Finding creative ways to deepen employee engagement is always a challenge. Companies in Wisconsin that sell to customers outside the country have a great opportunity to leverage those sales and create pride in their workforce. One way to do that is to display the flags of customer countries.
One company using this tactic is Gilman Precision in Grafton. It has a wall dedicated to the flags of customers right inside its plant.
Another company doing this is Power Test Inc. in Sussex. The flags make for an impressive display. Over the years, this manufacturer has built quite a list of international customers.
“There is Power Test equipment in every corner of the globe. It makes you proud to know that 75 employees in southeastern Wisconsin can have such an impact around the world,” said Lucas Groose, a mechanical technician apprentice at Power Test.
Additionally, Power Test encourages its team to keep looking for more international customers.
Power Test’s second smart move was being an early adopter of the “Made in Wisconsin” logo. As one of the pilot companies for this statewide program, Power Test stencils the logo onto its shipping crates and puts the logo on its product as well.
“We’re proud of everything that comes out of the shop, but knowing that our work is representing Wisconsin and the U.S. overseas is especially cool,” said Mike Millard, a mechanical assembly/technician at Power Test.
If you would like to participate in the Made in Wisconsin program, go to http://bit.ly/BuiltInWisconsin.
There are other creative ways companies engage their employees to understand the value of their international sales. One company prints the percentage of the employees’ pay that comes from international sales during a given period right on the pay stub.
-Bill Burnett is the director of the export initiative for the Milwaukee 7. He can be reached at (414) 287-4118 or at bburnett@mke7.com.