April 26 2007
VALUE PAWN & JEWLERY: VALUE PAWN OFFERS WORKERS IMMEDIATE CASH REWARDS

By: ANJALI FLUKER

Orlando Business Journal

Value Pawn offers workers immediate cash rewards

Nearly two years ago, when Evelyn Martinez was forced to take time off from work because of health issues, her biggest fear was losing her job at the Value Pawn & Jewelry store in Kissimmee.

But Martinez's employers let the sales and lending executive know her job was secure.

Maitland-based Value Financial Services, which runs the Value Pawn chain, hired an extra person who would be on hand if she needed to rush out to the doctor or wasn't feeling well, Martinez says.

"That, to me, was unbelievable," says Martinez, 30, who adds that while other employers might have given here the time off, they wouldn't have guaranteed her the same position under her return. "That put my mind at ease, because I knew that this was a job willing to accommodate you."

Creating and maintaining that employee-focused culture is among the reasons Value Financial scored the highest on the giant company category of the Orlando Business Journal's 2007 Best Places to Work contest. Value Financial, founded in 1994, has 530 employees, and 62 pawn and jewelry stores in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.

The company posted $88 million in 2006 and this year, expects to the $100 million mark.

Value Financial claims the secret behind its success starts with the recruitment process: It offers $1,000 dollars recruiting bonuses to team members who recruit new workers.

The company also seeks the best salespeople and managers by offering higher starting pay. Hourly employees get a starting rate of $15 per hour, while most of its competitors will pay $5 less than that, says founder, CEO and president John Thedford.  

Why pay them more? Thedford says a driven individual who can expect to be compensated for his efforts is a more efficient employee. "We like to hire that hungry, not the starving," he says.

Under achievers, meanwhile are weeded out quickly. "Nothing demoralizes people more that a company that carries underperformers," says Woody Whitcomb, Value Financial vice president and CFO.

And then there are the celebrations.

Throughout the year, sales and loan associates, managers and even individual stores are rewarded for performing well, Whitcomb says. Store employees who exceed sales goals are taken out to dinners, while managers and their spouses are treated to an annual out-of-town trip to places such as Cancun, Ney York City, Paradise Island and Las Vegas.

Further, top-performing workers each year are invited to participate on the President?s Council, where they work closely with Thedford and other company officials to solve the in-house issues- while also receiving $2,000 a piece to participate, Whitcomb says.

            "There are immediate rewards?people who are good at what they do get amply compensated," Whitcomb says.

            "So we look for the high-performers, the people who are motivated by money."

Martinez, who has worked for Value Financial nearly seven years, says "It's a fun, friendly, comfortable place to work at," she says "On top of that, your opinions count, no matter how high or low you are on the chain."

ANJALI FLUKER can be reached at (407) 241-2910 or via email at afluker@bizjournals.com.