NEWS FEATURE: Historic chaplaincy program expands at trucking firm

c. 1998 Religion News Service DECATUR, Ga. _ One of the nation’s pioneers in the field of industrial chaplaincy has become an international leader in blending practical Christian ministry with the busy workplace. Allied Systems of Decatur, Ga., is the largest auto-hauling company in the world, with over 10,000 employees, more than 5,300 hauling rigs […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

DECATUR, Ga. _ One of the nation’s pioneers in the field of industrial chaplaincy has become an international leader in blending practical Christian ministry with the busy workplace.

Allied Systems of Decatur, Ga., is the largest auto-hauling company in the world, with over 10,000 employees, more than 5,300 hauling rigs and nearly 150 terminals in the United States and Canada. It delivers more than 12 million cars per year from shipping centers and manufacturing plants to car dealerships.


The executives at the company point to their force of 125 chaplains as a key to their success.”We see Christian chaplaincy as a vital component of the culture of our company,”said Robert J. Rutland, CEO of Allied Systems.”We are a family-run business with a strong heritage of Christian commitment. It is good Christianity, and it is good business, to care for the spiritual, emotional and family needs of your employees and their loved ones.” As Allied Systems expands its diversified operations _ its parent company, Allied Holding Corp., owns more than 20 smaller companies _ its management plans to expand its chaplaincy services exponentially. Such a move fits into the company’s long track record of seeing a spiritual emphasis reap financial rewards.

In 1963, Guy W. Rutland Jr., president of what was then Motor Convoy of Decatur, started an on-the-job chaplaincy program for his employees. Motor Convoy was one of the first companies in the nation to place chaplains on the job.

The practice was expanded by Guy W. Rutland III in the 1980s, then enlarged even further by the current CEO, as the company bought other smaller auto-haulers in the West.

Robert Rutland is now being called on by business executives around the country to come and tell them why he considers a chaplaincy program to be”good for business.”With a corporate budget now over $1 billion and recent listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Allied Systems spends $1 million a year on its chaplains.

Rutland believes statistics reveal the”horrendous”toll his industry can have on family life.

Industrywide, the employee turnover rate in the trucking business is astronomical, he said.”At our company, the turnover rate is only 3 to 4 percent. We are able to keep our employees satisfied and happy and they stay with us. The morale is better, productivity is better and the turnover is almost nil. That makes for bottom line profits for everybody, including our customers.” And the Rutland family has used those profits for many Christian causes. Over four generations, the Rutlands have given millions to Christian churches and institutions across the country and the world, including the Salvation Army and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Art Stricklin, director of media relations for Marketplace Ministries in Dallas, said Allied Systems stands out among businesses employing chaplains.”As far as we know this is the largest number of chaplains employed by one company,”Stricklin said of Allied’s 125 chaplains.

Stricklin, whose ministry trains chaplains and has hired them as employees for 153 companies across the country, said Allied is one of a number of businesses that gains benefits from having chaplains on staff.”The industrial chaplaincy concept is growing dramatically,”he said.”You might call it a booming industry.” Allied Systems has three full-time chaplains on its staff in Decatur, led by Ed Salter, a former Southern Baptist pastor who serves as director of chaplaincy for the entire company.


Despite the Southern Baptist ties of the Rutlands and the company’s chaplaincy directors, the chaplain force is nondenominational, said Salter.”Many of our chaplains are Baptists, but we also have chaplains of just about every faith you can describe,”he said.

Most of the chaplains are contract chaplains, who work on a part-time basis when needed. Many are pastors; some are professional chaplains or counselors who serve Allied Systems on call; some are retired ministers or chaplains who expand their work with Allied Systems after retiring from their regular posts.”From its inception in 1963, our company has seen chaplaincy as primarily a ministry of presence, a ministry of caring,”said Salter.”It is not an evangelistic or proselytizing ministry. We are there, on the job, to meet whatever needs our employees might have, both on the job or in their families.” Chaplains also are responsible for helping the company plan family functions, including picnics, where alcoholic beverages are prohibited.

Salter grinned as he recalled reaction to the policy from new employees who worked for an auto-hauling company in Canada that was recently purchased by Allied Systems.”There was some grumbling on the part of truck drivers,”he said.”But after just one or two functions, we were deluged with words of gratitude from wives and children, who were grateful to attend company parties with sober husbands and dads.” The work of the chaplains fits into the Christian tone of the company, which pays for subscriptions to the Christian magazine Guideposts for every employee, and maintains a spiritual library and family resource center at the Decatur headquarters.”We make no effort whatever to replace a pastor, a priest or a rabbi,”said Salter.”We urge our employees to be faithful to their churches and their local ministers. But we are there, on the job _ we like to say, `by the way, by the truck’ _ for any personal need which may arise on the job. And needs do arise.” Salter cited a recent instance of a truck driver on the road in Western Canada when his family in the Deep South was involved in a tragic car accident. Through a series of”networking”phone calls between chaplains, the driver was located and a chaplain was waiting for him at his next stop. The chaplain stayed with the driver until arrangements could be made to fly the driver home, at company expense, to be with his family.”Our employees have come to know the company cares, and a chaplain is available, so they call on them,”Salter said.”It has been a great personal thrill to me, after 30 years in the local church pastorate, to know how much hands-on ministry I can render as a chaplain. And I have a profound new appreciation for the life of the working man and woman, a role I never fully understood while I was a pastor.” The chaplaincy ministry at Allied Systems has grown to such an extent, the company has started a separate division to train chaplains to work with other companies. Allied Systems entered a long-term agreement with the pastoral care department at nearby Emory University, to help train young college and seminary students for the chaplaincy.

Employees say they appreciate the company’s emphasis on chaplains.”The company policy of providing caring chaplains helps to create an environment of trust and listening,”said K.C. Richardson, an Allied Systems driver in Hapeville, Ga.”They give a word of encouragement, a hug of support. My chaplains have been great sources of inspiration to my whole family.” To which CEO Bob Rutland responded:”We very much want our employees to see in a tangible way that the company cares about them and their families. When that happens, employees will give the extra mile of productivity because they care about the company. And they care about keeping our customers happy.”

MJP END HARWELL

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