Building the Best on a Solid Foundation
“Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America”

Badger Mining Corporation (BMC) and Holder Construction Company are the two exemplary companies at the top of the 2007 list of the “Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For in America,” as published in the July issue of HR Magazine. This marks BMC's second consecutive year as the #1 Best Small Company to work for, while Holder Construction has made a steady climb from #13 in 2004 to the #1 Best Medium Company spot this year.

These two companies share the top spots on their respective lists and both have created strong trust-based cultures to help fuel their business success, Badger associates manufacture silica sand, limestone and other aggregates for industrial use in the foundry, oil and gas industries. Holder associates plan, design and construct commercial buildings for such clients as eBay and Citigroup.

Badger is headquartered in rural Berlin, Wisconsin, Holder in the metropolitan city of Atlanta, Georgia. Vastly different on the surface, both BMC & Holder have time and again demonstrated that the phrase “our people are our priority” is lived every day in their workplaces. Caring for and supporting employees is ingrained in their workplace cultures, which in turn, lie at the heart of each organization's success.

Holder's leaders actively promote a culture of collaboration in their business as one way of insuring that their people and the way they work with clients are differentiating factors between themselves and their competitors. The emphasis on People Development, one of the four goals of the company since its inception in 1960, can be seen in such activities as their philosophy of organic growth by promoting talent from within, the extensive tools and training offered for professional development, and the practices which help associates maintain a healthy work-life balance.

This strong focus on people development is complemented by Holder's project selection practices. Holder pursues projects when they are the right fit for their teams and they have the team capacity to meet the project's requirements. What is the relationship between this commitment to associates and Holder's culture? Holder explains in their Culture Audit© submission: “Our culture acts as our barometer, our subconscious, guides our performance and nurtures our associates. It ensures we continuously develop our associates so that they are able to rise to the occasion with ever increasing responsibilities as their roles grow and evolve. An investment in our culture is an investment in our people.”

And what is the relationship between Holder's culture and their business success? We turn again to their Culture Audit© submission for confirmation that Holder's leaders associates understand that a strong culture of caring for employees contributes to the company's business success. “As a construction company our people are our differentiator. We do not have a unique method of pouring concrete, a better crane to build our buildings, or any other proprietary method of construction… What we do have are great people who have been immersed in a culture of performance and teamwork, doing the right thing since the day they started with the company. The core belief “Do the kind of job that makes our clients want us on their next project” resonates with every daily interaction. Our performance is critical to our success. As a result of this philosophy, historically over 80% of our work is with repeat clients.”

At BMC as well, the care with which leaders support associates is indisputable. From the “as needed” philosophy of taking as much time off as necessary to recover from an illness or address other personal situations, to the Wellness Team's comprehensive offering of programs to ensure the physical well-being of associates, their T.E.A.M mindset – “Together, Management and Employees” - shines through. This speaks to the culture of empowerment that Badger associates experience on a daily basis. As one of their core competencies, BMC articulates: “Our associates, working as Teams, are the heart of BMC. TEAM inspires all of our endeavors by supplementing collective strength, overcoming obstacles and embracing future challenges.” Trusting associates to take ownership of their individual work and the overall well-being of the company, allows BMC to connect the dots between taking care of their people and taking care of their business.

Associates are very clear on the benefits they get from working in such a special place as well. One Badger Mining associate commented: “After working here for about 3 years I had left for a better paying job. I hated it!! My boss got word of this and called me and asked what it would take to get me to come back to Badger Mining. I gladly came back and have been back over six years now. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be employed here again. You really appreciate your work place when you see what is out there!!”

Clearly Holder's & BMC's associates feel supported by their leaders and their companies as a whole, and respond positively to that support.  Of those who responded to the employee survey portion of the Best Company list evaluation process, an astounding 97% of Holder associates and 99% of BMC associates felt that “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work”. This sentiment may help explain why full-time turnover at Holder is approximately 11%, compared to the 25% industry average, and below 1% at BMC, compared to the 18% industry average.

At both of these companies Holder and BMC associates help to create the strong cultures that make their organizations great and contribute significantly to the success of their businesses. Whether the aim is to uphold Holder's principle of “doing the kind of job that makes our clients want us to do their next project,” or Badger's mission to “become the quality leader in the industrial minerals industry with a team of people committed to excellence and a passion for satisfying our customers,” doing right by employees seems to be a sure-fire way for everyone to win.