Each month, WIKA USA recognizes employees who exemplify one of the company’s seven core values. The peer-nominated award is presented to employees who go above and beyond in their roles, all while upholding WIKA’s commitment to integrity, customer satisfaction, partnership, safety, continuous improvement, social responsibility, and excellence.
Established when WIKA was founded in 1946, core values are the standards by which WIKA measures itself and its employees. Thanks to employees’ commitment to these corporate values, WIKA has become a worldwide leader in industrial measurement technology. The company would not be where it is today without this dedication from within.
Employees who do more than expected are vital to WIKA’s overall mission of helping customers succeed through superior instrumentation solutions. This is why WIKA USA began the monthly Core Value Award program two decades ago – to acknowledge employees for their hard work and dedication.
Corporate Core Values are Keys to Company Success
A peer-nominated program, Core Value Awards give employees a special way to thank their colleagues for doing extraordinary work. Recipients are recognized for making a positive impact on WIKA’s continued success. Each nominee is chosen for exemplifying one of seven core values:
- Integrity: Promoting ethical business practices
- Customer Satisfaction: Creating positive customer experiences
- Partnership: Encouraging collaboration in the workplace
- Safety: Maintaining a safe work environment
- Continuous Improvement: Improving WIKA policies and processes
- Social Responsibility: Improving the community and the world at large
- Excellence: Exceeding expectations in work that directly impacts company success
Each month a committee composed of senior managers chooses the winners, who receive a plaque, monetary award, and a designated parking spot at the main WIKA USA campus in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
September 2019 Corporate Core Value Award Winners
The following six employees were selected for exemplifying one of WIKA USA’s corporate core values:
Photo above: Dennis Knight surrounded by his coworkers
Dennis Knight, Quality, Pressure Gauge Division | Recognized for Customer Satisfaction
Bernadette Biggs is a big fan of how Dennis exemplifies quality. She writes, “In the roughly one year since moving into the role of Customer Quality Manager, Dennis has done a great job of working with our key customers to resolve issues. His communication with customers and his follow-up on completion of corrective actions have helped to ensure customer satisfaction. His previous manufacturing and management experience are the foundation for direct interaction with customers and addressing their concerns. Thank you, Dennis!”
Nick Gann (left), Robert Torgerson (right), and coworkers
Nick Gann, ETL Division | Recognized for Excellence
Jose Ramos nominated Nick for his commitment to quality, accuracy, and attention to detail. “I want to recognize Nick in the MI-Cable Department for doing such an excellent job on having all the cables in order when it comes down to doing a RUSH or any other job. I want to add that during the week of inventory, he also did an excellent job on all the counts – not going over or under.” Thank you, Nick, for being such a reliable and dedicated colleague!
Robert Torgerson, ETL Division | Recognized for Customer Satisfaction
Robert is no stranger to satisfying customers’ particular requirements, but this time he truly went above and beyond. In his nomination, George Gugich writes, “During an emergency situation that occurred over the weekend of September 14-15 with a longtime WIKA customer, Robert not only answered his phone multiple times on a Saturday to initially address customer concerns, but he also made himself available for a video conference call at 8 a.m. on Sunday with myself and the customer. If this doesn’t show a true commitment to customer satisfaction, then I do not know what does. And just to be clear, this is not the first time that Robert has exhibited such behavior, so it’s about time he was officially recognized for his outstanding efforts!”
Cassie McCorvey, Accounting, Pressure Gauge Division | Recognized for Continuous Improvement
Cassie McCorvey and coworkers
Sandra Antunes Muth applauds Cassie’s tendency to not only do her job well, but to always seek ways to do things better. “In this particular case, I’m referring to existing processes for the webshop. With her questioning the workflow beyond the accounting step, we are now in the process of streamlining processes before they hit Accounting. For example, we currently invoice webshop customers for partial shipments. This causes extra work since fees are duplicated and will later need to be deleted manually. With Cassie questioning this workflow and looping in IT and Marketing, we are now fixing the root cause of the issue. When projects require cross-functional know-how, people like Cassie are essential for success and continuous improvement.”
Shafeek Wesley, Manufacturing/Process Engineering, Pressure Gauge Division | Recognized for Excellence
Shafeek Wesley and coworkers
In his nomination letter, Peter Braun is impressed with Shafeek’s patience and professionalism when dealing with a particular product from a European supplier. “We were having a plethora of problems,” Peter wrote. “Shafeek dove into the issues head first and and systematically eliminated one problem at the time! Thanks to his tenacity, expertise, and excellent communication skills, the issue with the supplier was fully resolved.” What a job well done, Shafeek!
Ian Mudgett, Sales, Flow Division | Recognized for Customer Satisfaction
Ian Mudgett and Jonathan Tanksley
Jonathan Tanksley says Ian is an all-around superstar. “Ian has exceeded all expectations in the Customer Service portion of his duties. While taking on several more demanding customers, he has maintained a positive and professional demeanor, and built those relationships. This has helped tremendously in generating business for the Flow Division. Due to his tireless work ethic, we have submitted several large bids based on his fabulous customer service work and these important business relationships. He exemplifies the core values of our great company and helps to facilitate a great working environment for not only our customers, but for his coworkers as well.”