Business leaders face a variety of challenges in today’s increasingly competitive corporate environment but some companies have found that acknowledging and caring about the often overlooked items like employees’ personal problems and life stresses can make a big difference in retaining employees.

Marketplace Chaplains is America’s original and largest workplace chaplaincy organization, serving over 3,600 locations weekly in companies as diverse as Fortune 500 to family-owned small businesses in dozens of different industries.

Steve Ganoe is the owner and president of St. John’s Ship Building Company in Florida overseeing a massive, steel-laden facility responsible for huge ships which haul thousands of tons of material up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Ganoe has found that the addition of Marketplace Chaplains in his shipyard can make a big difference in the small problems which can grind his shipyard to a halt.

“Marketplace Chaplains has made significant progress in diffusing employee disputes and reducing stress at the shipyard by lending a friendly and sympathetic ear when you need one,” said Ganoe.

His personal findings mirror those revealed in a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) that job security and employee benefits, two items directly addressed by Marketplace Chaplains, were the top two factors in determining employee loyalty. Surprisingly, employee compensation and pay ranked fifth in their list, a common theme among most employee surveys.

“Having highly loyal employees is not a secret. It is science combined with right solutions and best practices,” said John Epeneter, former VP Product Management for Allegiance, Inc., in an earlier Allegiance.com publication. “Companies today don’t need to feel like they are alone.”¹

“During weekly visits, employees are encouraged to use this informal yet confidential time to discuss business or personal matters,” Ganoe added about St. John’s employees utilizing the chaplain care team employee benefit. “Marketplace Chaplains has been invaluable in merging our corporate and employee values.”

Typical is the story of a company receptionist whose problems at home spilled over to negatively impact her daily job. “She is the first point of contact for all visitors and vendors. When I first met her, I noticed how old she seemed. Her face was long and weary. Her movements and demeanor were slow and heavy. It was curious to me that the company would have her positioned in the seat of first impressions,” a Marketplace Chaplain recalled.

“I first met with her and her husband and began to see some spark and hope come back in her life. We briefly talk and share now about the renewed love she is finding for her husband. Sure, there are still some difficult days, but she now looks ten years younger. Her demeanor is bright and energetic. The company has reclaimed the delightful receptionist they hired so many years ago.”

Marketplace Chaplains currently serve more than 600,000 client company employees and their family members in 46 states, 9 provinces, 1,107 cities and 6 international countries and 1 commonwealth.

“A paycheck cannot do what a trained, caring, kind Marketplace chaplain can accomplish with the needs and hurts of employees in the workplace,” said Marketplace Executive President and CEO Doug Fagerstrom.

For more information on this unique employee benefit which has been featured in Marketplace Chaplains on CNN, NBC Nightly News, and in the Washington Post, the New York Times and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, visit https://mchapusa.com.

About Marketplace Chaplains

To arrange an interview with a Marketplace Chaplain contact Art Stricklin, Vice President Public Relations, at artstricklin@mchapusa.com or call 1-800-775-7657