Uniform Happiness: Cintas Canada Ltd.

Cintas Canada LTD’s uniform happiness is all about the numbers. “We measure everything,” says Rod Farquharson, general manager of the company’s Langley operation.

They’re heading right for me, like headless horsemen without their stallions: a long rack of white shirts on hangers, swaying mania­cally as they zip along an automated track. I manage to dodge them, but nonetheless I’m struck by how this place would be perfect for a James Bond chase sequence. Trains of white, orange and navy clothing flow by, filling the warehouse from floor to rafters. Hugely pregnant sacks of laundry dangle from the ceiling, lurching toward the massive washers. Conveyor belts trundle damp, rubbery floor mats that glisten like heaps of seaweed into dryers. Women deftly pull shirts over fluorescent light boxes to inspect for damage; others furiously sew repairs. And all this is going on in a place so clean and ordered that it almost begs for a streak of 007-style chaos to even things out. But that would really mess with the numbers – and Cintas is all about the numbers. “We measure everything,” says Rod Farquharson, general manager of the company’s Langley operation. Then they post the results. The “dashboard,” a set of large, brightly coloured gauges filling the wall outside Farquharson’s office, points out exactly how the facility is doing in terms of customer satisfaction, employee retention, safety, “fun factor” and other key stats. In the sales office, paper NASCAR cars race along a wall to track individual quar-terly sales, while the number of sales presentations booked that week is marked on a whiteboard. Recent customer feedback, ranging from “You guys are awesome” to “We hate our driver and want a new one,” is posted at eye level by each toilet. There’s no hiding crappy performance in this place. Cintas rents out items such as uniforms, towels and floor mats to businesses and supplies staples including soap, toilet paper and dispensers. “This is a back-burner-type business,” explains sales rep Adam Sobey. “A company is not going to tank today if its uniforms aren’t perfect. It’s important, but it’s not a make-or-break kind of thing. So it’s easy for customers to, say, put off making a decision to switch to us.” Cintas keeps staff motivated with ubiquitous incentives. This year the top sales reps in the Cincinnati-based, U.S.- and Canada-wide company will take their spouses to the Bahamas. The best sales team in the region hosts an Arthurian-style sword, which currently hangs in the Langley office. An “easy $1,000!” Christmas bonus will go to the leading local driver. “We’re big on competitive urgency,” says Farquharson. “We want our staff to always go the extra mile.” You might think this level of internal competition would lead to a cutthroat work environment, but staff say it ain’t so. “They hire upbeat ‘people people,’” says Nicole Demers, who works in the customer-service department. “I had worked for big corporations before, and one of the reasons I left them was that I was just a number there. But although Cintas is a huge company, it feels small. We’re all really tight.” Demers is actually leaving the Cintas family shortly to pursue a great job opportunity in Calgary. When she gave notice, Farquharson gave her a year’s leave of absence in case the Calgary job didn’t work out. “How many big corporations do that?” asks Demers, getting a little teary. Staff in the plant are also remarkably positive, despite the repetitious nature of their work. And they’re clearly very aware of those gauges outside the general manager’s office. When I ask if anyone’s ever tried swinging, Bond-style, from a dangling laundry sack, I only get looks of mild horror. “Oh no,” one woman says, sending another fleet of uniforms flying with a flick of a switch. “We’re much too busy for that.” Back to Best Companies to Work for in B.C.