Author: Melissa Fransen, Marketing Manager
If you are considering joining the team at Nahan, I’d like to tell you about three benefits of working for a family-owned business from my perspective. I started with the team at Nahan in the summer of 2017 in the Marketing Department and from the first time I walked into the building to interview, I could “feel” the family atmosphere of Nahan. As I walked around the facility, every single person I came in contact with said hello to me. It might sound trivial, but that truly mattered to me when making the decision to work for Nahan.
Here are three benefits that I see in working for a family-owned business:
1. The Owners Play an Active Role in our Business
Nahan was founded in 1962 by James D. and Helen Nahan. Today, we are owned by three of their children. One of their grandchildren works here as well. Our company was built from the ground up. Today, we are proud to have over 350 employees and we are in the top 20 of the largest employers in St. Cloud, MN. The three owners of Nahan are actively involved in our business today and they are also the long-term visionaries for our future. They are accessible for the requests of our employees and are available for the needs of our customers, willing to step in at any point to help and/or make decisions. It’s the personalized service and investment in our clients’ success that has continued to be one of our biggest Nahan Differentiators.
Our owners care about our employees and they care about our success. When we celebrate anniversaries, they are here. When we have quarterly business update meetings, they are here. When we have milestones, they are here. That is quite a good feeling to know who we are working for and that the owners are invested in each of us as employees.
2. Values
At Nahan, we talk a lot about our Nahan Values. These values were established by our owners and our leadership team.
N = Never Stop Being the Best
A = Always Treat Others with Dignity and Respect
H = Honesty and Integrity
A = Amaze Our Internal and External Customers
N = Now is the Time
The owners live and promote these values and they expect each of us to do the same. When we recognize our team members, we always associate the recognition with upholding at least one of these values.
3. Culture
The last, but most important benefit I see in working for a family-owned business is our culture. I had recently pulled a statistic and 28% of Nahan’s employees have worked here for more than twenty years. Wow, that is pretty amazing! These employees have seen each other through milestones, growing families, successes, and challenging times as well. We also have employees that have brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, and children that work here. Family is important to the owners at Nahan and it’s important to the employees as well.
We did a little video recap for one of our employee meetings at the end of last year. We asked our employees to share their favorite part about working for Nahan. It was a resounding winner – the majority of our team said “the people.” I’d definitely agree.
Learn more about Nahan’s culture and current job openings.
Bio: Melissa Fransen is our Marketing Manager. She started with Nahan in May of 2017. Melissa is responsible for Nahan’s marketing initiatives, which includes everything from conference planning to social media initiatives. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her husband and enjoying time in the outdoors with family and friends.