Vineyard & Winery Management

July/August 2014

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1 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J u l y - A u g 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m EDITOR'S DESK Not surprisingly, reviewers cited the importance of things like fair compensation and good benefits (including free or deeply discount- ed wine), but just as frequently they called out the sort of "intan- gibles" that can make the difference between a "decent" job and one that's "great." Here are some excerpts from the "Pros" column: + "You feel like a family." + "Lots of employee appreciation events." + "Opportunity for advancement." + "Innovative thinking." + "Work/life balance is second to none." + "The owners truly care for their employees." + "Training program, continued growth." Reviewers slammed employers for low wages and lack of raises, but knocked them even more for cultural dysfunctions: + "Extremely disorganized." + "No room for advancement." + "High employee turnover." + "Huge disconnect between departments." + "Upper management entrenched in a status-quo mentality." We've all seen those "Best Com- panies to Work For" reports, where employers are ranked according to the satisfaction level of their employ- ees. For those looking to change jobs, these lists can be useful resources. But what about companies that don't make the Top 10 lists, or aren't located in the publication's highlight- ed region? That's what Glassdoor. com is for. If you're not familiar with it, the site is sort of like the Yelp of company review sites. By registering on the site, employees (and former employees) can post their comments – positive or negative – about a com- pany's compensation, benefits, work/ life balance, culture and other criteria. A few months back, Vineyard & Winery Management invited Califor- nia winery employees to post their company reviews on Glassdoor, with the aim of highlighting the wineries with the best reviews. This proved to be more complex to determine than we expected, as the number of com- panies represented on the site was relatively small compared to the total number of wineries in the state, and some companies (the largest ones) had dozens of reviews while others had only one or two. Rather than scrapping the results as inconclusive, I decided to analyze the reviews posted during the last year and look for common denomina- tors among the positive and negative comments. Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. What the 'Best' Wineries Have in Common When asked to offer advice to senior management on how to improve the workplace atmosphere, respondents said: + "Focus on developing team mem- bers and work to retain them." + "Bring back some of the perks that used to accompany this job." + "Listen to your employees' sug- gestions." + "A good manager knows how to coach employees and under- stands the impact of please and thank you." While these comments could apply to any industry, wineries have an advantage over other types of companies in their ability to foster the kind of workplace that others envy. Gorgeous scenery? Incredible food? Access to excellent wines? Check, check and check. If you make the effort to remind your employees why they wanted to get into the wine business in the first place, they'll reward you by doing their best work. Salute!

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