Inc.'s guide to great company tours.
INC.'s guide to great company tours
The mere idea of a company tour conjures up images of staged performances on the shop floor, a smooth packaged jaunt put together by a public-relations professional who wants to lay bare the greatest company to hit the planet. No warts, no real workings. A waste of time.
But there are well-managed companies that open their doors regularly for business tourists to see and hear how they do what they do so well. They give tours of the company in action -- in-depth management tours. They aren't about what a company makes or sells but rather about how they train, service, market, manage, and lead. They let you into their business. Some even invite you to sit in on strategy meetings, chat with employees, and have lunch with the boss. We've tracked down six of the best genuine management tours, sure to give you ideas about improving your own business.
All this begs the question, why? Why would any CEO want to entertain hordes of America's most inquisitive managers? Sure, Ben & Jerry's Homemade may do it for a buck a head, but the rest of the tours we've chosen are free. Is it an ego trip to have curious people descend on your company? A marketing opportunity? An offbeat method of recruiting? Thousands of managers pass through these companies every year. That takes a lot of time and attention from the host. Just how many tuna sandwiches can Springfield Remanufacturing Center president Jack Stack eat with visitors?
Who knows? But before these companies change their minds, take advantage of it. So what are you waiting for? Get out of your chair, load up the car, and go on tour.
TOUR 1
HEAVY METAL
Company Globe Metallurgical Inc.
Location Corporate office in Cleveland, with plants in Beverly, Ohio, and Selma, Ala.
Telephone (216) 328-0145
Business Two hundred and fifty employees produce many tons of metal alloy a year in foundries that smelt mineral ores so smoothly, the company has a trophy case of quality awards to prove it. Winning the 1988 Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award catapulted this rock processor to the top of world executives' "must-see" list. Why? Wherever a mistake might slip through, an employee is committed to making sure it won't happen again.
Tour Capsule Typical visit begins with eight-minute video and hour-long slide show of Globe's do-it-once, do-it-right approach to operations.
On the plant tour, notice how Globe employees check for mistakes at each stage of the process. Track one lot of incoming iron ore, silica, and wood chips through the furnace and into its molten bath. See the slag come off the top and how chunks of alloy are refined to customer specifications, then packaged and labeled. Get a stunning education in metallurgy, and experience quality circles, statistical process control, and employee stock ownership plans brought to life.
Tour requests from customers are always honored. Others are considered, but only occasionally granted. Call in advance. Tell them we sent you.
Unpaid Tour Endorsement "They obviously have a quality program installed and operating. It's impressive how many different ways they can check the supply going through the plant. Everyone tries to make a good product. Sometimes you aren't really sure what your product should be until a customer complains about it -- a company keeps ordering it and so you keep shipping it. Globe isn't like that. They make sure you get exactly what you want. If you say you want 50% of this, they make sure it's not 5% one way or the other. There's so much going on at this company; we're learning as much as we can from them."
-- Sherman Quayle, maintenance superintendent
Cyprus Sierrita Corp., Greenvalley, Ariz.
TOUR 2
THE GOLDEN RULE
Company The Lincoln Electric Co.
Location Cleveland
Telephone (216) 481-8100
Business Manufactures $700 million worth of arc-welding products and industrial electrical motors a year. In 1895 James Lincoln founded the company; in 1942 his brother John wrote the book Incentive Management, laying the foundation for flexible pay and employee involvement systems. Their theory of participatory management is based on the policy of no layoffs, piecework pay, and individual bonuses. This leader of employee involvement rated as a subject of a Managing People column in August 1988 ("Right from the Start,"). Seeing how Lincoln doles out dividends to shareholders, plans for the long term, and pays line employees on a par with middle managers comforts visiting execs jittery about their own employee-incentive programs.
Tour Capsule At 11:00 a.m., join 50 classmates for the day to learn how Lincoln Electric's incentive-management program works to improve customer service, marketing, and employee motivation.
After class, groups of six troop through the arc-welding machine and electrical motor plants, where assembly-line work dominates floor activity. Visitors are escorted by a "trainee" -- engineers or sales representatives with the company less than three years. They point out how mistakes are traced (everyone signs work) and why they're still using a time clock (it's the most efficient accounting method; employees voted for it). Regroup at the company cafeteria for a free lunch. After lunch, questions. Offered monthly.
Unpaid Tour Endorsement "The Lincoln philosophy boils down to the Golden Rule, but to see the lengths this company takes it is something. The employees on the advisory board must find their own replacement for the board meeting if they cannot attend. The peer pressure is incredible there! These employees are driving themselves. Nobody's out there with a whip, which is why it's not a sweatshop."
-- Paul Huber, CEO and president
Seco/Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa.
TOUR 3
AT YOUR SERVICE
Company Sewell Village Cadillac
Location Dallas
Telephone (214) 944-2000
Business Carl Sewell's attention to customer service, repair shop, and showroom details have helped polish the sullied reputation of automobile dealers and the grimy standard of Detroit. Sewell Village Cadillac accounts for $100 million of his $240-million, five-dealership auto kingdom. "Caddy Shack" (May 1987) told how Sewell not only managed to turn his service center, a traditional loss leader, into a profit center, but earned some of the highest industry customer-satisfaction ratings doing it. Now managers from all walks of business life take the tour to see how Carl Sewell has translated customer service into increased sales.
Tour Capsule The tour begins when you step into the showroom, which wows even dealers who've been around the track a few times. Bask in the glow of three huge chandeliers twinkling above four Cadillacs to properly show off the detailing that makes these cars so expensive in the first place.
Chat with salespeople about their philosophy of commitment to customer service. Walk around to the service entrance, which boasts three lanes (no waiting) and plenty of attendants familiar with each car's history. Then look over the new-car "make-ready" shop. Take note of nonsmoking and smoking waiting rooms. Check out the antiseptically clean mechanical shop, spotless paint facility, and dust-free body shop, all boasting the latest technology. Save room for breakfast and lunch -- a local restaurant caters daily to a cafeteria used by Sewell Village employees and customers.
