Greenwood said training formulates the process from A to Z, however, if all employees don’t understand the entire picture, the shop spins its wheels forever. Building a culture takes time and effort from all the people within the company —from the owner on down.
“Everyone must be included in this journey,” he said.
“Culture is a vital part of business success. It revolves around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility and always doing right by your clients. The culture is the secret sauce that makes a place great and allows you to earn your clients’ trust.”
Greenwood told the audience that educating customers and clients is an important aspect of building a strong culture.
He presented 15 business opportunities to build and sustain a great business culture.
“First, we have to do a better job of understanding our target heavy duty clients and who they are what they really want,” Greenwood said.
“We need to do a better job of creating and delivering compelling client value and experiences that will grab our target clients. We also need to do more business with existing heavy duty clients if we are not averaging the right billed hours per RO.”
Greenwood said one area that plagues businesses is a failure to demonstrate what the company can do and can offer.
“Some of our current and target clients are not aware of all the value we offer,” he said. “We need to define and communicate our value story more effectively.”
Finding and retaining key personnel is also an important aspect of producing a strong culture.
“We need to find, motivate and retain top performers at every level of the shop,” he said. “Online applications must become our standard and proper and retention benefits put into place.
“There’s also a need to improve our focus and productivity. We need to create a culture of commitment and accountability and deal more effectively with non-performance. Everyone must understand their role and what is required of them. And we need to continuously train and develop our staff more effectively.”
Greenwood said honest clarity and consistency from the top of the organization providing open communication about the successes and failures of the company is vital.
“We need to create true two-way communication in a way that improves service, efficiency, innovation, profitability and employee satisfaction,” he said.
“Our industry and our market are changing quickly. Our current business model may not get us where we need to be. We need to redefine or re-invent some aspects of our business.”
Some of the key attributes that Greenwood stressed in building a strong culture are leadership, strong client relations and a company’s workforce.
“Believe in the people on your team,” he said. “A leader is someone who has the ability to create infectious enthusiasm.”
By building a stable and professional employee-base, Greenwood said, will help bring more well qualified employees into the company.
“Talent attracts talent,” he said. “Employees are the ambassadors of the company and are the sales presentation in some way. Strong relationships with your employees builds mutual trust and respect.”
Greenwood said that a strong business culture comes down to the meaning of an old saying – “either you are part of the problem or part of the solution.”
“By building a solid culture within the shop, you are destined for great things.”
