In April I wrote about the small businesses we've honored and covered over the years that allow dogs in the workplace.  Add one more to the list.

I heard via Facebook last week that one of the newest additions to the workforce at Pinnacle Services (a Minnesota-based social service agency whose President & CEO, Nicolas Thomley, we named a Best Boss in 2006) is an English Bulldog the company aptly named Biggie Smalls.

Thomley shared with me the story of how Biggie came to join the firm:

Our COO mentioned one day that we should have an office dog.  It was more of a passing comment but I liked the idea.  I did a little research and while there are certainly issues with having animals at work the benefits seemed to be exactly what we needed at this time.

The impetus for getting her comes from a couple of things.  Our legislature authorized a 2.58% cut in our budget July 1st which is the equivalent of about $260,000 a year to us.  As a result we had to issue a 2% pay cut to some of our employees (we were able to absorb the .58% administratively).  We have never had to reduce wages before.  Additionally, we acquired another company at the beginning of June.  It was a very messy acquisition.  As a result staff members have been putting in extraordinary amounts of hours and unfortunately a couple of people have left the company.  We are better than where we were 6 weeks ago but morale is still below where I want it to be.

Essentially Biggie Smalls was brought in to the Pinnacle family to help reduce stress and boost morale.  It is not the only thing we are doing but it is one strategy to help make our office a better work environment.  She is a 6-month-old English Bulldog.  I did some research on dog breeds as well because I did not want one that was overly active, barked a lot or had other behaviors that would not be best for an office.  Even though Biggie is still a puppy and playful she tires easily and sleeps often.  She wanders around the office to say hi to various people and is incredibly friendly.  She never barks, I'm not sure if she even can?  We came up with "Biggie Smalls" because I said I thought a bulldog should have a gangster name.  The result was Biggie Smalls which is fitting for her stature.

There are firms that are OK with employees bringing their dogs into the workplace, and then there are office dogs like Biggie Smalls.  Which you do – or whether you allow it at all – is up to your leadership team, your employees, and the level of employee engagement you've developed.

This practice is not for every work environment.  But, like Pinnacle Services, your organization could benefit from the enhanced team building that can come from investing in your workplace by recruiting man's best friend.

Related: Thomley shared his thoughts on maintaining a culture of ownership as a business grows at our 2007 annual conference.