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| | W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. |  | President/CEO:Mr. Chuck Carroll | | 3952 employees | | HQ: Newark, DE | | www.gore.com |
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| W.L. Gore & Associates is a privately held firm of just under 4,000 employees. Its innovative workplace practices reinforce equity, support impartiality, and reflect its commitment to justice. The company's "lattice organization," which depends upon small groups of people working together to achieve common goals, limits hierarchy by minimizing lines of reporting. Employees don't have titles but are referred to as "Associates." They have sponsors rather than bosses.
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| Nobody's locked into a particular task, but can change roles based on their ability to make a case for doing so. Plants are limited to 200 or fewer people, creating self-managing communities within the larger organization. HR Generalists champion the company's culture, which has four core principles, one of which is "fairness to each other and everyone with whom we come in contact." Associates determine compensation of their coworkers by rating their colleagues based on past, present, and potential future contributions to the team and organization.
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| A "compensation committee" adjusts salaries based on these ratings. Extensive annual benchmarking enables the firm to keep its pay competitive, and employees participate in profit sharing and an employee stock ownership plan. Face-to-face meetings are encouraged over e-mail and phone calls.
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| The consistent application of democratic processes ensures fair treatment for associates. |
