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NatureSweet CEO shares secrets of productivity

The leader of North America’s largest greenhouse tomato growing company on Thursday shared how guaranteeing impoverished Mexican workers a decent income allowed the company to dramatically increase production and become one of the most widely recognized labels in the produce aisle.

But first it took gaining workers’ trust and making what seemed like profit-draining decisions, such as investing $15 million in bathrooms and cafeterias for workers who had been refraining from eating or drinking. The greenhouses themselves take up about two and a half acres, and the nearest bathrooms were at least a 15-minute walk away. For workers, that meant 30 minutes in lost productivity. So they were suffering from dehydration and at times fainting.

“Now you try to do your return on investment on bathrooms,” NatureSweet Brands CEO Bryant Ambelang told executives and business students gathered for part of the St. Mary’s University/Greehey School of Business Forum on Entrepreneurship’s ongoing breakfast series. “I wrung my hands about this thing for weeks, about how am I going to justify building bathrooms. ... We were so afraid, because we were in a context of scarcity.”

With workers fed and hydrated, productivity skyrocketed, and the company has since instituted a snacking program. Ambelang sees it as part of a story about how empowering employees to thrive ultimately improves a company’s bottom line, though he said the company has made its share of mistakes along the way.

Read more at the San Antonio Express-News (Lynn Brezosky)
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