People are their business
This staffing firm builds its reputation by giving back to its employees - and the community
(Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)
Winter, Wyman employee Lauren MacArthur (right) attends a "birthday wishes" celebration at Sandra's Lodge in Waltham.
THE TRAINING ROOM at the Waltham headquarters of staffing firm Winter, Wyman Cos. has a beautiful view of the Cambridge Reservoir. But few use it to enjoy the scenery. The room is too tightly booked with sessions that range from career advancement (“Presenting a professional image’’) to very specific jobs skills (“Cold calling’’).
That’s the way chief executive Bob Boudreau likes it.
“Development of our people is our first and second language,’’ he said.
Apparently, the 130 employees at the 37-year-old firm have noticed, because this year their responses pushed Winter, Wyman to fourth overall in the Top Places ranking and number one among small businesses. In addition to training, employees surveyed cited the opportunity for career advancement, the company’s dedication to public service, consistent ethics, rewards for strong performance, and sensitivity to work-life balance.
Boudreau credits the founder of the firm, David Melville, with establishing a “company that cares.’’ Melville, who started the company in 1972, named it for the two Waltham streets that intersected in front of its first headquarters. The local roots run deep. Today Winter, Wyman is one of the largest staffing firms in the Northeast, serving New England and the New York metropolitan area.
Winter, Wyman’s longevity in the competitive staffing business is not due to a unique or radical approach, Boudreau said: “We’ve never tried to reinvent staffing. Instead, we believe it’s the little things that you do that make a difference.’’
Some of those “little things’’ include a community service program managed by Ruth Wyser, a human resources staffer who spends half her time on charitable projects.
More than 70 percent of Winter, Wyman employees participate in the company’s community work, which is directed by a 15-person committee that frequently surveys employees for direction and feedback. Recent commitments include a “community service day’’ and an annual charitable donation in lieu of a holiday party. Every month, the company funds and staffs a birthday party at a local homeless shelter with the nonprofit group Birthday Wishes. The outreach “keeps us grounded,’’ Wyser said.
Winter, Wyman hasn’t been immune from the economic downturn. In March, the firm laid off 30 employees. “We felt it was necessary for the long-term survival of the company, so my approach was to be as transparent as glass,’’ Boudreau said, adding that he held an extensive morning-after “why-and-how’’ session with employees, and asked company executives to take “big pay cuts.’’
Yet almost immediately after the downsizing, Winter, Wyman began preparing for what Boudreau believes will be an inevitable economic recovery. The strategy includes an investment in employees; over the last two years, Winter, Wyman has spent $350,000 on leadership development for its staff.
The employee orientation may come naturally to a staffing firm, a people-oriented business, but the reason for Winter, Wyman’s approach is even more basic than that, Boudreau said.
“It seems so simple,’’ he said, “but it works for us: The more you give, the more you get.’’
D.C. Denison can be reached at denison@globe.com. 
