Dairyland Electrical Industries
Led by: Mike Tachick, President
Headquarters: Stoughton
Founded: 1983
dairyland.com
The family-owned, third-generation Dairyland Electrical Industries’ “strategy for retaining and engaging employees is rooted in maintaining a strong value system and a culture of deep care, earnestly and flexibly meeting the changing needs of staff,” says Kailey Dharam, Dairyland’s executive vice president of finance, systems and culture.
One of the ways the company accomplishes this is through an annual employee engagement survey, which shows an overall engagement of 85%. Gallup reports a 33% average engagement among U.S. employees and a 70% engagement among best-practice organizations, the company says.
Employee responses on the survey have led to changes to flexibility, communication and transparency, as well as the creation of a group focused on company culture. Dairyland also is implementing a hybrid remote policy, transitioning staff from desktops to laptops and is actively working to expand hybrid options.
Amy Wedell, programs and systems senior manager, says people outside the company “have confirmed that our benefits and programs are ‘insanely generous,’ and our vendors or partners often tell us that they love working with us. The culture of kindness, generosity and openness make it a great place to work!”
Company benefits include 16 PTO days in the first year of employment, fully paid maternity and paternity leave, PTO for foster care and generous leave and support for adoption. Dairyland also offers a 3% employer match to retirement contributions and a fully funded profit-sharing plan, calculated at 15% of an employee’s total pay.
Employees are encouraged to limit checking of email and voicemail outside of work hours, and managers are formally trained to encourage work-life balance among their staff.
Additionally, Dharam says, “with the knowledge that Generation Z is increasingly motivated by purpose-driven work, we are strengthening our communication on the connection between the work that our staff perform and the positive impact it has on our customers, our communities and our world.”
