Forklift News - Griffith published in compensation handbook

David Griffith

The president and CEO of forklift dealer Modern Group has shared his company’s goals and strategies in a new reference book on pay practices out on 13 June.

David E Griffith has described how compensation programmes are developed for medium-sized companies, using his company as an example, in the fifth edition of The Compensation Handbook, edited by Lance and Dorothy Berger.

Griffith tells Forkliftaction.com News that finding the time to write the chapter was a "non-issue" as he is supported by a great team at Modern.

He explains that the company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and openness came in handy when writing for the handbook.

"The fundamental process in place is to run the company as an open door/open book company and to support that effort with a set of compensation and measurement tools that support the mission statement and our goals," Griffith writes in the book.

The open door policy encourages employees to speak with any manager in the company on any issue without fear of retribution, while the open book concept means all Modern employees receive a monthly email that reviews the company’s results, similar to what the board receives.

These policies set the stage for good communications between management and staff.

To motivate and reward employees, Modern evaluates each employee against seven basic competencies that were established by modelling outstanding employees, benchmarking other well-run companies and working with its compensation consultant, Lance Berger.

Griffith has served as president of the Material Handling Equipment Dealers Association and is currently a director of the National Association of Wholesalers Institute of Distribution Excellence. He is also an independent director of the JJ Haines Company of Baltimore and chair of its compensation committee.

Before joining Modern, Griffith was a senior executive with IBM, MCI and ROLM in sales, marketing, customer service and general management. He is active as a national speaker on business ethics, technology, leadership, customer loyalty and work-life balance.

Modern Group Ltd, based in Bristol, Pennsylvania, represents forklift brands like Hyster and JLG. It employs over 600 people and was voted one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania by the state chamber in 2002. In 2003, it became a 100% employee owned company through an ESOP. Griffith has led the group since 1992.

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