Damon Hininger to Complete Companywide Tour in 2010
President and CEO brings facility stops full circle in New Year
When Damon Hininger was named CCA president and chief operating officer in July 2008, the corrections veteran set a lofty goal – to visit each of the company’s more than 60 correctional facilities over the next two years. Now the CCA chief executive officer – an appointment to which he was named in August 2009 – is on the cusp of completing that mission.
“Company leaders can make many good decisions, receive constructive feedback, and get valuable advice and information from executive management,” Hininger says. “But it’s just as important to go out and see our operations, our facilities, our employees and our CCA communities firsthand.”
Hininger, who began his career with CCA in 1992 as a correctional officer at Leavenworth Detention Center in Leavenworth, Kan., had made many company-related stops during his then-16 years with the company. He later served as a training manager at CCA’s Central Arizona Detention Facility in Florence, Ariz., before joining the company’s Facility Support Center headquarters in Nashville in 1995, where he’s served as vice president, Business Analysis, as well as vice president and senior vice president, Federal Customer Relations.
In those roles, Hininger’s expertise in business management, employee relations and facility operations touched many facets of the company – and at all levels. Hininger’s background on the front lines of corrections also enhanced his previous leadership in CCA’s Business Development department.
Hininger is now very visible on the national corrections landscape. As such, he felt strongly that seeing and experiencing each CCA prison, detention center and jail up close and personal would strengthen his understanding of the company in all aspects, while enabling him to connect more personally to CCA employees.
“It’s very important to have a good frame of reference when it’s time to make decisions,” Hininger explains.
That perspective – and the peace of mind that a personal connection can cultivate – is even more important during challenging economic times.
“It’s even more important to be visible within our facilities because of the current economic environment,” Hininger says. “It’s important that our employees know firsthand that we’re doing well as a company, have had strong performance and face a bright future.”
Hininger’s facility visits have enabled CCA employees to broaden their point of view and see themselves not only as facility workers, but as professionals contributing to a nationwide corrections system.
“Our employees have a better understanding of the challenges our government partners in corrections are facing in the aftermath of the recession and a tough fiscal environment,” Hininger explains. “I sit and speak with the government contract monitors in our facilities, too.”
At his facility stops, Hininger enjoys hosting town hall meetings, usually with 40-50 staff in attendance. Those gatherings, he says, provide an open platform for employees to ask questions about a variety of topics, often pertaining to compensation and benefits, facility news and companywide outlook.
“Those Q & A sessions have been extremely productive to truly understand what’s on our employees’ minds,” Hininger says. “The outcomes show what’s universally top of mind – the economy and how that’s affecting our customers, benefits and merit increases, prospects for 2010, long-term growth and viability, and more.”
In 2010, as Hininger wraps up his two-year tour of CCA’s 65 facilities, he believes that this is a stepping stone to the type of accessibility that today’s leaders must embrace and enact. He borrows from best practices and findings published in magazines like Harvard Business Review, Fortune and Forbes. He also counts on lessons learned from CCA mentors like company co-founders Tom Beasley and Don Hutto, former president and CEO John Ferguson, Mike Quinlan, CCA vice president, Quality Assurance, and Ken Bouldin, former CCA chief development officer.
“I think leaders have to be more visible and vocal today,” he says. “Our employees, our communities and our government partners increasingly want more of a direct line to ethical, passionate and relatable leaders. And that’s what I hope to continue to do effectively.”
By K. Danielle Edwards
Correct Perspectives, March 2010
Sound Out
Correctional Officer Valentine at La Palma Correctional Center:
I am very pleasantly surprised that you came down to visit with our facilities. It seems like every Ceo of a major corporation is also a politician. However you came down with no false promises or self - proclamations. You proved yourself to be accessible to everyone. Whenever there is a change in leadership rumors spread as to why, especially during these time. I think I speak for many when I say that these trips are the footsteps to a positive forward movement.
Linda Sevison at Idaho Correctional Center:
We were glad to be able to show off our facility and appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to listen to the people who work with you. Even though your visits are short, they mean alot to everyone with whom you come into contact. Long after you are gone, staff are still asking for photos that were taken with you. They feel honored that you took the time to chat with them, to listen to their concerns and to answer their questions. They come to see you as a "real" person, not just someone who oversees the company from somewhere far away.