4 minute read
VICE PRESIDENT MESSAGE
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
ON day one at Ajax Paving you receive an A-Team card. You are officially on the team! You’re part of a team of motivated professionals that drive positive relationships and deliver construction services and products that exceed expectations on safety, quality and value. The A-Team is committed to achieve our Vision, “The Choice”, to be the Employer of Choice, the Contractor of Choice and the Partner of Choice. This card will help guide you into the Ajax culture and provide direction so we’re all working toward a common goal. We’re striving to be “The Choice”. To be “The Choice” we must focus on being great at what we do. Whether you’re planning and building a project in the field or making a business deal in the board room, excellence matters. Excellence is defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. As we strive for excellence, we’re always looking at where we are today and how we can improve for tomorrow. This does not mean perfection. We’re simply looking to continuously improve and never settle. In early 2020, we set out to offer more training and development programs to help people advance their skills and ultimately their careers at Ajax. This is a long-term investment into our future and something we are putting a large emphasis on moving forward. Much work has already been done to build a sustainable program and this will certainly affect everyone within the organization. So where are we at today? Well, over the past year we have developed a formal strategic plan, provided leadership training to many supervisors, completed Myers-Briggs personality assessments with workshops and began developing competency models. A little more insight is provided below:
The Ajax Strategic Plan was started in April of 2020 and is designed to provide clarity, direction and focus to the team. This started with a small group of senior management defining what we wanted out of the process and to review the Vision, Mission and Core Beliefs. Once this step was completed, the group was expanded to encompass a larger cross-section of managers around the company. From this, 6 key areas of focus became apparent.
1. Talent Development 2. Processes 3. Innovation 4. Risk Management 5. Growth 6. Community and Governmental
Outreach
You can expect to see the full summary of our strategic plan in the coming months.
Leadership Training will be a key component in our talent development plan moving forward. Some leadership qualities come naturally (the things you are born with), but many are acquired skills from our experiences, formal training and other leaders. Ajax is committed to providing the formal training required to cultivate leaders for the future. The 2020 leadership training emphasized collaborative leadership, making decisions with confidence, effective communication and taking ownership. We will continue to shape and refine this as we moving forward.
The Myers-Briggs Assessment is a personality assessment that helps people better understand themselves and others. It helps explain our natural tendencies and preferences, so we are able to better communicate and listen. Ultimately, it helps people to not only tolerate the differences between people, but actually acknowledge and appreciate these differences resulting in a wellbalanced and diverse team. In 2020, we had several groups complete the assessment along with a workshop. This will continue in 2021 as we investment in our people. Our most valuable asset.
A Competency Model is a collection of critical skills that define what success looks like for each position at Ajax (a road map to master your position). This will be a tool used going forward for personalized skill development. Our plan for personalized skill development is a four step process. Once the personalized development process is fully implemented (which will take most of 2021), you’ll be able to define what success looks like in your position and be aware of the critical skills you need to master your position. This will accelerate learning and drive excellence in performance.
It’s an exciting time to be part of the A-Team. We are fortunate to have such motivated employees throughout the company. The Continuous improvement and talent development processes that we’re working on today, will help us become better tomorrow. This will take hard work and dedication from everyone on the A-Team, but it will be fun and rewarding. I have all the confidence in the world that each of you will thrive as we continue to grow and improve – and continue making our vision of being “The Choice” a reality. I will leave you with this quote:
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” Albert Einstein
1. Define – Define which skills are need for each position Andy DeCraene, (Competency Model) Vice President
