One of the reasons The Kent Center for Human and Organizational Development has been named one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work is that everyone works together to accomplish the company’s goals, President and CEO David Lauterbach and employee Lisa Sisco agree.
Founded in 1976, The Kent Center provides mental health and substance abuse programs as well as extensive support for its clients. To achieve this difficult goal, the company has made teamwork one of its guiding principles.
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“Everything good that gets done gets done through teams,” Lauterbach said. “It doesn’t take heroes – it takes teamwork.”
Sisco, who coordinates community support services, said employees understand that “our main goal is to help people recover from mental illness and to make their lives better.”
Managers encourage the staff, Sisco added, by living up to “the same principles” they set for the whole team to follow.
The company also has an open-door policy, allowing employees to communicate ideas and concerns to management. This includes “director’s hours,” during which the CEO allocates time each month for employees to speak with him in his office without making an appointment.
Lauterbach said the open-door policy makes it possible for all employees to have an impact and help the company to reach its goals. “The whole agency is involved with finding solution for problems, from the top down,” he said.
The Kent Center also aims to provide employees with a good benefits package and ample opportunities for growth, both professionally and personally. It has a 401(k) plan with company matching, a wellness program and ample vacation time (four weeks after the first year) and sick time (15 days) to compensate employees for characteristically low nonprofit pay. Salaries range from $26,957 to $43,243.
Sisco, who started as an entry-level case manager nearly 21 years ago, said one of the biggest benefits to her has been the company’s understanding about her changing life.
“It certainly has fit my needs,” she said “They’re willing to work with you with professional development and personal development.”
When Sisco started, she said, she was single; now she is married, with two children. To accommodate her needs, the company allowed her to work less when her children were young, among other things. It also permitted her to work around her own schedule when she decided to go to school for a graduate degree.
“When I was in school I could flex my work week,” she said. “The agency has worked hard to fit my needs.”
The Kent Center also helped with Sisco’s education by providing tuition reimbursement and allowing her to use work time for certification training. Additionally, Lauterbach stressed that employees are all given extensive support for anything they need help with.
Lauterbach said he feels The Kent Center’s employee-friendly policies have enabled it to retain experienced, achievement-oriented workers – a major factor in its overall success.
“The newest member of my management team has been here for 10 years,” he said.
Even case managers, who have the highest turnover rate, don’t leave because they are unhappy with the company, he said, but rather to pursue other opportunities.
“We do exit interviews, and I have never had anybody who hasn’t said ‘I have really grown here and learned a lot at the Kent Center,’ ” he said.
And the company’s efforts have produced tangible results, according to Lauterbach. The company just received the National 2006 Award for Excellence in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Awareness, to name one accomplishment.
