Where employees really come first

employees really
come first
where
“Just take the time to train people. Make your employees’ welfare
your number one priority and you will have a successful business.”
That’s the attitude of Don Sjolander, operations manager
at Garten Services. He oversees general operations of Garten
Services, Inc., a qualiﬁed rehabilitation facility that runs several
businesses in the Salem area.
The organization was founded in 1970 by Sally Gearhart, who
believed that people with developmental disabilities could be
But unlike most businesses, the company’s ﬁrst priority is taking
care of its workers, ahead of maximizing operational efﬁciency.
So communication and good employee relations are critical.
“Care for the employees is #1,” says Don. “Followed closely
by employee satisfaction, process improvement and customer
satisfaction.”
Its mission is to support people with disabilities in their effort to
in de-escalation skills to mediate problems of aggressive
contribute to the community through employment, career, and
or confrontational behavior. The people working in this
retirement opportunities.
environment are used to it, because while Garten has employees,
or simply earn a paycheck and sense of well-being. To do that,
terminating the employee,” says Don. “That’s just the way
Garten operates recycling, mailroom, custodial, assembly and
it is. Here, the majority of our employees are clients of our
packaging businesses, in addition to ﬁnding community
program, and that’s not an option. We work hard to thoroughly
understand our employees’ needs. We have to make
things work for that person.”
Like any business, Garten has inherent
to employees makes the difference, compared with companies
whose safety performance isn’t as good.
“They take the time to train people,” says Ansbro. “That makes
a happier employee and person. Behavior gets better when safety
and training are a natural part of work.”
“If there’s explosive behavior, or violence or an outburst, most
employers would begin disciplinary action, up to and including
businesses.
and recommending solutions. He says Garten’s commitment
it’s also providing care to these employees.
disabilities in positions that help them transition to regular work,
employment for its program participants with local
Ansbro supports Garten’s safety program by consulting on safety
Sjolander says the difference here is that in a qualiﬁed
rehabilitation facility like Garten, staff are highly trained
the rehabilitation program, working within their individual
Below: Garten’s Don
Sjolander explains the
dual purpose of the
business operation to
a tour group.
challenges in keeping employees safe and healthy while at work.
taught how to live and work outside the conﬁnes of an institution.
Today, 200 of Garten’s 360 employees are participants in
Right: Garten
employees sort paper
from a conveyor belt
in the company’s
recycling operation.
That said, Garten does have to
Sjolander is proud of the results achieved at Garten. Judging by
the results, it’s clear that this approach makes for an efﬁcient and
productive company.
run successful, proﬁtable businesses to help support its existence
which, in turn, supports its program participants. It’s required to
disabilities, a goal it regularly exceeds. Because of this need for
business success and its mission to care for its people, worksite
Marianna Bushnell is the human resources and safety
manager responsible for maintaining the safety program and
returning employees to work if they are injured. She keeps job
descriptions and a list of modiﬁed work positions as part of an
organized return-to-work program, supported by SAIF Returnto-Work Consultant Angie Cuellar. And, while the organization
stays ﬂexible with the work, Bushnell says the goal is to keep
employees safe and get them back to their proper position as
soon as possible.
“We assign accountability at every level of the operation,” says
Bushnell. “Every employee is empowered to stop the process at
any point if they see something unsafe. The business manager
might get upset, but safety always comes ﬁrst.”
The company implemented the SAIF Loss Control Approach a
few years ago, which focuses on behavior-based safety practices
to keep the entire team safe. SAIF Loss Control Consultant Trevor
06
S A I F C O R P O R AT I O N
w w w. s a i f . c o m
much or more than the welfare of the business operation.”
have 75 percent of all direct labor hours worked by people with
safety gets a lot of attention.
L to R: Transportation Manager Jerry Cornish,
SAIF Return-to-Work Consultant Angie Cuellar,
Garten Services HR/Safety Manager Marianna
Bushnell and SAIF Loss Control Consultant
Trevor Ansbro
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