Maintaining a Strong Corporate Culture

Dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, John Friel leans back in his chair following an afternoon serving sandwiches to a group of workers at Medrad Inc.'s newest facility in Saxonburg, Pa. A CEO who eschews the ceremonial trappings of position and power, Friel likes to get involved with his employees on a level where they can look him straight in the eye.

But Friel worries a little about how long he'll be able to stay in close touch with the entire employee population, doing things like working the third shift on the warehouse maintenance crew.

Friel's efforts have rewarded the company handsomely when it comes to human resources. In medical devices, a business that requires a highly skilled and educated workforce, Medrad's turnover is typically half the rate of its peers, says Friel.

It's a conundrum facing every business that's strives to grow: How do you grow without growing out of the culture that got you there in the first place?

Here's how Friel makes sure that the bond between the company and the employees doesn't go soft.

For one annual event, the Medrad Day of Caring, employees volunteer to work in homeless shelters, soup kitchens and in support of other charitable efforts. Employees are paid for the day, and Friel calls it a powerful exercise that knits the company, employees and the community together.

Friel continues to take every opportunity to work in various departments in the company to get a firsthand look at what employees are facing in the workplace.

To keep employees in the loop, issues a detailed monthly report of what's going on in the company that discloses how Medrad's doing, the good and the not-so-good included. A gain sharing plan offers financial rewards to every employee based on the company's performance against four of its five corporate goals.

To keep the communication at the highest level, even as the company's operations get larger and more far-flung-Medrad has 1,700 employees in 18 locations-Friel is contemplating a TV network to enable executives to speak to employees more efficiently.