Responsibility:
Associate Development

Airgas is a company that began as an entrepreneurial enterprise nearly 35 years ago and that spirit lives on today. While our growth has been accompanied—and accelerated—by change across our organization, our open culture is steadfastly creating a workplace where people want to give their personal best and make an impact on the company. We listen to the voices of all of our associates and strive to ensure that our workforce is reflective of the world around us.

We have more than 17,000 talented associates who are helping our company grow and succeed. Our responsibility as a company is to create a culture that nurtures their full potential. The result is an engaging, welcoming and reflective workplace that inspires new ideas and attracts the next generation of Airgas associates who will shape our future going forward.

At Airgas, we are committed to supporting the ongoing development of our associates to enhance their capabilities. Whether the focus is safety training for our drivers, customer service training for all associates or sales effectiveness training for our sales force, our associates have access to diverse development opportunities including Airgas University online and the Airgas Tuition Assistance Program. While developing internal talent is an ongoing focus, infusing new talent into our pipeline is equally important. In 2014, Airgas enhanced our efforts to recruit and develop new college graduates in three key areas—branch management, sales and operations—to help us create an even more sustainable talent pipeline. Once on board at Airgas, these associates participate in newly developed trainee programs that build their skills in support of an accelerated Airgas career path.

Another example of our continued focus on development is with our District Managers. Associates in this new role act as a bridge between our Area Vice Presidents, our branches and our field sales teams. With full profit-and-loss responsibility for their districts, they are uniquely positioned to get closer to our customers. It's a new career path for Airgas associates, and we are committed to ensuring all 200-plus District Managers develop the skills needed to be successful in their roles.