Workers help stock thrift store

By Robb Murray

MANKATO — At a time when some companies are taking things away from their workers — eliminating 401(k) contributions, making workers take unpaid days off — another company in town is paying workers to get out of the office.

Coughlan Companies, which consists of Capstone Publishing and Mankato Kasota Stone, has had a policy for years that lets its workers take 16 paid hours off each year as long as they use it to do volunteer work.

Taking advantage of the policy Monday morning were Coughlan customer service representatives Carol Vogel, Amy Remington and Susan Trnka.

They came to the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Adams Street and helped stock the store.

Vogel said she came to Coughlan recently after leaving a job at Taylor Corp. She was surprised to hear of the Coughlan volunteering policy.

“I was kind of like, ‘Wow,’ that a company would actually do that,” she said.

Added Remington, “It gives you an appreciation for everything around you and how involved the company is in this community.”

This week is National Volunteer Week, and Coughlan is highlighting the work of the Salvation Army Thrift Store, the Salvation Army Kitchen and the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s garden.

Lisa Hanson, Coughlan’s human resources manager, said the company has had the program for a couple of years.

It complements, she said, the company’s three-pronged approach to giving back to the community: supporting literacy, expanding educational opportunities and caring for the environment.

“We have a long history of giving back to the community,” Hanson said.

The employee volunteer policy came about when, she said, the company decided it needed help in doing the kind of community work it wanted to do.

“We can’t do it alone,” Hanson said. “We wanted to include employees ... What better way to do that than to pay for their time.”

The program also solved the problem of employees who want to do volunteer work but find that the places they wish to volunteer are closed when they get off work.

Last year 75 Coughlan employees worked more than 200 volunteer hours.

“And we obviously want to beat that this year,” Hanson said.

Coughlan employees have done work at many charities and causes, including The United Way, Holiday Sharing Tree, Kids Against Hunger, Habitat for Humanity and others.

“I hope that, by us doing this, it will encourage other employers to start doing it, too,” Hanson said. “It’s part of Obama’s agenda. He’s asking every American to get up and give service for their country.”

Hanson said it’s also been good recruiting tool. She said Coughlan has very low turnover here and a “very high satisfaction rate.”