With balloons, colored table cloths, cupcakes and ice cream, employees at Tech Data celebrate birthday parties every month.

"The idea is to get to chat with everyone on campus over the course of a year," CEO Bob Dutkowsky said. "It's a very good way to say thank you and get into a dialogue."

Dutkowsky inherited the tradition from his former tech workplace, J.D. Edwards. The hourlong celebrations include candid conversations about the company's performance, its competitors' strategies or anything that's on employees' minds.

"People are shy and if you put them in a room with a crowd of 1,000, they won't say much," Dutkowsky said. "With 30 people around, they are more comfortable interacting."

As part of the company's employee-outreach effort, Tech Data has an anonymous e-mail program by which employees write directly to the CEO with their concerns and suggestions. The "Ask Bob" program gets about 15 e-mails a week, Dutkowsky said. They range from complaints about dress codes to acquisition ideas.

The company also has quarterly employee meetings to discuss performance and strategies.

"The whole idea is to be open and facilitate a dialogue with the employees," Dutkowsky said.