At M. Holland Co., according to CEO and President Ed Holland, there's an emphasis on giving back — whether that's from company executives to the employees of the resin distributor or from workers to the Northbrook, Ill., community at large.
Three main awards are given to employees at the annual holiday party: the Marvin Holland Award, the Catalyst Award and the Collaboration Award. Winners are nominated by fellow employees and reviewed by the executive team, and they receive a trophy and monetary compensation.
"The [Marvin Holland Award] … is given to the person who has really had the greatest impact on this company for a long period of time," he said. "Marvin Holland was my father, who started the business and passed away in 1994. We named it the Marvin Holland Award because people said, 'How could we call this anything other than the Marvin Holland Award?'"
The Catalyst Award is given to the employee who creates change, moves the business forward and has a can-do attitude. The Collaboration Award is for the best team success: "This one was a two-person award where they overhauled an entire system process to bring us what I would call … into the future," Holland said.
Other awards are given throughout the year. The On-the-Spot Awards are issued anytime by managers to employees who have demonstrated extra effort and company values during the course of their job; winners are given gift cards. The High-Five Awards are a peer-to-peer recognition on the company's intranet site.
"Right now," Holland said, "there are six High-Fives running through the system as we speak. … To be honest, from my perspective, we have a lot of talented people, and if we don't let them have visions, speak [and] try, then I'm wasting assets."
In addition to the awards, employees are involved in community outreach. Holland said the company has its own internal committee that chooses and handles charitable efforts, including recycling drives, food banks, clothing and cellphone collections, bimonthly fundraisers, family donations and a holiday giving tree.
M. Holland Co. works with Autism Speaks, PAWS, Alzheimer's Association and National Parkinson Foundation, among others. There was also a recent contribution to benefit Puerto Rican employees affected by Hurricane Maria.
There are roughly 230 employees in the U.S. and Canada, 50 in Mexico and about 10 in Puerto Rico.
For internal training, M. Holland University offers development tools such as classroom education, TED Talks, videos, books and Harvard Business Review articles. Employees also have access to about 130 online courses, including about 30 courses in Spanish, on subjects such as computer skills, productivity, advancement, languages, accounting and business writing.
Why does Holland believe his company is a great place for people to work?
"One, the quality of our people," he said. "But two, the fact that we believe that one of our core principles is having fun. People are excited to be here. The interesting part, and some of the feedback I get — not so much with the people who have been here for a long, long time, but with people who have left other places to come here and have something to compare it to — is … we're very creative and open to change."
