The new employee experience at Lawton

Because human resources is my chosen field, I am particularly selective when choosing an employer. Culture, employee development and transparency are three company values that are important to me. During the first three months I’ve been here as a human resources generalist, I’ve learned that The C.A. Lawton Co. does a great job of demonstrating that these values are important to its employees.

Daily meetings and one-on-ones are two of many ways Lawton proves that company culture is its number one priority. Every morning at 8:10 our administration team and personnel from the pattern shop, machine shop and foundry get together to give department updates. This allows us to stay up-to-date with each other and help where help is needed.

We also take pride in our implementation of one-on-ones – a meeting each week with individual supervisors and their direct reports to touch base. These meetings are tracked and reported on so that everyone is held accountable for getting them done. As a new employee here, it’s amazing to see how much time everyone takes to genuinely ask us how we are doing.

Almost every day, I hear something related to employee development. Whether it’s an upcoming kaizen event, an employee taking home “The Leadership Test” to read as they’re working to become a supervisor or a conversation with someone about continuing their education, it is an everyday conversation here at Lawton. I’m proud to say that only one year out of college I have found a company that will invest time and money to further develop my skills.

I think transparency is a trait that many employers forget about. All companies want their employees to be transparent but don’t often reciprocate. Lawton updates financial bulletin boards quarterly and mentions company updates through one-on-one meetings as needed. Our President, Barry Adamski, sends out waterfall reports to all employees weekly. This report gives updates on safety, quality, finance, training and other categories that he knows are important to us as employees.  

In conclusion, I am extremely satisfied with my decision to be a part of the Lawton team.