All in the family

Inside Justin Serfass' office, the eye is immediately drawn to the Pittsburgh Steelers decorations lining the walls. From the Fathead helmet poster to the Steelers clock shaped like a guitar.

It's a logical conclusion that the head man at Family Dollar's Texas Distribution Center in Odessa hails from - Philadelphia.

After working in Odessa a few years ago, Serfass came back to the nearly 1 million square-foot warehouse 10 months ago. Among the issues he's had to deal with are high turnover; he said it's been 152 percent in the past 12 months.

But if he can handle wearing Steelers black and gold amid Eagles fans, Serfass said he could face the tight workforce situation in Odessa, where unemployment was a nearly state-low 3.7 percent in July.

"It goes up and down," he said. "The application flow is still pretty strong."

But he said the number is improving, with more than half of those who leave ending up coming back.

"I saw a couple (applying) in here today that were here before," training and safety manager Rick Epler said.

Serfass is using a number of techniques to lure and retain employees, including giving employees who show up every day and meet production goals up to $3 an hour extra.

"If you're here, you're going to get paid," he said. "You just have to show up."

The program is helpful to employees like Gilbert Juarez, who manages the "merge" line, where up to 12,000 cases an hour race by on part of the plant's 10 miles of conveyor belts. They are then separated to go to one of 700 stores in a seven-state area.

Juarez said he hasn't missed a day of work at the largely automated plant in four years.

"I love what I do," Juarez said. "You've got to know what you're doing, but it's not really hard work."

Team building is a major part of Serfass' strategy.

"You talk to folks like Gilbert," he said. "They've got a gleam in their eye. I want everybody to be happy like him."

Other programs are used to attract employees, including orientation and training programs conducted in both English and Spanish.

The 5-year-old distribution center also has auctions every four months at which employees pay with points earned by having good attendance, safety records, productivity, quality and work habits. The auction has an $80,000 budget, with past prizes including a 65-inch flat-screen television and $1,000 gift cards.

But Serfass said the way the roughly 400 employees are treated on a daily basis is just as important. He considers himself a "people person."

"I like to spend the majority of the day on the floor having conversations with folks," he said. "I rarely talk about work anymore. I like talking about what's going on in their weekend or in life itself."

Epler said Serfass has made a difference.

"Since Justin's been here, it's been seen as a more competitive place to work, " he said.

Serfass also likes to see employees promoted internally. Jesus Moreno was recently promoted to receiving manager after working at the plant for four years.

Moreno said his co-workers help make coming to work enjoyable.

"You get to work with a good variety of people from all ages and races," he said.

Serfass is also working to get Charlotte, N.C.-based Family Dollar more involved in the Odessa community. Through the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, he's planning to volunteer with events like the West Texas Relays and football games.

"It's the only way we'll be successful," he said.