Inside More than 40 Years of Business Success
Tucson, AZ (08/08/11) - This September, AGM Container Controls (AGM) will celebrate 41 years in business - no small feat for a small business. One key to the family-run company's success seems to be the manufacturer's conscientious investment in employee development and engagement, which has resulted in higher-than-average retention rates, and a cross-trained management team that has grown right along with the company.
AGM's long-term management team say the keys to the company's continued success include adaptability, a willingness to diversify, and the courage to take calculated risks and try new opportunities. The same can be said of several long-term AGM employees who have worked with AGM for 29 years or more.
Jim McCorry, AGM's Director of Business Development, celebrated his 30th anniversary with the company this July. McCorry started out as a shipping clerk, then worked his way up to his current position by serving as AGM's Production Supervisor, Purchasing Manager and Sales Manager along the way. He now sits on AGM's Board of Directors.
"I started at AGM when I was 22 and have literally grown up with the company," said McCorry.
"I am unaware of any other company that is so open and forthcoming with its employees. I think this openness is a reflection of Howard's leadership and management style," added McCorry, referring to AGM's President and CEO Howard N. Stewart. "He wants his employees to know exactly where the company stands, and gives the employees, as company owners, the tools and understanding that allow them to contribute to the overall success of the business."
"You aren't just a number, and everyone knows your name," said AGM's Contracts Manager JoAnne Quirion. Quirion has been with AGM for 29 years and has worked in the sales, marketing and contract departments during her time with the company.
Many of the long-term management team at AGM cite the company's multi-faceted support of its employees as the reason for successful employee retention. Employees are supported through education assistance plans, on-the-job training, internal promotions, competitive pay and benefits and even a layoff avoidance plan. AGM's benefits package includes medical insurance, employee stock ownership, pension and profit sharing, and a fully funded retirement plan.
With flexibility and careful planning, AGM has proactively avoided layoffs for the past 20 years. Stewart and AGM's management team developed a thirteen-step plan for avoiding employee layoffs. They successfully executed the annually reviewed plan in late 2009 and early 2010 during the economic downturn, and were able to avoid terminating any employees. This meant they had the staff they needed when sales rebounded.
AGM's Operations Manager, Jerry Stump, has been working at AGM for 38 years. A Tucson native, he started with the company right out of high school at the age of 17. Stump said AGM's education program, which was developed nearly 40 years ago and continues to this day, enables employees like him to attend night school and be reimbursed for the cost of school depending on their grades. "This plan helped me to hold numerous positions through my years of employment, which shows their willingness to promote from within," said Stump.
The accomplishments of AGM's employees and the success of the business appear to be finely intertwined. Because AGM invests in its employees, employees stay, learn and grow with the company, in turn investing in the company (not only through their jobs, but through stock ownership) and becoming even more committed to contributing to its long-term success.
"In order to be a successful company for over 40 years, AGM has continually adapted to whatever the current situation is at that time... such as the current economic downturn," said Stump. "AGM has always been good about investing in new equipment or new personnel. They are willing to take on new products, so we have an extremely diverse product base. Also, to be a successful company, you need to have the right people doing the right job. I feel AGM does an excellent job of picking the right people."
