A Dose of Family

Taking the time to get to know employees on a personal level has helped foster pharmaceutical firm's thriving atmosphere.

By: Bill Quinnan
April 19, 2015
The O.C. Register
Retrieved from: http://epaper.ocregister.com/Olive/ODE/OCRJobs/

The McGuff Company has always been a family organization, and that is a key component of its thriving workplace, according to Vice President of Operations Alicia McGuff, who also manages the company's human-resources department.

"My belief is that each of our employees is not only an important member of our team but also a member of the McGuff family," she said. "I appreciate all of our employees, and I enjoy talking to them about recent additions to their family, family achievements, vacations and many other stories they share with me."

The McGuff Company, including its affiliates, McGuff Compounding Pharmacy and McGuff Pharmaceuticals, was among the firms earning a spot among the Orange County Register's Top Workplaces for 2014.

Long-term employees are common within the firm, with the average length of employment being about 12 years. McGuff believes that this is due both to the positive atmosphere within the organization and the pride the company takes in working hard to provide quality products to patients. The firm also strives to provide opportunities for advancement, posting all openings internally before advertising outside the organization.

"There is mutual respect with all employees, regardless of their position here," McGuff said. "We also have an open-door policy for all of the employees. Upper management encourages employees to express themselves with ideas on job improvements, as well as concerns they may have. We respect our employees, we enjoy their company and we look forward to spending time getting to know them."

McGuff noted that one of her favorite ways to achieve this is by throwing friends-and-family parties in the company's parking lot.

Lunch is provided for all of the employees and their guests. This is a fun way see the employees in a casual environment and meet their friends and families," she said.

Leaders within the company strive to foster a positive internal atmosphere by example, McGuff explained. "My philosophy is to work hard without forgetting a positive attitude," she said.

In its recruitment efforts, qualities that company looks for beyond basic job skills include kindness and respect, a willingness to roll up one's sleeves and work hard, the ability to get along with team members and a "can-do" attitudetude, said McGuff, adding, "Old fashion manners are always appreciated and noticed."

The history of the McGuff Company extends back to 1972, when Gilbert J. McGuff began supplying innovative medical products to bariatric physicians and patients. Approaching retirement in 1979, he sold the McGuff Company to his son Ronald McGuff. The younger McGuff took the firm in a new direction, aligning the company with leading innovators in the medical profession. The company was incorporated in 1984 and remains family owned.

The McGuff Company developed associations with the industry's leading manufacturers to offer quality drugs and medical devices at discounted prices to physicians. The firm also developed a variety of physician and patient services, such as ascorbic-acid injection with EDTA, osmolarity software, EDTA dose-calculating software and IV administration sets.

McGuff Compounding Pharmacy Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, has become a well-respected partner and leader in the pharmaceutical compounding industry since its founding in 1999. Its state-of-the-art compounding pharmacy is PCAB accredited, providing high-quality, cost-effective, customized compounded drug formulations of medications not available from pharmaceutical drug companies.

A second subsidiary, McGuff Pharmaceuticals, was incorporated in 2002 to sustain the company's efforts to assure integrative physicians with a steady supply of FDA-approved drugs.

In 2008, McGuff Company was honored with the American College for Advancement in Medicine's Corporate Vision Award, the highest honor that the ACAM bestows on its corporate partners. The award recognizes companies that take an active interest in the integrative-medicine industry and whose products or services are integral to the physicians who practice integrative medicine.

Company Stats

• Sector: Manufacturing
• Employees in region: 79
• Headquarters: Santa Ana
• Founded: 1972
• Website: mcguff.com

Awards

• Top Workplaces - Orange County Register, 2014
• Corporate Vision Award - American College for Advancement in Medicine

What Do Employees Say About the Company

• It's a unique opportunity with outcomes that have positive impacts on others' lives.
• The diversity of work, learning important work skills that few other companies offer, also cross training at all the McGuff Companies.
• The people I work with are awesome! I like having a variety of tasks and everyone working together as a team.
• The people I work with, the family atmosphere, extremely fair compensation, the positive attitudes; it is just very easy to come to work.