Happy Employees, Happy Customers: Company Culture a Top Priority at Growing Environmental Tech Manufacturer

WARD HILL, Mass., July 20, 2017 (Newswire.com) - In the last few years, several studies have shown a direct correlation between employee happiness and productivity. Some results even show an increase in productivity of 12 percent and higher for happy workers. At Spruce Environmental Technologies, Inc., "employee happiness" is not merely a statistic but an essential pillar of the company’s culture.

Spruce is a Massachusetts-based manufacturer in the indoor air quality industry, known internationally for their RadonAway^© line of radon-specific ventilation fans, which remove cancer-causing radon from homes, schools, workplaces and other buildings. For a company founded with the central purpose of creating healthier indoor spaces for families, kids, and workers, this strong commitment to people translates naturally to a corporate dedication to their own team and facilities. 

Keeping the small business feel in our services is a top priority. Company growth doesn't mean our relationships with each other and our customers have to change. We just have more resources to offer and more capabilities as we grow.

Paul Owens, Director of Marketing, Spruce

"Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers." – Stephen Covey

From its founding days in the late 1980s, Spruce executives have always prioritized worker happiness and positive corporate culture as an essential part of business. Even as the company has grown over the last nearly 30 years from 3 employees to now over 100, customers and Spruce staff alike most often refer to the company as a "family." "It's a large part of why our customers choose to do business with us," says Spruce Director of Marketing, Paul Owens. "Keeping the small business feel in our services is a top priority. Company growth doesn't mean our relationships with each other and our customers have to change. We just have more resources to offer and more capabilities as we grow."

This Spring, the Spruce headquarters in Ward Hill, MA underwent its second large-scale facilities change in the last two years. Last year, Spruce opened a 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse to better serve their growing customer base and production team. Spruce's latest project is a new employee lunch room and casual lounge space that will be able to accommodate all 75+ members of the Ward Hill team.

"Production and Shipping used to eat downstairs, and the office staff — Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service — would eat upstairs. There wasn't a unifying space where we could all come together," says Spruce VP of Operations, Dean Tognarelli. "We had new production staff who had barely ever seen some of our office staff. We knew something had to change." In early March of this year, Spruce began construction of this new space, completing the project quickly by the end of June.

"There's no magic formula for great company culture. The key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated." – Richard Branson

The new Spruce lounge and café — dubbed by a staff vote "The Farm Yard" — features meals and snacks available for purchase, a full kitchen, tables and booths to gather at, games (shuffleboard, foosball, video games), a custom wall mural, and an entertainment system that allows employees to choose what they watch and listen to, along with other features. The Spruce Farm Yard has quickly become an employee favorite for meals, informal meetings, and customer visits.

This Summer, Spruce plans to host their annual family barbecue in the new space. "I remember Spruce barbeques as a little kid," says Spruce Marketing Specialist, Leia Jane Zidel, whose father is one of the co-founders of the company. "People look forward to this party every year. It's a great chance to step away from work and get to know the people you spend most of your week with. Somehow, our barbecues still feel just like they used to — only now, the Spruce family is a little bigger."

Source: Spruce Environmental Technologies, Inc.