J. Carlson Services Inc.

J . CARLSON SERV I CES INC . team works out of the company’s two offices in Shevlin, Minnesota, and Salina, Kansas. The company’s corporate culture is one that treats all employees like family, a culture that is more out of design than chance. “When Deb and I started the company, we wanted it to be a family-based organization,” Carlson shares. “One of our goals at the time was that anyone who worked for us would have great benefits, and we would cover most of their expenses while they were on the road. That way, they wouldn’t need to spend any more than they did at home.” This culture has helped the company attract and retain talent, although it does see some churn. “Younger and newer employees tend to leave a lot,” says Carlson, “but the ones that stay with us for at least four years become comfortable in their job and will stick around for quite some time.” Carlson is also experimenting with an ESOP plan to hand over the company to his employees when he retires. “I’m currently working with five employees on the ESOP plan,” he says. “It’s still a work in progress, but I’d like to see the company continue with the people who helped build it. It’s a big ethical issue for me. Somebody gave me a chance in life, and it’s my turn to repay that and give other people that chance.” JCS handles most of its training in-house, with a lot of the technical training happening on the job. The benefit of this approach is that the company gets to cultivate the exact skills it needs for its specialized work. But, as Carlson notes, helping workers to become experts can have some downsides. He admits, “Most of our turnover comes from losing people to the telephone companies we work with. Once our workers get good enough to work for a telephone company or municipality, they leave.” Although this takes a toll on the company’s staffing, Carlson chooses to look at it from a