Although Quintex is not a household name, most Manitobans will immediately recognize the family behind the company.

"The public generally doesn't know Quintex, but they do remember Quinton's Cleaners," says president David Quinton, the third generation to lead the 98-year-old family enterprise. "It's the same family, but the company has evolved into an industrial rental and uniform business. The fact that most people still relate to Quinton's is flattering, because that means our name was well established years ago."

While brand recognition is still a challenge, Quintex remains a Quinton family company in every sense, especially among the 120 employees working in the Winnipeg plant and at the Brandon and Morden depots. Many are long-serving staff members who thrive in a culture of trust, respect and honesty.

"I believe that family comes first, and then you take those fundamental values to the business," Quinton says. "That is the philosophy that works best for us."
 
Q: How does Quintex maintain a sense of family in the workplace?

A: Communication is really the key to keeping a family oriented environment. For me personally, it's very important to get to know our people and gain an appreciation for what they do and what their lives are like. By developing a good relationship, you can get great information and feedback from them because they won't be afraid to hold back what they think, good or bad.

This is a good place to work with great people, and it shows in a number of ways. Many of our employees have been with us for 10, 15 years or more; they've had children that we've watched grow up. We celebrate birthdays, service anniversaries, special events and other news through our employee newsletter. Our people also choose to socialize outside of work, and that tells you they not only enjoy working together, but that they genuinely like each other.
 
Q: How has your people philosophy changed over the years?

A: Our company began in 1911 and because we evolved through a dyeing business, a dry cleaning business and now, through a uniform rental business, our style of managing people has also had to change with the times. In the old days, there were only two or three people making all the decisions and that bottleneck was frustrating because not much was getting done while people waited for decisions to be made. As we grew and hired people with greater ability, we knew that our philosophy had to change in order for us to continue moving forward.

About 15 years ago, we realized that our people were the experts in key areas of the business and once we gave them the foundation, they were able to make more decisions on their own. As soon as we relinquished that authority we immediately knew it was a better approach. The bottleneck suddenly opened up and instead of trying to push the company forward, our people were pulling us along.
 
Q: What innovative practices does Quintex have that helps recruit and retain good people?

A: One of big attractions here is that we are a four-day-a-week operation. We put in 10-hour days from Monday to Thursday and then we are off on Fridays (with the exception of when a holiday falls in the middle of the week and customer deliveries must be made). That enables families to schedule appointments or go shopping on Friday, or get out to the lake on Thursday night. A large percentage of employees have told us they like being able to get a jump on the weekend and that having three days off in a row gives them longer time to relax. If the hours fit their lifestyle, that extra day means the world to them.
 
Q: Why is it especially important that your employees are happy?

A: Our feeling is that every employee who comes in contact with family, friends, customers or people they meet are going to send a message about Quintex. If they are happy and they are praising the company, we are doing our job. If they complain, then something's wrong inside our organization and we have to recognize that. It does happen at times, and when we get negative feedback, we do our best to flag and fix the problem right away.

We really rely on our people to communicate what our company is all about. For instance, our route sales people are often the only direct contact our customers have with Quintex, so obviously, a happy sales person translates into a happy customer. It's in our best interest to create a good work environment for all our people because what they say about our company to friends, family, customers -- even potential future employees -- sends the strongest message.
 
Q: What kind of impact has the economy had on your business?

A: Our first concern is to make sure our people feel secure in their jobs. We're very cognizant of not downsizing and we will continue to do everything possible to maintain every position. Secondly, because we are customer based and deal with customers in many different industries, we have to be aware that some businesses will slow down while others pick up. There's no question that everyone's being squeezed right now, so we understand when customers come to us looking for ways to do more with less. We feel bad when we see places hurting, from restaurants hosting fewer patrons to car dealerships closing, so it does affect us. It also pushes us to think about customer service and evaluating if we are doing all we can do to help others in their time of need.
 
Q: What other challenges has the market created for you?

A: One of our biggest challenges has been how can we reach potential employees when most people do not recognize the Quintex name. If you say to someone, "Do you want to work at Investors Group?" they immediately know what you're talking about, but if you say, "Do you want to work at Quintex?" they would likely say, "Who's that?" So we need to work harder on developing our image both as a company and as an employer.

At the same time, the market has also created some interesting growth opportunities for us. We are currently expanding our service line to include things such as direct embroidery (such as customizing uniforms with business or employee names) and first aid kits (packing with bandages and other supplies). These came as a direct result of our people understanding the needs of our customers and recognizing an opportunity for Quintex to fulfil those needs.
 
Q: In your 25 years in this business, what is the most important lesson you've learned?

A: Probably the most important thing is that you have to put your trust in others. When you're young, you think you can handle it all, but it's only when you learn to delegate and give people the room to grow that you become a stronger leader. The way I see it, I have a support role in our organization. I'm here to find the right people with the right attitudes and provide the right environment for them to keep moving us ahead. In my experience if you give people the opportunity to pull your company forward, they will take it. And so far, our people have been pulling us faster and into more areas of business than we have ever been before.
 
-- With reporting by Barbara Chabai
 
John McFerran, PhD, CMC, F. CHRP, is founder and president of People First HR Services Ltd. For more information, visit www.peoplefirsthr.com.