If the last three years have taught employers anything, it's that
Melanie Dulbecco, the CEO of Torani for over 30 years, believes the syrup and sauce company has cracked the code — and with an average tenure of 6.3 years, they have proof their approach works.
"What makes it even more amazing is half of our folks are new to the company because we've doubled in size in the last three years," says Dulbecco. "Which means people's longevity here may be even longer than 6.3 years. We have really grown and changed together, and that makes a huge difference."
Read more:
According to LendingTree, the median U.S. job tenure has dropped by 11% in the last decade, now sitting at 4.1 years. Beating it by over two years, Torani outpaces the national average by over 53%, and Dulbecco is determined to see that number grow. Today, the company has just over 300 workers, and they plan to keep them: Torani has never had a layoff in its nearly century-long history. When
"When we hire people, we are not just interviewing for the skills and leadership competencies they would bring to that particular role," she says. "We are looking for people who fit with our core values, and one of those values is growth. Are they ready to develop and learn into the future with us?"
Growth is the cornerstone of Torani's culture, impacting how they hire, review and promote employees. For example, Torani doesn't have
"We reject the idea of performance appraisals, which feel like a process of a manager telling somebody what to do," says Dulbecco. "We have it be a conversation about what an individual will contribute. The manager becomes a coach in that process, and the individual has the agency to say, 'Here's what I'm interested in learning.' And then the manager looks for opportunities for that person to get exposure to those things."
Read more:
At the beginning of each year, Torani employees connect with managers to discuss their goals, and then have a mid-year check-in, before assessing how much they've grown by the end of the year. Dulbecco believes this system is a huge part of why people stay — they feel in control of their careers.
Torani combines their contribution management style with what Dulbecco coins as "career mixology," empowering employees to switch up their roles and careers within the company. For instance, an employee working in demand planning wanted to learn more about brand management, so she applied for an open position and successfully moved into the new role, explains Dulbecco.
"She didn't have direct experience with brand management, but she knows how Torani works and understands customers through demand planning," she says. "So we supported her candidacy. Whether it's moving from customer service to our people team or moving from the warehouse to finance, we encourage people to explore and mix their careers."
Read more:
For Dulbecco, these management practices come back to Torani's foundational goal: Putting people first. She underlines that the company wants employees to be hyperaware that without them, the company cannot thrive. This is not only stressed in Torani's management style, but also within their compensation model.
Torani offers every employee an annual bonus based on the company's growth that year and automatically enrolls all employees in an employee stock ownership plan. Additionally, the company hosts quarterly town hall meetings where employees can gain financial literacy and a better understanding of the company's finances and goals.
"No matter what background you come from, you can begin to understand how we make things work and what success looks like," says Dulbecco. "Everyone shares in the success that we create together. You can feel the collaboration, the teamwork and the sense of personal belonging."
That sense of belonging is key to retaining talent. No matter the role, background or aspiration, employees should feel like their workplace truly cares about them. Otherwise, what's the point of staying, says Dulbecco.
"When you come into the building, we welcome you, we know your name. Each person is known," she says. "We have people who are born and raised in over 35 different countries. We have people who are doing the manufacturing. We have a food science team that's working on new flavors. We have a quality assurance team, we have maintenance and engineering. When you put that kind of mix together, it makes Torani a really joyful place to be."
