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trouble adjusting their spending habits. "It amplifies the effect of the economy," Vujovich says. "Not only are we not getting any kind of bonuses or profit-sharing, but we're also talking about salary reductions." Perhaps the biggest benefit of the prof- it-sharing program at Vujovich Design Build has been the average tenure of employees. Twelve of 17 workers have been with the company for at least five years, and nine of them have been there for more than 10 years, which has reduced staff turnover and saved the company time, money and effort in bringing on new employees and training them. "ere is a community within our compa- ny, and there is a culture that promotes the idea that this can be a place where you can work for a long, long time," Vujovich says. | "Everybody feels like they have a vested inter- est in the success of the company, and their contribution goes beyond just showing up to work, punching the clock and doing [what's in] their job description." e presentation of company financial information to employees, however, requires the utmost transparency and credibility. Neither Vujovich nor general manager Ed Roskowinski, who runs the day-to-day op- erations of the business, presides over that portion of their quarterly meetings; instead, Chief Financial Officer Loren Johnson gives a nuts-and-bolts overview of performance. "at way, employees are not feeling like they're being sold a bill of goods by the own- er," explains Vujovich, who underscores the importance of con- vening quarterly meetings with com- pany staff. e profit-shar- ing progra m at Vujovich Design Build depends on how long workers have been with the company. For em- ployees with one year of service, 40 percent of the prof- it-share vests; each subsequent year, 15 per- cent more becomes vested until employees reach their fifth year at the company and earn 100 percent of the profit share, which can be tens of thousands of dollars. During extended periods of prosperity, though, some workers take the extra money for granted and change their lifestyles. When business eventually slows down, they have bout 15 years ago, Peter Vujovich decided to create a profit-sharing program for the design-build company he started in 1977. Vujovich researched different ways to allo- cate earnings to employees, and he took that information with him to Business Networks, a remodeling group that helps owners improve their companies through financial compari- sons and peer reviews. "ere are a lot of ways for the incentive programs to send the wrong message and divide your team," says Vujovich, who col- lected the learnings of other remodelers and combined them with the approach he thought would work best for his company. "is has to be a unifying endeavor, and it has to bring [your] team closer together and more focused on [your] objective and goals." Some profit-shar- ing programs, for example, measure the achievements of individual employ- ees and departments but fail to develop solidarity. If project estimators receive a bonus because they reached their quota for the year and produced 100 bids but project managers do not gain a share of the profits, those managers might claim the estimators underbid jobs and set them up for failure. "It's not based on individual performance; it's based on the performance of the company itself," says Vujovich, whose program distrib- utes 30 percent of profits back to employees. A Profitable Plan Vujovich Design Build shares its proceeds with employees to promote a collaborative culture and curtail operating costs. By Kyle Clapham A PETER VUJOVICH (Left), Owner/CEO ED ROSKOWINSKI, General Manager COMPANY: Vujovich Design Build DESCRIPTION: Design/build remodeler LOCATION: Minneapolis, Minn. TOP 500: No. 334 It's not based on individual performance; it's based on the performance of the company itself. 68 January 2017 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com PROFILE 2O16 TOP