Since Spartan does not use assembly lines, it does not incur the huge capital expendi Spartan is also new era in relations with its employees, one of the company's biggest assets. At Spartan, no employee needs an appointment to discuss an idea or problem with top management. Employees are encouraged to offer suggestions for improving profits and efficiency, and all staff members are encouraged to offer both positive and negative feedback. Employees aren't short-changed when it comes to profits, either. Even entry-level employees are given options to buy 100 shares of stock after one year of service, and options for additional 200 shares after a second year of service.
Promotions bring still more stock options.
Altogether, these factors add up to a happy and stable work force. Not surprisingly, the company's employees do belong to a union, helping to ensure a dependable flow of products. Spartan was once a Wall Street darling. At that time Spartan did the lions share of its business in just two products. Unfortun ately RV sales proved to be very cyclical.