February 2010: Business Tips by Tom Mazza
Making the New Hire a Top Performer
Does this sound familiar?
You hire a new person, "Marlene" and she reports for work. Your plan was to have "Betty" your top reservation/dispatch person, train Marlene her entire first week on the job.
You hire a new person, "Marlene" and she reports for work. Your plan was to have "Betty" your top reservation/dispatch person, train Marlene her entire first week on the job.
Betty gets crazy busy with a last minute group and is only able to train
about a half hour at a time. But since Betty is so critical,to everyone
from clients to the owner, she is constantly interrupted.
Marlene has experience, and she can always ask Betty, so she figures out the system and wham bam, she is on her own almost immediately. The plan for Betty to train never materialized and since your company was never strong on documenting processes and procedures, Betty pretty much gets her job done, her way.
Marlene has experience, and she can always ask Betty, so she figures out the system and wham bam, she is on her own almost immediately. The plan for Betty to train never materialized and since your company was never strong on documenting processes and procedures, Betty pretty much gets her job done, her way.
Three weeks later you look at Marlene and she is "okay" at
her job but not great. Betty, whose work load you sought to reduce, is
busier than ever and now has Marlene asking her questions all day.
You sit at your desk, look at your screen and say to yourself, "Man we need to hire better people." No, in fact you do NOT need to hire "better people" you need to run a better company across the board.
Here are the changes in this company that need to happen:
- Regardless of the time or expense, EVERYTHING that we do on a daily
basis for our clients needs to be documented.
-
Implement repeatable processes from how to answer the phone to when we use a farmout company.
-
Hire a person BEFORE you really need them.
-
Put together a hiring process. From filling out the W-9 form to showing them where to park, make a plan.
-
Involve your entire team in the on boarding process.
-
Introduce your new hire to the entire company from the car wash guy to accounting.
-
If you cannot spare time or people to train, train them yourself and do it early morning, evening, or on weekends if necessary.
-
Train the new employee to do things YOUR WAY.
-
Test them, challenge them, communicate with the new hire on everything they are facing on the job.
-
After a month on the job, bring the new hire back and review in an hour or two all of the training. This reinforces everything you have taught them.
DO NOT put the new person in a position that they are forced to learn
via osmosis.
Quality employees are the most valuable asset your company has. They
are more important than shiny cars or killer IT systems.
If Every Client is an "Exception", Growing Your Company is Nearly Impossible
Here is a simple tip that I discuss with my clients all the time. The
way we make money in this business is fairly simple.
- Focus on the most profitable niche you can.
- Develop a system for delivering a great service.
- Find customers that believe in your system. (I mean say your system is everybody is on credit card, find more clients that want to pay by card.)
- Repeat
If you gain a new client and every part of your relationship with
them deviates from normal operating procedure, the slim margin becomes
even slimmer. Say the client wants to use your national network
but they insist on getting the number of your affiliate company and dealing
directly with them, they make it more difficult for your operations team.
If your back office can produce an accurate bill in 24 hours and your
new client needs it within 3 hours of trip completion than this makes
it more difficult and again may reduce profitability. if you do a standard
curb side meet for every arriving passenger than a gate greet for every
XYZ company becomes a challenge.
Some clients who are "exceptions" can make your company
better and they can improve processes across the board. But the key is
in finding new business that can be tucked into your existing business.
Rhode Island Deal Highlights
Exciting Month for TMC
As many of you know, TMC announced that John Olinger of O 2
Global in Newport, RI purchased the assets of All Occasion Transportation
of Providence, owned by Eric Weiner, in a deal that closed on
January 13th.
We are all extremely proud of the deal and wish both John and Eric continued success. The year plus that it took to close was a learning process for me and I am energized by all the positive comments I have received from my peers.
We are all extremely proud of the deal and wish both John and Eric continued success. The year plus that it took to close was a learning process for me and I am energized by all the positive comments I have received from my peers.
In addition to the "deal" in January, TMC saw 2 startup
companies launch with our guidance. Richard Fertig of Manhattan launched
Brilliant Transportation serving the NYC area with a state of the art
fleet of Mercedes Sprinters. Paul Barcellos, GM at Brilliant, has more
than 10 years experience in operations management most recently with
Carey South Florida. Fertig hired Barcellos through TMC executive search.
Brilliant received NYC TLC authority a few days ago. Fertig, who has
an impressive resume from his days in the financial industry attended
a TMC group meeting last year and has worked diligently on the launch
of what we hope is a great success story. Good Luck to Richard
and Paul!
TMC also assisted in the launch of Allen Unique Autos in Grand Junction,
CO which opened for business in late January. AUA owner Tammy Allen
is a world renowned collector of classic automobiles and owns more
than a hundred vehicles. In addition, AUA has put together a
fleet of sedans, SUV's and classic and unique limousines that
will serve the special occasion, corporate, and private air industry
in Western Colorado. TMC associate Michele Wallace was a key member
of the team that launched Allen Unique Auto. We wish Tammy and her
great team success!
Besides the deals and new company launches in January, there was
11,000 miles of air travel, training in Boston, Dallas, Oklahoma City,
Washington DC and the LCT Show in Vegas. Yours truly rode a US Air
plane more times in January than I drove my car. No complaints, thrilled
with continuing opportunity, resting in Miami for a much needed week.
Training Day with Tom: Taking Your Company to the Next Level in 1 Day
 The quickest way to improve your company from top to bottom,
literally overnight, is to invest in staff training.
Here is a sample schedule that Tom presented in a recent training day:
"What does it mean to book an extra ride or two every
day? How does better performance by your chauffeurs translate
into more rides? A better trained and more motivated
staff makes you a better company instantly. E-mail tom@tommazza.com for rates and availability." |
| If
you enjoyed these business tips, and would like more help selling
your limo service, or business training call 215-973-8201 today
and set up an invaluable one-on one relationship with Tom for
your company! You will see the results instantly. - Tom Mazza  |
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