DES MOINES REGISTER NAMES DISTek Integration, Inc. A WINNER OF THE STATE OF IOWA 2015 TOP WORKPLACES AWARD
Cedar Falls, IA – September 13, 2014 – DISTek Integration, Inc. has been awarded a 2015 Iowa Top Workplace honor by the Des Moines Register. The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few.
“The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume it’s all about fancy perks and benefits.” says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. “But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day—the employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what’s most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it’s going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together. Claffey adds, “Without this sense of connection, an organization doesn’t have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.”
As a recipient for the third year in a row, DISTek CEO Matt Dickinson was asked to speculate on how the company keeps pulling off the feat. “I don’t know, because I stay out of it,” he joked. “We hire good people and let them do their thing. Teamwork and respect for each other” are the keys, Dickinson said. “And now that the company has launched an employee stock ownership plan, as of December 2014, employees own a portion of the company,” he said.
Dickinson believes that, generally, ESOPs are considered an effective inducement for employees, since, as partial owners, they have a stake in the organization’s success. “They get a little bit of an ownership mentality,” Dickinson said. “They can ask, ‘Is this cost-effective? Does this make sense?’ Just the overall big-picture kind of thing.”
“Customers are extremely important, and so are employees,” Dickinson continued. “We have mission and vision statements, but our core values take precedence over everything. We may have goals of increasing profits and sales, but core values trump all that – integrity, honesty, treating people right.” That’s how the company operated in its nascent stage, as well as now, when it employs nearly 100 workers, Dickinson said. “We started small and have been living it forever, and it seems to take hold.”
About DISTek Integration, Inc.
DISTek Integration, Inc. provides embedded software modeling, development and testing services to off-road equipment and vehicle manufacturers. DISTek provides engineering services related to electronic systems for off-highway vehicles, such as agricultural and construction equipment, focusing on three disciplines: embedded software, model-based design, and automation and testing. DISTek has been consistently voted one of the “Employers of Choice in the Cedar Valley” for the past several years and was listed in Inc. Magazine’s 500/5000 Fastest Growing Companies for 2012. DISTek is employee-owned, is headquartered in Carthage, IL, and has its main operations office located in Cedar Falls, IA.
About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC
Headquartered in Exton, PA, WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces™ campaign—a program it conducts in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. Workplace Dynamics also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. WorkplaceDynamics is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a global movement to redefine success in business by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.
