Goshen company details inflation wage plan

GOSHEN, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A Goshen-based manufacturer of modern stairs and railing has detailed plans for an inflation protection plan for employees. Viewrail says it will review inflation rates each quarter and increase wages to match inflation.

The company says with the prediction of high inflation rates for 2022, it wants to ensure that cost-of-living wage increases reflect the shift.

“This is another outpouring of our belief that each person and their families are eternal beings, and we are committed to treating them that way,” Troy Burns, chief leadership and learning officer for Viewrail, said in a news release. “We want to provide opportunities for growth.”

Viewrail says the program will not replace or eliminate normal opportunities for wage growth based on individual performance.

The company says if a particular quarter sees negative inflation, there will not be any wage reductions. However, wages may be reduced if the negative inflation continues in the following quarter.

However, Burns calls that scenario “extremely unlikely” and a “very last resort” if negative inflation had drastic effects on the company’s business performance as a whole.

“Our main objective through this initiative is to be very intentional with our employees regarding wages and their earning potential,” Burns tells Inside INdiana Business. “We do NOT want an issue such as inflation to have our employees feel as if they are losing ground in their wages, but that through hard work and perseverance, our organization will take care of them and treat them as the eternal beings we believe they are.”

Viewrail says the rate of inflation used to determine any wage increases will be based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The plan comes less than a year after Viewrail detailed plans to boost pay to $25 per hour for hourly employees and at least $55,000 annually for salaried employees.