Growth means something different to just about everyone. Here at Sign Effectz, it describes a big part of our culture. We put a lot of effort and thought into getting to where we are today. It comes down to people, safety and sustainability.
HOW DO YOU GROW PEOPLE?
We’re zeroing in on specific job role definitions. And it’s paying off.
Here’s an example. In the sign industry, salesmen traditionally wear multiple hats.
- Lead generator and hunter
- Project manager
- Customer relations
- Sometimes order product for one of their projects
However, employee efficiencies are diminished in this model. Salespeople that are required to perform project management responsibilities won’t be exceptional at selling and vice versa.
That’s why we’ve split up several key positions and use specialization. Consequently, employees can focus on the most important skills needed to be successful.
Not many companies deploy job specialization. Usually, it’s just the big sign companies that have a specialized personnel model. We’re by no means a large corporation, but we’re pursuing this because our efficiencies are improved, which is critical since our current Work-In-Progress load is twice as big now as last year. And our sales team is knocking it out of the park.
It can be challenging to recruit specialized employees. However, we’ve developed a great employee manual. It improves our recruiting.
The manual has detailed job descriptions, which contain every necessary detail to be effective in the role. If someone leaves, we know exactly how the employee performed their job. They call them Trained Ready Documents. We’ve done this over the last year and our onboarding process has been cut in half. We went from up to 90 days down to close to about a month to onboard a new employee.
SAFETY IS A KEY INGREDIENT, HERE’S WHY
If you want to get to the next level, safety is directly related to revenue. Many jobs won’t even invite you to bid if your company’s MOD rate is above 1. We are dedicated to keeping our MOD rate where it needs to be so we don’t miss significant revenue opportunities. And because we want our employees to be healthy so they can go home each day to their loved ones.
I’m very confident that our teams understand the importance of safety. Safety is about them, but it’s something bigger too. It’s about developing a safe culture. You can put many tools in place, but if you don’t use them or if you don’t listen carefully to your employees, a company will struggle.
Company leadership has to make safety a priority. Employees then follow their lead. For example, when leadership consistently dedicates time to safety in the form of recurring meetings, employees appreciate it and know management has their back. If leadership says we’re going to meet on safety, we follow through.
At our safety meetings, we provide employees with food and training. I learned this notion from my mom. If you want to get to the brain, you have to go through the stomach!
Our MOD Rate is now the lowest it’s ever been. It’s not just lip service. Our insurance company praises us for it. And our employee’s safety consciousness has been great.
GROWTH IS BASED ON PEOPLE
Growth is based on people. If they don’t buy-in, you don’t get growth.
How do we achieve employee buy-in? It’s psychology. When employees feel successful and know there’s an opportunity for growth, their response is phenomenal. They attack a job with enthusiasm. One of the benefits of this is our approach to discretionary effort.
We don’t say we expect discretionary effort voluntarily. We put a plan in place for employees that shows them how discretionary effort ties to their growth.
It’s a win-win! Sign Effectz gets a happier, more dedicated employee and they’re getting a growth opportunity, better income, additional training and increased worth.
A challenge is sustainability. You have to build in sustainability triggers. If the program falls off, count on your plan to provide ways to get it back on track. This is where our HR representative pitches in. Their role in sustaining this program is paramount. Until we prioritized sustainability, it didn’t work. However, we listened carefully to our employees about how important it is to sustain our programs.
All of this ties directly to Sign Effectz, Inc. being the right place to work for the next-generation workforce. Here are the advantages:
- Job specialization makes it easier to find the right person for the job.
- This generation of employees craves opportunities for growth. We present employees with a path for growth. Why would they go any where else to get what they want from an employer?
- On boarding requires company investment. Our program helps reduce the risk of throwing that investment away when a new employee leaves quickly.
Adam Brown
