Meet the Need Program
When Brian Trauernicht joined Angelle Materials as the CEO more than 12 years ago, he thought he was starting a new job. Quickly he realized he was also joining a family.
From the highly efficient and friendly employees in the front office to the strong professionals who drive Angelle’s 65 trucks, Brian found himself developing unique relationships with each employee. Over the years, Brian noticed a disturbing trend. Some members of the Angelle family often missed work or even quit without any warning. Being concerned for his team, Brian began asking questions to get to the root of the problem. He learned that many of his employees missed work due to a car that wouldn’t start or a babysitter who failed to show up. He realized that, for many, these potholes quickly became canyons that they couldn’t cross on their own. Brian needed to find a better way to support the team.
“I came up with the Meet the Need program after attending a United Way site visit at HOPE Ministries of Baton Rouge (“HOPE”) over six years ago,” said Brian.
HOPE’s program, called The Way to Work Sustainable Workforce SOLUTIONS (“The Way to Work”), provides support and retention services to companies that hire a high number of essential employees who have limited resources. The Way to Work helps management teams, teaching them how to better appreciate the cultural differences of socio-economic classes and learned behaviors. Additionally, coaches assist front-line workers in overcoming barriers to long-term sustainable employment.
“Because we often lose employees who were experiencing financial difficulties, The Way to Work motivated me to do more to help our employees,” explains Brian. “We would have employees calling in for simple things like car trouble and would then end up terminating someone for a no-call, no-show only to have to find someone to replace them. I remember one situation where an employee was going to take another job to get a small signing bonus so she could put down a deposit for an apartment to get off her mom’s sofa. I just couldn’t keep losing our valuable employees over such small things.”
Thus the start of the “Meet the Need” Program. The program focuses on helping employees who may need a hand getting back on their feet. Employees who have an immediate financial need can apply for assistance through the employee assistance fund. The program allows the employee to stay employed at a company that genuinely cares about their well-being.
“We don’t want this program to be a program of handouts. Our goal is to help get the employee back on their feet and then give them a chance to make it right with the company by paying it back on their terms,” said Brian. “We also try to counsel them through the situation and work with them so they can correct the underlying root cause of the problem. Once the employee agrees to this, we either work with them individually or refer them to The Way to Work for additional support.” The Way to Work employs highly qualified financial, career, and success coaches to meet each individual’s needs in their journey to success.
So far, the program has helped over 40 employees bridge financial canyons, such as paying their utility bills or making a down payment on a car when the engine went out in their old one. The main business objectives are to reduce turnover and increase productivity, but the human element led to the program’s creation.
“I wanted to create a real environment where our employees are comfortable coming to us when they need help,” adds Brian. “We talk family a lot. We are trying to live it through this program and want to take care of our employees who give us their loyalty and dedication.”
Click here to read how this program recently helped one of our drivers get back on their feet.