In private event, Centro CEO shares secrets to top company culture (and to affording it)

by Carlin Sack
March 11, 2014

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During Chicago Creative Space’s exclusive culture workshop led by Centro founder and CEO Shawn Riegsecker, Emmi Solutions team members asked the question that was top-of-mind for the other 25 local executives in the intimate room last week: “How does Centro afford it?”

Centro has been named as the best place to work by Crain’s Chicago Business three years in a row. The reason? Centro gives all 450 employees three-week sabbatical after their first four years, 10 “Ferris Bueller” days a year, full tuition reimbursement, yoga classes, :15 minute meditation breaks, gym memberships - and the famous list goes on.

But instead of looking at these programs as “costs,” Riegsecker said he views them as investments. He estimates that he is paid back seven to 10 times for every dollar he spends on company culture. (His CFO also “got there, but it took him a while” to look at the costs in quite the same light.)

“A value becomes a value when it costs you money,” Riegsecker said.

Riegsecker founded Centro in fall 2001, having written his famed Corporate Manifesto document that outlines Centro’s values a few weeks before. Ever since then, Riegsecker has stayed true to his values of putting the individual before the brand.

“We feed every individual that comes into Centro,” Riegsecker said. “I think the secret is not to crush the innate desire of the individual. Don’t stifle that. Allow people to make mistakes and screw things up.”

This responsibility to nurture individuals falls on management. in many ways, Centro’s management runs the company much like school administrators do with students: they want to foster creativity in their employees, yet still keep them attached to an overall goal (at Centro, everyone’s bonus is based off the same revenue goal).

So, yes, running a company focused on the individual like Centro does is expensive, but it pays off - like in Centro’s sales revenue (which topped a quarter billion last quarter) or in their low employee turnover rate (4 percent).  And this won’t change in the future, even if the status of the company does, Reigsecker said.

“We plan on operating the same way as a public company,” Riegsecker said. “Really intent on proving you can succeed culturally and financially as a public company.”

 

After the exclusive workshop, the executives joined the Ethos 2.0 event downstairs which focused on company culture and workplace and featured kCura CEO Andrew Sieja, ContextMedia co-founder Shradha Agrawal, Jellyvision CEO Amanda Lannert and Rightpoint co-founder Ross Freedman.

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