Monday, August 28, 2006

What a Printing Company in Montana Can Tell Us...

think:lab finds out What a Printing Company in Montana Can Tell Us About School Design and Leadership, but I think it's as fascinating from the perspective of envisioning effective workplaces. I especially loved his description of the company's approach to childcare:
"Day Care and 'family' is built in; there are no other options! The first thing you see when you come walk the parking lot to the front door are little kiddos playing under the Montana sky. All employees pay a pitance to have their young kids on site with them. It's a fundamental. Andrew made it a key design driver. And the # of Baby Bjorns in the office was an indicator that for many of the employees, a family 'quality of life' decision was made without compromising their careers. And its a spectacular daycare. Small adult/kid ratio. Healthy environment. Kids loved. And obviously very happy teachers and parents on site. It wins all visitors over the second they come into the building."
The company in question is Printing for Less, and they're really playing on lifestyle factors to attract skilled people -- check out the graphic comparison on their employment page.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeremy -- Thanks for the blog rock skip on my previous post. PFL is an amazing company; equally, Andrew is an amazing leader and business visionary. While it may have been a stretch to describe a commercial printing firm in dynamic 'school design' terms, it was the first thing that came to mind when I walked into his offices. Truly an inspired space to work; truly an inspired group of people working there as well (which I've come to see first-hand when making orders after my visit).

Note: I'm talking with Andrew about doing a Q&A follow-up to get at the heart of what led to the design of such great learning spaces and how that connects with his company's collaborative spirit and focus on innovation.

Jeremy said...

Thanks for dropping by, Christian -- it sounds like your Montana experience was fantastic. I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.

Rob said...

Christian and Jeremy - this is a wonderful story - I am doing series now on the human workplace and Printing for Less is an ideal introduction

Thanks Rob

Jeremy said...

It is cool, isn't it, Rob? Glad to see you've picked it up -- looking forward to seeing where you go with these themes as well.