Incentive - July 2008 - (Page 26)

CASE STUDY Family members of newly promoted partners were invited to the 2007 annual conference at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Mich. The Golden Rule Works For Plante & Moran Award-winning accounting firm promotes “We Care” culture and rewards to create loyal employees, low turnover BY JENNY CROMIE E very year, busloads of Plante & Moran employees converge on the soil of Dearborn, Mich., the night before the firm’s daylong annual conference—an event that takes more than six months to plan and a big production company to pull off. And for one day out of each year, the nation’s 12th-largest certified public accounting and management consulting firm sacrifices a day’s worth of billable hours at all 16 locations, and pays for bus trips, gas, hotel stays, food and entertainment so that more than 1,600 employees can join in the celebration. It may seem like an astronomical tab for the Southfield, Mich.–based firm, but organizers say it’s a small price to pay for all the employees who have helped land the company on Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list for 10 years in a row. The conference, held in recent years at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, is truly a celebration of company culture, spirit and achievement. The daylong event helps reinforce the company’s culture, spirit and team-building atmosphere, and it also helps re-recruit employees, says Teresa McAlpine, director of communications. “It’s basically a way to refill everyone’s engine with the spirit of the firm.” Every year, about nine to 15 newly promoted partners take center stage, give Academy Award–style acceptance speeches, and are recognized by managers, fellow employees and family members for their achievement. Employees also receive awards, including the firm’s highest honor—a Morrison Award, named after a former PROFILE Plante & Moran Industry: Accounting To create a positive, supportive company culture that keeps employees happy, the firm’s turnover rate lower than the industry average, and the company at the top of Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Challenge: Solution: A companywide annual conference and other outings, golden rulers to remind employees of the company’s code of conduct, annual employee awards and incentives, and programs that support the “We Care” credo at the firm. ROI: A 12 to 14 percent annual turnover rate, compared to the industry average of 25 to 35 percent. Revenue that has tripled and a staff size that has nearly doubled in the past decade. 26 | Incentive | July 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - July 2008

Incentive - July 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Accentuate the Positive
In The News
Cover Story: Three Profiles in Good Corporate Citizenship
Case Study
Incentive Interview
Senior Secrets
To Thine Own Self be True
Incentive Primer
Motivation@Work
Travel News: Where To Go and What To Do
Take the Spa Home
Not the Only Game in Town
Here and Now
Writing and Desktop Gifts
Watches and Clocks
Gift Cards: Health and Wellness Incentives
Good Health Is Not Its Own Incentive
Advertiser Index
Last Word

Incentive - July 2008