ILMA Compoundings - June 2021 - 31

F
or years, Lube-Tech's purpose
has championed a rather modest
aspiration: " to make tomorrow a
little bit better than today. "
However, against the backdrop
of the coronavirus pandemic, that
outlook became a rallying cry for the
Golden Valley, Minnesota-based
company (formerly known as Lubrication
Technologies Inc.).
" For some, those may have been just
words before the pandemic, " acknowledged
Suzette Taylor, Lube-Tech's vice
president of people and culture. " This
past year, those words have really come
to life. They embody our owners,
Chris and Marna Bame. Before, Chris
frequently said that phrase, and this
year, it got real traction. "
Indeed, incremental progress has
been at the heart of how the company
- with seven locations in the Twin
Cities area and 10 more throughout
the Midwest and Louisiana - has
waded through 2020's trials as well as
the more hopeful start to 2021.
One ingredient in the mix has been
building a heightened sense of cohesion
and community across the company. It
hasn't happened by accident, because
some employees have remained physically
on the front lines in plants while
others have shifted to working remotely
much, if not all, of the time.
At a time when forging ahead day to
day has itself been an accomplishment,
Lube-Tech leaders were intentional in
fostering an " in this together " feeling.
Any business with functions that
operate separately is vulnerable to
potential dysfunction, said Tom
Emigh, a consultant with The Family
Business Consulting Group. Add the
pandemic to the equation, and each
" side " could easily drift into behaving
as a distinct entity, resulting in
disconnection, resentment and friction
between them.
Addressing the issue head-on is
crucial to creating a cohesive culture
in which everybody feels respected and
part of the same organizational team,
said Emigh. Even during relatively
ordinary times, it is important to
recognize employees for their contributions
and to view them holistically
as individuals beyond their work performance.
" That always matters, " he
said. " But it matters extra right now. "
At Allegheny Petroleum Products
Co., President Barbara Kudis recognizes
that truth. She made a commitment
over the past year to meet with all 104
of the company's employees. Most of
those sessions were in person, but some
had to be by Zoom - and all were as
essential as each of the employees she
took time with.
" I think that was very valuable, being
able to connect with them in person, "
Kudis said. " That bottom-up focus is
one of the pieces necessary to grow.
Every single person is as important as
the next to help our company grow. "
In addition, everyone throughout the
organization has been encouraged to
identify " what opportunities can come
out of this " pandemic era, said Kudis.
That mentality is important in no
small part because the pandemic's longterm
impact is so uncertain for many
facets of business. In the meantime,
Allegheny Petroleum is doing what it
can to address more immediate shifts
that have already been underway.
" We have seized this time to give
as many of our employees a chance to
grow their training and skill levels and
be better operationally on the other
side of COVID, " Kudis said. " A lot of
these changes are here to stay. "
At Lube-Tech, about two-thirds of
the company's 650 employees have
worked on-site through the pandemic.
The other third shifted to working
remotely from home, said Taylor.
One priority early on, she recalled,
was demonstrating the company's
concern for the safety of front-line
workers, whose tasks necessitated their
physical presence. Soon thereafter, that
premium on safety was augmented
by a recognition of those front-line
workers' indispensable role in the
company's success.
" One of the unintended benefits of
this past year has been the understanding
of how critically important our
front-line workers are to our business, "
said Taylor. " We used to put a lot of
emphasis on the importance of our
sales team, our research and development
team, but lately we have been
clear about referring to our operations
teams as our own everyday heroes.
That really became a helpful perspective
for our support staff, including
our salespeople. "
Another byproduct of this increased
appreciation has been larger participation
in community service and
fundraising efforts. Though always an
integral part of the company's culture,
those initiatives expanded beyond the
usual participants, who historically
have come from among support staff
and leadership.
31
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