Five Powerful Strategies to Retain Top Notch Technical

“Five Powerful Strategies to Retain Top Notch Technical Talent” Tamsin Jolley, President of Decagon Devices Jeff Young, Chair & General Manager, ATA Engineering Moderated by: Diane Stoneman, Director of Consulting and Training, Winning Workplaces © 2009 Winning Workplaces. May not be reproduced or distributed without expressed written permission of Winning Workplaces. Sponsor

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Top Small Workplaces Recognition q The Wall Street Journal q Winners profiled October 13, 2008, WSJ. com/Entrepreneur q Report @ Winning. Workplaces. org q 2009 competition underway

Top Small Workplaces 2008 Top Small Workplaces Winners ATA Engineering Decagon Devices Integrated Project Management (IPM) JA Frate Jackson's Hardware Jump Associates King Arthur Flour Company Landscape Forms Lundberg Family Farms New Belgium Brewing Phenomenex Rainforest Alliance Resource Interactive The Paducah Bank & Trust The Redwoods Group

Winning firms focus on sustainability q Average 42 years in business q Grow average rate of 23% over last 2 years q Tenure of the CEOs average 17 years q Founders still involved in 50% businesses

Growth is a conscious choice “While we could easily grow faster we believe in the long run we would do irreparable harm if we stumble in our hiring and training process. ” ATA Engineering

Employee development is key to consistent execution q Invest to build competent workforce (tuition ( programs average $3500/yr) q Hire for “attitude” and “fit” for culture q Grow leaders from within q Encourage employees to grow personally & professionally q Mix of structured learning & “learning by doing”

Our Agenda Today Perspectives of two engineering firms Top strategies to attract / retain talent Impact on business and workforce Lessons learned Questions from audience

Featured Presenters Jeff Young Chair & General Mgr. ATA Engineering San Diego, CA Tamsin Jolley President Decagon Devices Pullman, WA

Founded 1983 77 Employees FY 2008 Sales $9. 75 M Develop, manufacture & market scientific instrumentation for environmental research and product quality testing

Decagon Motto “Think like scientists, work like farmers, dream like children. ”

What the Jobs look like

#1. Focus on Individuals It is not just about the work! – – – Flexible time Support of personal goals Mentoring

#2. Employee have stake in the outcome Communication Open Book Management Profit Sharing Lunch Meetings

#3. Creativity and Innovation Rules #3 Creativity Search for Employees – Interns & Part-time work on projects Continually fostered in workplace

#4. Explicit Governing Values #4 Governing Values Perpetuating legacy Education (informal learning)

#5. Great Work Culture #5 Great Work Culture Soccer Slot Car Racing Wellness Program

ROI Impact on Business Young company with tenured employees Impressive stream of new products

“We don’t try to be something we are not. In everything we do we consider our culture. ”

ATA Engineering, Inc. Who Is ATA Engineering, Inc. ? Formed as employee-owned corp. 4/3/2000 Spin-off from a public engineering software co. Mission: To be the leading provider of solutions for analysisdriven and test-driven design of mechanical, electromechanical and aerospace products

Who do we hire? Professional engineers in 7 locations 600 cumulative years of relevant experience Full-time staff of 87, 75 degreed engineers – – – 10 B. S. degrees 46 M. S. degrees 19 Ph. D. degrees 5 registered Prof. Engineers 8 -10 co-op and intern students Graduates from MIT, Stanford, Purdue, Cal Tech, UCSD, UCLA, Wisconsin, Texas and other great schools

Designing and Engineering Cool Stuff

Why our Talented and Demanding Customers Need us Shortfall in staff Lack particular technical expertise Count on ATA having Top Notch Technical Talent

Top Strategies 1. Hire the best possible people 2. Offer Employee Ownership 3. Train, coach, mentor 4. Grant responsibility & authority 5. Create an environment of Trust Caveat: Every company is different and some ATA practices may not work for you

#1. Hiring the best 1) Hire the Best People Hire staff “Too Good To Pass Up” Hire top grads from the best universities Assess recruits interest in Employee Ownership Process is comprehensive and highly selective Candidates accept offers for many reasons Accelerate recruiting when business is slow!

#2. Offer Real Ownership Goal: 100% employee ownership Outstanding professionals hired & trained by management team Team environment through shared ownership Company where we love to work Control our own destiny

#3. Train and Develop HR Surveys: learning key to retention ATA University Training is broad & continuous

#4. Grant Responsibility and Authority Delegates responsibility & authority to Project Teams Project teams “delight” customers Project Mgr complete responsibility and authority (Quality, Schedule, and Budget) Jr. engineers as Project Managers

#5. Create an Environment of Trust staff to treat company resources as their own Focus on overall ATA performance Less focus on individual achievement Egalitarian culture & flat organization chart No “Executives” at ATA – No Executive perks – No Executive Compensation System – Same pay scale for Mgt and engineering staff – Promotes teamwork and trust

5) Create. And…More Trust #5. Environment of Consensus decision-making: challenging but pays off Post spin-off assumption of super-fast decision making Individual employee-owners empowered to participate The investment pays off: – – Employee-owners educated Positioned as future leaders Employee-owners “buy-in” to the decision Implementation is smoother and faster

ROI Impact on Business ATA is a fun place to work! People are enthused & committed Turnover of 1 -2% Strong financials= – Significant tax savings – Profitable every year – Return on revenue exceeds industry 3 of last 4 years – Revenue exceeds plan last 3 of 4 yrs

Questions? www. ata-e. com www. decagon. com

Upcoming 2009 Webinars Apr 15 Exiting Gracefully – Options for Transitioning Ownership Corey Rosen, Executive Director & Co-founder, NCEO May 27 Two Perspectives on Succession Paul Silvis, Founder, Restek Corp; Michael Foley, CEO, Reflexite Corp June 17 Radio Flyer- The Story of Transforming an American Icon Robert F. Pasin, President and CEO, Radio Flyer

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