Aviation Week & Space Technology
08/20/2007, page 90
Printed headline: Workforce Values
Six decades ago, Curtiss-Wright was America’s second-largest company, living off heightened demand for aircraft and engines created by two world wars. The end of World War II brought a quick downward spiral, resulting in layoffs and the loss of industry leadership. Today, Curtiss-Wright Controls ranks number two in Valuing the Individual, according to the 2007 Workforce Study.
The company has not forgotten the lessons learned from downsizing. The result is that it has created a culture that values individuals and diversity, rewards ideas and performance, and provides opportunity for advancement wherever possible.
“We have to bring on line new technical people while also looking at what is good for those transitioning into retirement,” says President David Adams. In addition to one-on-one career planning and education, Curtiss-Wright Controls’ leaders have changed how they operate. “The people who set the rules in the past have to adjust, too, and that keeps the total workforce vital. The norm we use to attract and keep people is to maintain the small company perspective,” he says. “We don’t want to be viewed as a mega-employer. That means removing the politics, staying nimble and getting things done faster.” Voluntary attrition runs below 8%.
Adams says another challenge is keeping employees in businesses that Curtiss-Wright acquires. “We typically acquire businesses that are niche-oriented and highly engineering-focused,” he says. “We don’t want to go in and overhaul that capability that we’ve just paid richly for. We value what they have already done and want to keep them by maintaining speed and openness to ideas.”
Adams also has a unique perception of Lean and Six Sigma. Rather than looking to the efficiency tools as a means of cost-cutting, he sees them as a way to “create” time. “We have to protect that time to allow all of us to be creative,” he explains. “It applies on the shop floor and on the engineering teams.” Adams says the focus in the next 18 months is on continued growth. “Our first and foremost task is to create a challenging environment that offers a variety of career options,” he says. “We will move forward with career-mapping and working on individual plans. Work is not all about pay, so we’ll also focus on work/life balance and flexibility in work situations.”
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