Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/414972
36 FEDA News & Views Groff: There are a couple of things. We have a referral bonus program. If a person refers an employee, or even if they just get an interview with our company, they get a cash bonus, and the same applies to interns. If they refer a fulltime or intern can- didate, they are eligible for a bonus as well. Also, there's some rivalry between the different colleges to see who can plan the most impressive event or recruit the most talent each year. N&V: You mentioned you currently have 40 interns working at Clark Associates. In what areas? Groff: Pretty much every area. We have interns in the WEBstaurant Store, in logistics, customer service, in the con- tent department. Our photography department always has a lot of interns, our development area…and then our centralized areas—accounting, procurement—they also recruit interns every year. There are also interns in the other parts of Clark, too—the stores, Gene Clark's division. Clark Food Service Equipment hires interns. Just about every part of the company is active in recruiting interns. DESIGNTASTIC Taking a page from Google's playbook, the WEBstaurant Store's new office space strikes the ultimate balance between cool work environment and productivity haven. "The idea behind our building design is that we wanted to reflect our culture," says WEBstaurant President Dave Groff of Clark Associates new $5 million headquarters. "We wanted it to be a space where people could do great work but also where they could feel comfortable and have fun." There is a gym, equipped with locker rooms, showers and even a towel service. Employees are free to work out any time of the day and the facility also is open to spouses. That's been a great selling point for perspective employees but it's also something that current employees really appreciate, says Groff. Other perks include ping pong, foosball, Pac Man and companywide Wii tournaments—group activities that allow employ- ees to blow off steam but also gives them an opportunity to interact with staff members they may not come in contact with during the workday. "Ping pong is the most popular and we added more tables to our warehouse," says Groff. "People will actually come in early or stay late to participate in tournaments, so it really hasn't been an issue with anyone taking long breaks or not getting work done." Everyone is clear on the mission, adds Groff, pointing to the company's state-of-the-art test kitchen. "It shows people that we really are dedicated to training and developing our staff," he says. "We want people here to be true industry experts and ultimately what I hope our building says to perspective and current employees is that we care about them and that we are willing to invest in them." continued on page 38 N&V: Would you mind speaking on what goes into planning a great internship experience? Groff: We try to make all of our interns feel like they are hav- ing an amazing experience with us and there are a number of ways we work to accomplish this. We have a professional development series that all interns participate in throughout the summer. A few weeks ago, we rented out a suite at our local baseball field and we had a networking event so they could get to know one another and also get to know manage- ment. It's difficult to get a handle on the scope of Clark, so we do hosted tours to acquaint interns with the various companies. We also do personality profiling. That's a major part of Clark and the WEBstaurant culture. All of the interns take classes on understanding their personality and how to profile other people. That is part of their professional development, and they do something we call "Cooking in the Real World," which Gustafson, Groff & Burkett continued