Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/231234
28 • JANUARY 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS See Us At And METALfab2014 Team building and efficiency rewards at Your Fence Company BY TOM LUBY, PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL In the average fence company, almost everything that happens is – or should be – functions of a team effort. There are very few one-man-band, single employee fence companies; consequently, most fence companies in America are operated primarily by a combination of owners and their employees. This team of people makes everything happen. Owners and their employees sell the fence, erect the fence, collect the money for the fence, function as a team to pay the bills and support the company in all the ways that are necessary for the average fence company to operate. Therefore, in many ways that fence company is Your Fence Company and each and every owner and employee in the company needs to be FASTENER CAPS MEMBER for the fence industry ALL TYPES Authorized Developer App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Autodesk is a registered trademark of Autodesk Inc. and/or its affiliates in the USA or other countries. iPad and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. FabCAD is a registered trademark of FabCAD Inc. Snap-Caps, Tap Caps, Kappets, Hex-Caps, Hinge Caps All colors and sizes available in small or large quantities Mail us your cartoon ideas for Pete and Jake! We will give full editorial credit if used. Send to: World Fence News 6101 W. Courtyard Dr. • Bldg. 3, Suite 115 Austin, Texas 78730 E-mail: editor@worldfencenews.com Easy to order through PRO-DEC.COM Check us out! aware that together they are working to stay in business and to pay the bills, and equally as important, to pay all of the valuable employees. Therefore, everyone in the company needs to work together to trim waste and save resources and protect the assets you have all worked so hard to earn. It is the responsibility of every employee to do their best to stop any abuse and waste within the company, if you all want to survive together. After all my years working in fencing I am still searching for answers to many nagging questions, but I am certain of one thing: there is too much waste at most fence companies in America. "Morning mayhem" is everywhere and the fence industry is chock full of inefficient and wasteful behavior. Yes, the fence industry is filled with good, honest people, but like it or not, we are often a somewhat disorganized group. To survive and prosper, the first order of business is to trim drastically any waste that exists in Your Fence Company. What do I mean by waste, you ask? Waste can take either of two forms, intentional or unintentional. Mistakes are forms of unintentional waste, and another word for intentional waste is theft, which unfortunately does happen. Sadly, I have seen theft in the workplace bring down many good companies and many good owners and employees alike, all as a result of an individual, or group of individuals, and their lack of honesty. I will look more closely at this sad reality and what efforts can be taken to deal with this ugly truth next month. In the meantime, this month I want to focus on unintentional waste, mainly comprised of a combination of bad or inefficient habits in the workplace as well as errors or mistakes. This waste can, and does, happen to anyone and everyone. There is nothing we can do about it, just learn from our mistakes, as they say, and try to correct them so that they don't happen again in the future. The concept of an "Efficiency Rewards Team" that I will explain in detail in a future article could be used to focus on correcting waste and distributing rewards to employees who work efficiently. This then has a dual benefit, not just reducing waste and improving profits, but greatly improving employee moral as well. Employees can intentionally waste