17 May Building a Winning Culture
PolySource takes tremendous pride in our workplace culture and in our employees that make up the PolySource brand and family. We are honored to have been ranked No. 1 in “Plastics News’ Best Places to Work” in 2017 and 2019. However, a winning culture was not handed to us, but was built from the ground up based on a family environment by PolySource Founder & Chairman of the Board, Greg Jacobson.
“We truly do try to instill ‘it’s about the one next to you’,” said Jacobson. “Be there for them, and they’ll be there for you. Be there for your employees, and they will be there for you. Be there for your customers, and they will be there for you.”
There are three things that PolySource does to help build a winning culture.
- Establish It
- Hire To It
- Maintain It
Establish It
Rome was not built in a day and neither was the PolySource culture. We defined an ideal work culture and outlined ways to establish and nurture it. The PolySource culture evolved from our core values. The core values at PolySource are Humility, Honesty, Hustle, Fun, Integrity, Respect, Empowerment, Commitment, and Trust. We look for teammates that not only follow our core values but embrace it. A vital part of our success is built on having internal champions that will continuously cultivate our culture.
“We remain altruistic and sincere and those who appreciate a true relationship with the right core values and philosophy will flourish,” Jacobson said.
Hire to It
Here at PolySource, we are very specific about the people we want to join our team. We constantly keep an eye on those with the right values and soft skills, who can be molded into the problem solver that we need to help our business succeed. The interview process at PolySource is well defined. We know what we are looking for to align and enhance our workplace culture, but we make every qualified candidate prove it. Asking open-ended questions during the interview is important because it makes the prospect give specific examples of their background and tell us a story which ultimately gives us a sense of if they have the “hustle” mentality needed at PolySource.
Maintain It
Workplace culture must be maintained and even evolve as circumstances change. We recognize that our employees are the ones that are working face-to-face with customers by assisting them with problem-solving ideas. To ensure our employees treat our customers with the respect and attention they deserve, we make sure they are treating each other the same internally. The team at PolySource is a work family spending a lot of time together. We want work life to be good so home life is good as well.
“Let’s face it, we will spend more waking hours with our family at work than our family at home,” Jacobson said. “I wanted to truly create a family atmosphere at work, like at home, that could endure and engage tough times, as well as good times, and even the good times take hard work.”
We understand that everyone has a different culture and sees success in different ways. Our employees are the most important asset to our company and making sure to add the right group of people to the culture is what makes ours successful.
Want more information? Check out these great books on building a successful workplace culture:
More Than A Season: Building a Championship Culture
The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace