Great Motivators Welcome and empowered, according to Niehaus employees who testify that the company cultivates an open-door culture of communication that embraces new ideas and entrusts the execution of those ideas to their creators. “They gave me this job and said, ‘Here you go,’and I like challenges like that,” says Susan Sanders, an eight-year Niehaus veteran who is in charge of coordinating Aristokraft cabinet projects in Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis and also serves as a chief master sergeant in the Army Reserve, recently completing a tour of duty in Qatar in support of military operations in Iraq.
“Niehaus has become a career for me because I can be given charge of an area and encouraged to come up with new and more efficient ways of doing things, to think up programs where the company can make a bit more money than we are right now,” Sanders says, adding that she has been given a wide berth to encourage more basic computer training for new hires. “Things can run a lot more efficiently if you tap into the capabilities of your software. The more that you can learn, the more knowledge you have gained to pass on to your customer.”
That mantra sits well with Niehaus, who has made a career out of stressing self improvement as a vehicle to excellence in customer service. For several years, Niehaus conducted a seminar for employees and even other businesses based on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Lately, he’s been putting together presentations on The Fred Factor, and When Fish Fly, two books on creating extraordinary customer service out of seemingly mundane careers. “I have bookcases in my office filled with all of the motivational books that I started collecting 40 years ago [beginning] with Dale Carnegie,” Niehaus says. “I always try to find books with great examples. Those are most often the things that you can utilize to help motivate employees.”
One book that Niehaus has never been keen on—but has nonetheless learned to embrace as a necessary part of doing business—is the official Niehaus company handbook. “I operated for 30 years not wanting a company handbook, wanting to be more flexible, and I felt it tied us down too much,” Niehaus says. “But my three sons are in the business now, and they and our attorneys and insurance company all did a good job of convincing me that we have about 200 employees now, and the time has come that we need to have definite policies.” And to be sure, the newly published handbook does a boilerplate job of clarifying everything, including health insurance (medical, dental, and vision), smoking policies (don’t even try to light up on company property), paid holidays (seven of them, plus your birthday), and annual vacation days (five for new hires, up to 15 for veterans).
Niehaus is also making sure the human resources future of Niehaus Cos. is well assured. In addition to targeting the college grad set as a main recruitment focus (the latest sales hires were directly from Indiana University, Southern Indiana University, and Indiana State at Terre Haute), Niehaus Cos. has been directly involved in funding and constructing a $3 million construction technology wing at local Vincennes University, and the dealer also hosts interns for the school’s two-year building materials specialist program.
“What you are really looking for today is someone that really cares, someone that will make an extra effort on customer service, or will care about that customer,” says Niehaus on what he expects from both current and future employees. As a Vincennes University grad himself, chances are he’ll be looking there first for job candidates to join the Niehaus team. One thing is certain, if and when those candidates become bona fide employees, you’ll be sure to hear about it first in “Niehaus News.”
Vital Statistics Company: Niehaus Cos.
Year founded: 1933
Headquarters: Vincennes, Ind.
Number of locations: 9
Number of employees: 187
2005 sales: $70 million
Pro sales percentage: 80 percent
Key HR benefits: 401(k), flexible spending plan, health and vision care, paid vacations, one floating holiday, employee discount, birthdays off
