G&C’s Culture

The G&C Culture is a participatory way of doing business. It thrives at every level of management and every position in the company. The Culture is company-wide, improving and building communication, empowering people to make decisions, and teaching the fundamentals of leadership.

G&C’s Culture

At G&C, everyone is an influencer and everyone has the potential to be a leader - from warehouse to accounting, maintenance to senior management. G&C employees participate in ongoing training, leadership development, and mentoring programs that are designed to make for an effective organization.

We’re better workers, better leaders, and better people because of The Culture, and we believe our customers benefit from this.

At G&C Foods, we start with great people for a reason. We believe every employee has the potential to become a high performing, top-quality worker. G&C Foods' President initiated the Culture and has led the charge to develop the Culture in every aspect of our business.

We walk the Culture talk by offering training, programs, and incentives to create a workplace like none in the food industry. We look for the best people in the industry, then we create an atmosphere that makes people want to stay. 

G&C Foods has been completely transformed by adopting the Culture and is healthier in many ways today because of it. We’ve seen our processes improve and become more customer-focused and our managers grow more confident. Young warehouse workers go from being hourly workers to committed Company-employees.

Investing in our people through building the Culture has translated to a better bottom line.

 

How It Began

The Culture story began in 2006 when Retired President David Lepage started on a path to improve his own leadership skills. From that simple decision, G&C has grown to embrace a company-wide philosophy that encourages every employee to become a better leader in their own sphere of influence.

The Culture Grows

Instrumental in developing the skills needed to grow The Culture is Dr. James Kestenbaum, respected corporate psychologist, and owner of The Solutions Group, in Rochester, NY. Dr. Jim, as he is commonly known, has been involved from the beginning at G&C, spearheading and guiding efforts to create strong alliances through training and communication.

Perseverance Pays Off

It hasn’t been easy. It has taken time. And there have been a few bumps along the way. But at the end of the day, what we call 'The Culture' appears to be working.

“The Culture breeds positivity at G&C. We have each others’ backs.”- Kathy Clark, Senior Credit Controller

A Company That Communicates

Rich Chapman, G&C President, oversees a company completely transformed by adopting new cultural imperatives.

"Our culture allows us the ability to be flexible with our customers' needs. We educate our employees about the nature of our customers' business so that we can keep that focus during our daily activities. Our employees like to be engaged in their work and know that they are supporting our customers and helping them to succeed."

Group photo of G&C Foods' employees dressed in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The Culture Grows

"The G&C culture is now a more emotionally intelligent organization with people being more thoughtful and respectful in general, the Company communicates better within and between teams, and the workforce gets things done by routinely collaborating - everybody pulling in the same direction. Finally, people seem to know now that the culture is a critically important part of the business which needs to be sustained. The Culture is one of the ‘engines’ that accommodates growth and profitability while also creating a great place to work."

- Dr. Jim Kestenbaum

Culture Programs

Huddles

Daily Huddles are the G&C way of connecting departments with ongoing needs and information. Each Huddle is conducted for 15 minutes at the beginning of the shift and is designed for quick and open information exchange. In Huddles, people share Company and inter-departmental news, customer updates, ongoing needs, concerns, and problems. Huddles help break down barriers and prevent miscommunications by bringing people together regularly to communicate, communicate, communicate.

G&C Foods’ Stop & Shop

G&C Foods’ Stop & Shop is our internal grocery store, allowing our team to purchase a variety of dry and frozen items by the unit, at deeply discounted prices.

G&C TV

An employee-run intra-company news station operates at each office, broadcasting Company and industry news, statistics, birthdays, employee happenings, weather, and more. G&C TV is one of the great ways to keep all our staff connected and on the same page every day.

 

Quarterly Employee Financial Review

G&C operates with open financials, offering employees a window into ongoing performance. We’ve made it a point to regularly communicate the state of the Company and the industry. At these quarterly financial meetings, our finances are available for public review. At each quarterly meeting, senior managers share financial statements, present industry trends, and discuss goals with anyone who wants to attend.

New Employee Onboarding

New employees are helped in acclimating to the G&C culture from their very first days on the job. Right after hiring, new employees attend onboarding meetings and are invited to events to learn the Culture, gain needed information, and share ‘fresh eyes’ observations with management.

 

Wellness Committee

Taking an interest in their employee's health & fitness is something every company should do. At G&C Foods, we take fitness seriously. We repurposed an entire floor of empty office space as an on-site gym for exercising, walking, and jogging. We provide fact-filled healthy living programs to get everyone on board the fitness train. Healthy, fit people are healthy employees.

Deal of the Week

We’re in the food business, right? So why not make good deals available to our employees. That’s the thinking behind Deal of the Week. One of our most popular employee programs, the Deal of the Week makes available a few good deals - packaged food items available at wholesale prices.

 

G&C Newsletter

The G&C Food for Thought keeps us connected through a monthly printed newsletter. Although G&C fully embraces technology, this old-fashioned way to communicate is popular with the employees.