Treat Your Employees Like Adults for a Change

Deanna Lantieri, Director of Human Resources at P.W. Grosser Consulting (PWGC), a 55-person environmental engineering firm in Long Island, is no stranger to the traditional workplace. At her previous jobs, Deanna regulated her firms’ employees as strictly as you probably do: taking note of employees’ days off, sick time, and even if they’re a few minutes late.

But then, when Lantieri was hired at PWGC, that all changed.

“At first, I thought, ‘This can’t be normal. They’re putting on a show for me,’” says Lantieri. “With five branch offices across the country, I kept waiting for one of our firms to go traditional on me.”

Well, nine years later, she’s still waiting.

With retention through the roof and a mere five people let go in the last nine years, PWGC is clearly doing something right. “Our culture is very flexible, very family-oriented, and cooperative,” says Lantieri. “People help each other all of the time. There’s no yelling, screaming, or cursing; it’s a quiet, respectful, and professional office.”

The word “professional” is key to Lantieri and PWGC. “We’re not hiring people who didn’t graduate high school,” she says. “Everyone here has a least a BS. Every member of our firm, no matter how old or experienced, is a professional. And we actually treat them like what they are—professional adults.”

Due to that treatment, there is no egregious monitoring of the staff, no counting of hours or PTO, and no “8-5” expectation (“It’s a non-issue,” reports Lantieri). The employees of PWGC enjoy incredible flexibility and mutual support. Lantieri credits this “treat-employees-like-the-adults-they-are” mentality to the firm culture nurtured by CEO Paul Grosser. “Paul realizes that just having a degree doesn’t necessarily make an employee a mature person, but that when you put them in an environment where everyone is treated as respected professionals, they conform, and they don’t even realize it.”

And the perks of working at PWGC don’t stop there.

With PWGC offering 100% benefits coverage that starts on day one of employment, an employer-assisted housing program wherein participants can get up to $35,000 to buy a new house, a college savings plan for parents, and a plethora of other benefits, it’s no wonder “no one wants to leave us,” says Lantieri.

And though in the nine years Lantieri’s been there, there’s not been one single reported abuse of the firm’s flexibility, Lantieri still cautions that such an enterprise may not be right for everybody. “If a CEO is fearful of going into this type of culture, then don’t do it. Keep your traditionalist values and continue to slap hands and watch every move your employees make.”

But there’s no doubt Lantieri believes the flexible, cooperative, adult culture PWGC promotes is the better option. “The fact is that transitioning to a more ‘mature adult culture’ will get you more ‘mature adult behavior’ 99% of the time. When you’re stingy and on top of people, they’re going to be just as stingy back and not willing to give you that extra five minutes.”

Ultimately, PWGC’s philosophy, as created by Paul Grosser and supported by Deanna Lantieri, can be summed up in one simple statement they both passionately believe: “When you give more, you get more.”