, which gives that opportunity.

So that really, to me, always comes first in mind for me. The second one, I guess, kind of more tangible is our benefits and what's done is that does impact our culture. So with that, it has added an opportunity for us to have a much more generous 401k match, a flexible PTO plan. So not a lot of companies have flexible PTO. And, you know, we offer that and we really encourage employees, goes with our culture, to utilize time outside of work for them, for them, for their family, whatever they need to re-energize themselves. It also brought about multiple insurance opportunities with a very generous contribution from the company. Competitive salaries. We are now using, I think, three different salary software partnerships that we have in order to make sure that what we are offering, so not only for hiring, but for retention as well, that we're staying very competitive for our market. So it's great that we have that. Various stipends that we offer our employees as well has been great. We increased our engagement activities, spot bonuses, recognition rewards. So just all the way around and kind of that benefits package as I look at it for that, to create that great employee experience, it's been a great partnership with DCS and what it has brought to IMI. So we've been very thankful for that.

I mean, I love all of that. And we're seeing so many more companies really focusing on that culture, which I feel like was not always the case, right? How does a company really create a positive environment and how have you seen it really contribute to an entire team's success?

Absolutely. So I will say that in all my years, the over 25 years of HR, this really is the first time where I have seen that culture. It's not just talk the talk. I mean, we have laid out things and we continue to lay out things just as DCS as well, to really put it out there for our employees. First and foremost, though, it has to start with a strong leadership. If you don't have leadership, not only backing up the culture of what you want that to be, but also participating is just as important. They can't sit there and just send out the email about how things are important or, you know, stand up at a team meeting and talk about it. You need to see them just out there, just as engaged with everyone else and participating and just be part of that culture. So it starts with leadership. And from there, a company that is really just, as you said, with culture being so important now, it's employee focused. So we look at that in all different ways. As I shared earlier, benefits. We look at it as a, what do our employees want? I've been in HR, like I said, for some time now, HR can sit back and leadership can certainly sit back and think, we know what our employees want. But a lot of times, unless you are asking and doing surveys and not just doing the surveys, but actually listening to the feedback and putting together strategies around it and sharing that, you're, you're not taking the employee input further, which is really important.

So to me, that's a big part of it as well. And then having an environment where you really foster open communication. You can't have an environment where everyone has their door shut all the time, you're not welcoming your employees to come in on the flip side though. I've had to say, and it's one of the things that I love about our culture here is I think almost everyone on the leadership team is out on the floor and our manufacturing shop walking almost daily. And so if sometimes multiple times a day, but it's out talking with those frontline employees and getting to know them and offering that opportunity for them to get to know us as well. And that's where the good conversations, as far as the productive ones really take place and you get to know them and you are, you're opening yourself up and you're showing how authentic you are because you care and they start to do the same and it just builds that trust. So that open communication is certainly key. Rewards and recognition. And so for us, that comes in a variety of ways and that is done through, and I love it. We call them family meetings. We don't call them kind of staff meetings or all company meetings. We call them family meetings. And I certainly understood after my first family meeting, why we call it that. We look at our employees, although a business, but this is our family, right? This is where we spend the majority of our time. And even if you're a remote employee, you are still working with coworkers majority of your day. And so it's important to still build those relationships. And during those family meetings, like I stated that we call them, it is making sure that we are being transparent, we're sharing information, and you're also opening it up for people to be able to ask questions back, being transparent on financials, what's new in the company. I mean, it's all the way around. So that is really important. And then we turn around and we reward our employees. We do that at the family meetings. We do spot bonuses. Probably one of my, my favorite things is just going around as you hear about employees that are doing great things and taking that gift card to them. You know, I, the other night we had somebody that stayed up pretty late on their own, not cause it was required to finish a project. And so that information came to me. And so I sent them a DoorDash gift card and I said, Hey, tonight, how about don't cook dinner, like order you and your wife dinner and go to bed early. Like, thank you so much for what you've done for our company and for the project work. Um, it's going out, like I said, on the floor and it's getting to know your employees. It's learning simple thing, but what little snacks do they like? And it's taking that out there to them and thanking them for the job that they do. Those little things go a long way. And then you, all of these things that I talked about, you have to weave them into your daily processes, your daily decisions, your daily interactions. It can't be a check the box one-time deal. It has to be woven in. And when you have a culture where not just for HR, but when your leadership team and managers are really weaving that into their daily work, and that's when it becomes really a company culture where employees go, they care about me, they care about the work that I do, and they actually appreciate all of the hard work that we're doing.

Megan, it's so funny that you mentioned that. The other day, I was just reading a survey by employees who said that they would appreciate the company buying them lunch once a week or a $10 gift card more than, I mean, a small raise, but it means so much to not only have a monetary way of appreciation, but just noticing them out of the ordinary everyday grind. And I think that that's such an important thing to weave into the culture.

Absolutely. You know, it is. I mean, just the other day I was talking with one of the ladies that works out in our manufacturing shop and she was sharing with me her favorite energy drink. And I said, actually, I've been wanting to try those too. Um, happened to be over at the grocery store the next day, saw a couple, picked them up, went and took one out, one to her yesterday and said, I don't know if you like this flavor, give this a try. And we sat there and we shared an energy drink and we had a conversation and we just, again, we're building that connection together and she's sharing information about her and it is those little things though, and talking to the employees that matter, like you said, more sometimes than even that, a bonus or, you know, even being recognized during the family meeting and, you know, your name being recognized. Sometimes those one-offs that you do just matter the most. Yeah. It's really about building all of those kinds of connections.

And I know you also just recently launched Installing Hope. Can you tell us a little bit about that initiative and the impact it's having on not just your community, but the team and the entire employee family, like you said?

Absolutely. Okay. So I'm so passionate about community partnership and that was one of the things that really had me, um, when I started this position, I mean, that, that's what, that was the winning point, I think. So we started with this community partnership, calling it Installing Hope. And I love that because that gets back to Instally, which is part of the service of what, what we provide as a company, as far as installation. Um, but we put together an ask to all employees. And so wanted to know who else is passionate about community partnership. And we had a group of six individuals. And again, we have some remote, we have some of our managers, we have some that are working in our field services or at the manufacturing shop. It really, it was great because naturally it brought together this team and this committee. So the Installing Hope committee formed and got together and that's where we actually decided, it was actually one of our committee members that helped come up with a name. Um, and it was, the foundation of it was we want to install hope in our community. And so what can we do? Um, and what partnerships do we need to start forming? So from there, doing some research with community, um, nonprofits, we decided we started with a couple.

And so over this past year with Installing Hope, probably my favorite activity was, um, through the United Way, uh, right before Christmas, there were families that needed and were looking to be adopted. And so we adopted a handful of employees and we put this event together right before our holiday Christmas party. And so one of the things that I love is whenever we're having a community event, whenever we're having an employee event, we highly encourage our remote employees actually to come in, um, and pay for them to come in and be part of that. And so we had a whole, we had a whole room. It was so great, probably with about 50 employees. We even had some from DCS that were here that day, um, and they joined in. And so we had gone out prior and we had done the shopping for these families. So to have a whole room of people, again, engineers, project managers, welders. I mean, it was a, it was a mix. Having them work together to wrap gifts and to see the, you know, to see a lot of these individuals wanting to put personal touches on each of these gifts, knowing that these are going to families, that it's going to mean a lot. And so from there, we probably wrapped probably close to a hundred packages and a hundred gifts for people. And so from there, then a group of people that volunteered and said, we want to go out and be part of the give. And so they loaded up in trucks and it's like Santa Claus come into your house and going to those homes and seeing the smiles on the faces and the appreciation and what that means to them and to be able to provide them here is a gift car and here's some things that you can also have that family meal. It meant so much. So that was probably one of my favorite activities that we've done, but we've also partnered with our local rescue mission and we put together, they were, had a need for, um, school supplies and backpacks. And so we put together about a hundred backpacks and put school supplies in them and took them to the local Topeka rescue mission so that they could give those to the students that were staying there. And that was a lot of fun to do.

So we've had that, um, over this next year, we are going to continue with the partnerships that we've had locally. And then we're also working with another group here in town, and it looks like we are going to be participating in building a house here in the Topeka community for a family that they will help, the organization will help choose. But what I love is getting our hands dirty. Let's get in. And we've got so many skilled workers here with a variety of skills. And so they are excited about getting in and being able to use those skills. And again, helping somebody out in the community, it's going to be great. So that's how Installing Hope really became, um, became about and what we've done, what we will continue to do. What I love is that we continue to ask feedback again from our employees on different nonprofits or different projects that they want to be part of. And then we provide those opportunities to our employees. We pay them their time while they are participating. And then again, even for our remote employees, we love to have them come on back and participate as well. And it's just a great, I mean, it's giving back to the community, but it's also a great team building and it's getting to know other coworkers that maybe you wouldn't have that opportunity to necessarily, um, interact with. So it's been a great partnership for us. And I just look forward to continuing to do great things here in the next year. I mean, there's so much need out in the community, but I guess I'm wondering at the end of the day, obviously you're still a company. How are you striking that balance between operational success and being able to give back to the community at the same time?

Absolutely. So it really is for us looking at aligning our community partnerships with some of our strategic goals and part of our strategic goals incorporate the community. And so we look at organizations where again, um, that we can utilize the skills of the individuals that we have here and that we can help utilize those skills and bring that into more of a nonprofit, into a community need. So that is one area in, in which we do that.

The other way that I would say is just by, again, leading by example, and you've got to have your leadership out there and there has to be a desire from them to want to incorporate community partnerships. And again, it's woven into the business. And when you weave that into the business as part of being a successful business, um, that's a, that's a, that's a game changer right there. And it's a different strategy and a different way of looking at it. And I would say even during my first interview that I had with Matt Ferguson, um, president at DCS, community partnerships was one of the first things that we even talked about. And it wasn't necessarily about the community in regards to, um, what we specifically, he, what we needed to do. It was more about, he was asking me about kind of my interests and making sure again, that I was a fit for the role. Uh, but that was something that they saw that IMI was missing and that they really wanted to get out, uh, into the community and do some good work. And so again, when that is top of mind and woven into the business, that's just a game changer for them. And then leadership, when they're all on board and part of it and excited by it, um, then it makes it easier to bring that into your culture and bring that into just part of your, kind of your daily work.

I mean, it sounds like you already have a lot of things going on, but looking to the future and planning ahead, what are you really excited about pursuing and initiatives coming up with IMI?

Yeah, probably the one that I think of where we can, um, make the biggest impact would be we are creating some, uh, career growth opportunities for our employees and we're really encouraging all employees to have their own development plan. Every employee deserves to have their own development plan. And for everyone that's individualized. For some individuals, that's becoming the manager. For some people, it's maybe a welder going from a level one to a level two, and it's just increasing their skills along with the type of work that they do and working more independently. So for others, it's going to be a cross training, maybe into a different area within their department and learning. But everybody, we want everyone to be able to determine for themselves what that looks like, and then we're going to help put together a plan with them. Who's your mentor? Where's the resources training if we need that? You know, one of the things that we offer is we do have an education assistance program where we help and we will pay for people that desire to, um, continue with their, their education. And so whether it be something more formalized like that, or whether that be courses that we can help bring to them, uh, or again, bringing that mentor and finding somebody for them, we're going to start doing more of that this next year and encouraging all employees to create that development plan. So that's one thing that I know that we are focused on and that we're excited about.

Um, and then the other thing is just, you can always do more to create that exceptional employee experience. And so again, it is, we send out poll surveys and then we send out annual surveys and we share that feedback. And that, in my experience is frightening for HR and frightening for leadership. And this is the first company that I've worked for that actually shares the results. And, um, not only do we share the results, but then we put together action plans of what are we going to do with some of the areas where we can improve. And then we, uh, put together strategies and then we report out on that so that people are aware. So there's always room for improvement with that. So we are looking right now on what are additional ways that we can enhance that employee experience and that what do we need to bring, um, to IMI to help our employees. Like I said earlier, we spend so much time at work and whether you're working remotely or whether you're working in the office, you want employees to be excited to come into work and you want them to be excited about the role that they play here. They're part of a bigger job, a bigger mission. And so you want them to feel that with the work that they do and how they're connected with all of us here and what that means. Um, when we're working together, you feel like you're part of something bigger. And so there's always room for improvement with that.

I mean, you just mentioned that your company is definitely doing things a little differently and more advanced when it comes to other companies, when it comes to culture and environment. What advice would you give other companies wanting to really strengthen that employee culture, those bonds, and having a bigger impact on their community?

Okay. Yasmin, I share that and then I put the secret out there. So, but let's do that. Let's talk about that. Um, first and foremost, probably what comes to mind for me is I said earlier, get out on the floor, get out and make sure that you are spending dedicated time with all of your employees, remote employees. We have remote employees. Um, and so it's easier to do, of course, when you're working in the office, you can get up and you can go have those conversations one-on-one, but those conversations with remote employees are just as important. If not, maybe more important because easily it can be forgotten and it can't be a checkbox. It can't be a, we're going to do this on a quarterly basis. And we've had that conversation. You have to be authentic about it too. If your culture and those that are having the conversations, if it's not coming from a place where they truly want to care and get to know their employees and create that interaction, it shows. So having a culture where it's welcomed and encouraged to get out on the floor and have those conversations with the employees, find out what their favorite energy drink is. Employees start to open up to you. I've had employees that have shared with me some real personal experiences that they have gone through with family. And then I'm able to come back and get some resources for them and share those resources. And it feels good when they're following up with me of, Hey, thank you. My daughter was going through this and you provided some community resources. And I want you to know, here's a follow-up. When you're building that kind of relationship with someone and you're able to show, I care and let me put some resource, you know, let me put something together to help you and your family. And they, they appreciate that. That's a big win. So, but you have to be open about it. So right there, I would say is probably the first thing.

And I said it before and it is leadership and they just play a key role. And it probably for me comes from, I have worked at places that just leadership. It didn't, it just, they were never participating in the volunteer activities and they were never talking to those out on the floor. They encouraged people to, but they didn't. And I love here that not only is our leadership team doing that, but also when DCS leadership comes or any employee, any employee for that matter, DCS or IMI is coming. They're doing the same thing. They're walking and they're getting to know the employees. They're introducing themselves. They're talking to the employees they're talking about and asking about the projects they're working on. So it really does start with leadership and you have to show that you care. And then from there, that's when you have it that starts to really connect when you can build those strategies that your employees want. And you know that because of the feedback that you are getting from them. And then you can put strategies together and show that you're listening and that builds trust and that just fosters that open communication.

I mean, I have to say, I feel like that's really what keeps employees at a company for the long haul. You see so many companies putting out press releases with a big name. Look, this person is coming. And then a year or two later, they quietly exit. But I think it's building those relationships and having that satisfaction at work that really retains employees and makes them happy and not wanting to go look for something else.

No, exactly. You know, so the other day I was interviewing somebody, you know, and it starts with the recruiting process. You have to bring culture as part of the interview process. And I love it because we do culture interviews. And to me, that is just as important, if not maybe more important, even than the skills interview, because some of the skills, not all of it, some can be taught, you know, when somebody gets here or onto a job. But that culture fit, that's where it's an interview both ways. And the other day I was interviewing a candidate. And at the end of the interview, he said, what would be an example of something that you can give me that really shows that you really appreciate the culture at IMI? And I shared a secret and I'm going to go ahead and do it now. Tell me. My response to him was, I said, in the almost two years that I've worked for this company, I sing horribly, loudly in my car every day to work. And I said, because I am so excited when I leave my house for the day and I'm coming into the office. Megan, I love that so much. I share that with him. And he just started laughing. And I said, I've never told anybody that. Never. I said that I honestly do that every day. I said, it is fun and an exciting to drive from my house into this office every day because of the people that I work with. It all just, it all comes down to people and it's building those relationships and the benefits and everything. That's all the added bonus. That's all great. You know, those are all wonderful things. And I love that we have a generous benefits package and that we do some of the things that we do for employees. I love all of that. I love participating in our employee events and everything. But it's building the relationships and connecting with them that really makes it just number one. And you're right. That is why employees stay at a company or love coming to work and sing horribly and loudly in their car every day. It's things like that. But that for me, I guess is what I would say when you're creating that type of culture, where employees are excited when they show up to work and you can see that on the faces of the people and they're stopping by your office just to talk to you or just to, you know, um, give you a heads up on something as far as a, here's an update on my family of something you had asked about, you know, then that you're, you're, you're making headway and you're building those connections. And those are so important. So important. I mean, if you're not happy at work, you're going to have a very difficult time just being happy overall. I love all the initiatives and all the things you're doing to take care of your employees and your community. It means so much. Yes. Yes. Like I said, I love my job. There's just, this has been the perfect fit for me because in my time in HR, two things that I'm most passionate about are company culture along with community partnerships. And so the fact that those are two of my biggest, um, kind of first and foremost, you know, thought process and everything that we do, everything that we do, processes we're putting together, benefits we're putting together, employee events that we get to plan, um, all of that. It just makes it a perfect, a perfect win-win. And when you have that, like you said, life's too short, right? And so if you don't love what you're doing, um, you know, that's just, it's not a good fit then. And for us, it's making sure that we're hiring, um, for the right fit and that we are putting things together that, uh, employees want to stay and we're retaining them. So we have low turnover here, so it's been great to see. And, uh, we'll just continue to put different strategies together to create that exceptional employee experience. It's what it's all about.

I love it, Megan. Thank you so much for joining us today. That wraps up another episode of On Time In Full. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe and stay tuned for more episodes. Thank you so much for listening and we'll see you next time.