International Paper seeks growth culture

Cindy Wolff, Special to The Commercial Appeal
Members of a design team at International Paper meet with clients to maintain consistent quality throughout each project. The company employs 53,000 worldwide and 2,431 at its headquarters, which opened in 2006 in East Memphis. IP was selected best top workplace among large employers.

International Paper Co. would rarely  fire someone for making a simple mistake.

That's not how the biggest manufacturer based in Tennessee is run.

The company employs 53,000 worldwide from 1,600 people in Svetogorsk, a town in Russia, to 2,431 at its headquarters, which opened in 2006 in East Memphis.

An employer this big can't offer the feel of a family-owned small business, but that doesn’t mean IP doesn’t try to maintain an extended-family-like culture as a way to foster professional growth.

 ‘We are a people business. Employees are something to be engaged, and our role is to try to get employees to reach their full potential,'' International Paper chief executive officer Mark Sutton said.

Mark Sutton, Chairman and CEO of International Paper, “Employees are not something to be fixed,” Sutton said. "We are a people business. Employees are something to be engaged, and our role is to try to get employees to reach their full potential. If we never made an error, it probably means we are not innovative enough and aren'’t trying new things.”"

Being in the plant is nothing new for the Louisiana native. In a lot of big companies, the senior executives rose through the marketing and financial side of the company. Sutton began in the mills. 

He  hired on at IP in 1984 as an electrical engineer. For  years he moved to different facilities before ending up in the top seat in 2015. Being on the other side of the manager/employee relationship, he understands the shame and guilt that overwhelms someone when they make a mistake.

“Employees are not something to be fixed,” Sutton said. "If we never made an error, it probably means we are not innovative enough and aren’t trying new things.”

That said, the company expects employees to followrigorous processes. When a mistake or problem occurs, supervisors get the details to see if the mistake is something that never happened before or if the process was something the employee knows how to do and simply let  their guard down.

If that’s the case, then you probably don’t have to say a whole lot more because people are usually looking at their shoes and realize they dropped the ball on this one, managers say.

An essential component  for any IP employee is volunteerism. The company, which sold off its vast forest holdings several years ago, has planted more than 9 billion tree seedlings in the United States, and donated $7.5 million  to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation  for restoration and habitat conservation. Employees raised more than $1.6 million for United Way of the Mid-South and volunteered more than 1,200 hours in a single day.

New employees start with three weeks of vacation. The company  provides subsidized cafeteria meals, maintains two nurses on staff and offers student loan reimbursement up to $9,000. The company also keeps a policy of internal promotions. shifting employees between locations. 

That’s how Sutton went from an electrical engineer to CEO and how Thomas Kadien, went from  general management to the senior vice president of human resources.

Thomas Kadien, Senior VP Human Resources of IP, "“We have under 5 percent in (employee) turnover,"” Kaiden said. “"What we find is if you stay at IP four or five years, you become a lifer. Where we do lose folks is in the first five years of employment, because of geography, they miss their family or had different expectations.”"

 “We have under 5 percent in (employee) turnover,” Kaiden said. “What we find is if you stay at IP four or five years, you become a lifer. Where we do lose folks is in the first five years of employment, because of geography, they miss their family or had different expectations.”

IP doesn’t reserve its suite in Fedex Forum for the executives, Instead, IP holds a drawing for employees to attend any event the complex offers. The company does the same for its suite at the Liberty Bowl.

And as the survey for 2016 Top Workplaces revealed, employees say they are happy to come to work every day; they feel challenged and like management listens to them.

Said one International Paper employee: "I have the opportunity to expand my skills and grow as a person."

Large category runners-up

These nonprofits placed second and third in 2016 Top Workplaces' large-employer category:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Founded: 1962

Home office: Memphis

Description: World-renowned, nonprofit pediatric research and patient care hospital.

Mission: Advance cures and means of prevention of pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.

Employees: 4,230

Services and perks: 

8,000-square-foot fitness center. Mobile car wash and detailing. Massages.

Dry cleaning pickup and delivery. Farmer’s Market May-October.

An employee says:  “I am fortunate to work for an organization that gives back to the world — that has a compelling mission. There is meaning in the work — it’s not just a job.”

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Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Founded: 1918

Home office: Memphis

Description: Faith-based integrated healthcare system with six hospitals, including children’s hospital. Services include residential hospice, home health agency, surgery centers, outpatient diagnostics.

Mission: Provide quality, cost-effective patient-and family-centered care that supports health ministries and social principles of the United Methodist Church.

Employees: 13,100

Services and perks: 

College tuition reimbursement. myHealthy Life Program: Includes mind, body and spirit classes, diabetes management and other benefits.

Job sharing. Compressed work weeks. Daily subsidized meals. Screening for breast cancer, blood pressure and biometric profile.

An employee says: “I get to help people. And think of my own creative ways while doing it.  I have small children, and having a work place that is sensitive to the needs of family time and obligation is awesome and greatly appreciated.”