The good news about being an orthopedic company located in Warsaw, Indiana (the orthpedic capital of the world) is that there are many talented industry employees. The bad thing about such an arrangement is that the battle to attract and keep those skillful workers can be a competitive one.

A number of Medtronic (one of the 2012 Best Places to Work in Indiana) team members have made career stops at more than one of the Warsaw organizations (big and small) in the field. And while there is competition, Roy Wiley, director of manufacturing and planning at the Medtronic operation, wanted to be sure to tout the OrthoWorx initiative.

"This is the companies getting together and realizing that to get the right type of talent base we have to collaboratively advance the opportunities around Warsaw — the cultural amenities, the schools. It has been an extremely positive development for everybody, us included. Everybody realizes we’ve got a good base (of workers) here, but if we keep stealing from each other, we won’t grow."

During a visit to Medtronic, Wiley also shared the story of a phone call that came in after 5 p.m. on a Friday about a special implant needed for a young person’s life-altering surgery early the following week. Team members, he relates, stayed beyond their normal shifts and were "excited and proud to be able to do something to help that child." That is just one of many heartwarming stories of a company focused on spinal implants.

Medtronic will be profiled in the May-June BizVoice, following the May 3 Best Places to Work in Indiana awards dinner. It’s not too late to attend that event, honoring 70 outstanding Indiana workplaces. To learn more about participating in the 2013 Best Places program, go here.