There are certain snow events you never forget. One winter, a member of our commercial business development team came out to help during a major snow event. We were servicing one of our highest-priority, lowest-tolerance properties, and the site supervisor had been going for hours. Like many storms, the event lasted longer than expected, plans kept changing, and fatigue was starting to show.
Our commercial development team member had a full day of customer commitments waiting for him the next morning. Nobody would have blamed him for staying home.
Instead, he came out in the middle of the night, climbed into a plow truck and took over so the site supervisor could get a few hours of much-needed rest before returning to finish the event safely. Nobody asked him to do it. He simply saw what the team needed and stepped in.
I've thought about that night many times over the years because it reminded me that leadership isn't defined by a title or an organizational chart. Sometimes leadership looks like climbing into a truck when everyone expects you to be somewhere else.
When I think about building a Best Place to Work culture, I don't think about awards or applications. I think about nights like that.
Participating in SIMA's Best Places to Work program reinforced something I've believed for a long time. The real value isn't the recognition – it's the opportunity to step back and honestly evaluate the culture you're creating.
In our industry, we're always moving. One storm ends and another is already in the forecast. Equipment needs repairs. Customers need updates. Employees need direction. There is always another problem waiting to be solved.
Very few of us stop long enough to ask a simple question: What is it really like to work here? That's a harder question than it sounds.
Most leaders genuinely care about their people. We want them to succeed, stay safe and build long careers with our organizations. Good intentions don't build culture. Daily actions do.
Culture isn't created during orientation or discussed once a year at a company meeting. It's built during pre-storm briefings when expectations are clear. It's built when supervisors explain the "why" behind a decision instead of simply giving directions. It's built when another crew finishes its route and volunteers to help a teammate before heading home.
Employees don't decide whether they're part of a great organization during an annual employee survey. They decide during a snow event.
They notice whether leaders remain calm when conditions change. They notice whether expectations are consistent from one supervisor to the next. They notice whether someone takes the time to coach after a mistake instead of assigning blame. They notice whether leadership is willing to step in and help when the workload becomes overwhelming. Those moments become stories. Those stories become culture. One thing the Best Places to Work process challenged me to think about was whether we are intentionally developing people or simply managing today's work.
The best organizations don't wait until someone becomes a supervisor to begin developing leadership. It starts when an experienced operator teaches someone else how to read changing pavement conditions instead of simply taking over. It continues when a crew leader asks a seasonal employee for his or her opinion, or when someone is encouraged to earn a certification, attend an industry conference or lead a tailgate meeting for the first time.
Those opportunities send a message that's far more powerful than many leaders realize: "We believe in your potential." People rarely build careers where they feel replaceable. They build careers where they feel invested in.
Recognition is another part of that investment, and it's one of the most overlooked leadership tools we have.
Our industry naturally focuses on solving problems. Equipment breaks down. Weather changes. Customers call. Routes fall behind. It's easy for every conversation to become about what still needs attention. The strongest cultures create balance.
I've found that meaningful recognition always has three characteristics. It should be genuine, specific and timely. It has to be genuine because people know the difference between sincere appreciation and routine praise. It should be specific so employees understand exactly what they did well and why it mattered. And it should be timely because recognition has the greatest impact when it's given soon after the accomplishment.
Sometimes a two-minute conversation at the end of a storm reinforces your culture more effectively than an annual recognition banquet. When leaders recognize someone for helping another crew, identifying a safety concern before it becomes an incident, mentoring a new employee or simply stepping up when the team needs them most, they're doing more than thanking someone for a job well done. They're defining what success looks like.
Every company has written safety policies. Great workplaces build a safety culture, and employees know the difference by watching the decisions leaders make every day. They see when work is delayed because conditions aren't safe. They remember when someone speaks up about fatigue and leadership listens. They notice when a near miss becomes a learning opportunity instead of a blame session.
Those decisions send a powerful message: People matter here. Perhaps that's the greatest lesson I took away from the Best Places to Work process. Building a great workplace isn't a program, an application or an award. It's an ongoing commitment to the people who make our organizations successful.
Looking back, I believe that's the real value of the Best Places to Work process. It reminds us that great workplaces aren't built through one big initiative. They're built through ordinary leadership decisions repeated consistently over time – a conversation before the storm begins, a supervisor who coaches instead of criticizes, a leader willing to climb into a truck because the team needs help, or a sincere "thank you" given when no one expects it.
Employees may not remember every storm or every route they serviced, but they'll remember how they were treated. Those experiences become the stories they tell about the organization – and, over time, those stories become its culture. That's what keeps great people coming back season after season. And ultimately, that's what makes an organization a Best Place to Work.
Erik Dyba, CSP, ASM, is the Specialty Services Operations Manager at the Bruce Company of Wisconsin, a SIMA Foundation board member, and a Wisconsin Salt Wise subject matter expert. Contact him at EDyba@brucecompany.com.