Small
Business Profile
"Your Company’s Most Important
Resource: Its People"
From the
Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce,
ACTION Magazine (April 2005)
“People are your company’s most important
resource—in the long run, you can’t create your products
or provide your services without an informed, enabled, and inspired
workforce,” says Mary Lou Drake, the President of North Carolina’s
DRAKE & Associates, Ltd., a human resources consulting firm.
Whenever
a company gets too focused on their product or service, their bottom
line, or any other major consideration, Ms. Drake makes sure her
clients don’t forget that good employees are what make it
happen. “Our clients learn quickly that a well-conceived and
executed HR program can save them considerable amounts of money,
minimize stress, and improve productivity within their organization,”
she says.
The
DRAKE approach to managing people is unique. “Whereas most
HR consulting firms focus on one area, we combine human resources,
organizational development and training to provide clients with
a complete package,” says Bob Drake, the company’s Executive
Vice President. “We find that most new clients have previously
only received assistance in one aspect of their HR program, preventing
management from creating a cohesive plan for successful people development.”
Justin
Fansler, DRAKE’s Director of Marketing and Operations, says
that it’s DRAKE’s big-picture approach that can turn
around a company’s morale and productivity. “We can
see the whole picture, from your organizational development and
design to the policies and procedures that create a consistent,
productive environment among employees,” he says. “We’re
big enough to tackle a wide range of problems, but small enough
that we can adapt our approach to the unique needs of each client.”
To
provide clients with effective solutions, Ms. Drake has created
a formidable associate network of more than 30 specialized experts
who work together to provide insight, planning, guidance and implementation
in solving a wide range of people problems.
Recently,
DRAKE’s employees have seen a considerable rise in salary
and pay-equity projects. “After several years of a tight economy,
many employers have had to cut back on salaries or positions,”
Ms. Drake says.
“Times
of rapid growth create a similar problem. Some parts of companies
grow faster than others, with the result that the company discovers
a wide disparity in how similarly experienced employees are paid.”
Often, she says, the results are disastrous for motivation and morale.
Ms.
Drake says clients want salary comparisons both within their company
and across the job market in their field. Responding to that need,
the DRAKE team created an innovative product that couples technology
with expertise: The Human Capital Management Tool for Pay Equity.
“Our
Pay Equity Tool combines sophisticated analytical software with
our team’s consulting expertise to help companies attract
and retain the best employees,” says Fansler. “Equitable
pay relationships are just one of the many components that keep
employee morale and productivity at their peak. This technology
gives managers an instant window into how small changes affect their
company’s pay-equity situation.”
Continuing
DRAKE’s tradition of innovation, the company has also introduced
several other products and services in the past few years that focus
on putting best practices in place to prevent some problems from
ever happening. “Our Employment Kit for NC Small Businesses
is really exceptional in that it provides clients with an affordable
option to establish best practices through a customized employee
handbook, employment forms and consulting time,” says Mr.
Fansler.
And
DRAKE's commitment to leadership and training goes from top to bottom.
DRAKE runs a program to develop the leadership skills of one or
many managers within their client’s companies. “Because
of our commitment to excellence and leadership practices, we created
and continue to offer an open-enrollment Certificate in Leadership
program,” says Ms. Drake.
Since
1992, Ms. Drake and her team of professionals have been helping
clients of all sizes, from three employees to 10,000 employees,
with such issues as productive organizational design, effective
recruitment strategies, uniform job classifications, competitive
wage and salary structures, fair employee relations practices, HR
audit for compliance, consistent and clear communications including
employee handbooks and supervisory guidelines, ESOP communications,
and motivational performance management programs to encourage employees
to stretch and grow in their capabilities.
DRAKE
believes that good people are a company’s most important asset.
Guided by Ms. Drake’s leadership, the DRAKE & Associates
team continues to use this core principle to assist organizations,
leaders, managers and employees reach the next level of success.
For
more information on DRAKE & Associates, Ltd., visit their website
at www.drakehr.com or call (919) 969-9901.
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