October
2012
In this issue: 1 2013 Strategic Planning 2 The Lowest Common Denominator 3 Personal Best, Volume Leader 4 SERVPRO Code of Ethics Chart Toppers 6 Save the Date! 7 Training Certificates 8 Words of Wisdom
SUN
T HE
SERVPRO® of Southern New England and New York
Your Strategic Plan should include the following: 1. A commitment to change Please read Ready to Grow by Kevin Brown in the September 2012 SERVPRO Newsline 2. Best practices 3. C oncise priorities for implementation of your Operating Plan 4. H onest assessment of your strengths, weakness, and limitations and of your staff 5. L eadership principles and skills 6. Operating Plan 7. Patience 8. U nderstanding of your opportunities and challenges In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. ~Robert Heinlein
2013 Strategic Planning Strategic Planning is a process that helps determine your long-term goals and initiatives while identifying the best approach for achieving the desired outcome. Not every plan is a strategic plan. A strategic plan provides guidance in fulfilling your mission statement with maximum efficiency. If it is to be effective and useful, it should state specific goals and describe the action steps along with any resources needed to accomplish the plan within the next three to five years. An Operating Plan is a coordinated set of tasks involving details of roles and responsibilities necessary to achieve the goals stated in your strategic plan. It also has a shorter focus than a strategic plan — usually one fiscal year. A Final Word It is important to understand the limitations as well as the possibilities of strategic planning. A strategic plan is not a wish list, a report card or a marketing tool. It is certainly not a magic bullet or a quick cure for everything that ails an organization — especially if the plan winds up on the shelf. What a strategic plan can do is shed light on an organization’s unique strengths and relevant weaknesses, enabling it to pinpoint new opportunities or the causes of current or projected problems. If you are committed to its implementation, a strategic plan can provide an invaluable blueprint for growth and revitalization, enabling you to take stock of where you are, determine where your want to go and chart your course to get there.
A Mission Statement A brief expression of the organization’s purpose. It should answer the questions “Why do we exist?” and “What, at the most basic level, do we do?” A Vision Statement A description of the organization’s desired future state. A vision statement is internally focused: It projects the future answering the question “Where do we want to be?” A Values Statement The principles on which your business is built, and which guides all planning, operations, and programs. It answers the question “What do we believe in?” Goals and Objectives Progress toward achieving goals and objectives should be measurable. Goals answer the question “What do we want to accomplish?” Objectives are the steps you take to get reach your goals. An Implementation Plan This is your “user’s guide” to the strategic plan. The implementation plan answers the questions “What are our specific priorities?” and “How can we pursue our plan in a logical and feasible fashion?” Excerpts and ideas from http://www.tccgrp.com/pdfs/per_brief_tenkeys.pdf
2 - SERVPRO® SUN
The Lowest Common Denominator This often used, non-mathematical phrase, is referenced when speaking of the lowest paid, valuable, or trained employee on a team or in a business. In the cleaning and restoration industry who would that be? The ‘lowest common denominator’ employee is often considered the new production hire, which is often reflected in a lesser degree of quality training, compensation, and advancement opportunities. This, of course is not relevant to every SERVPRO Franchise Owner; however, the interaction of Production Employees and Distributor Training Staff in structured classroom settings, at Franchise’s locations, or on-the-job training does often validate the premise. Production Employees, even those with experience, communicate to us or are observed: • Using minimal SERVPRO approved products. We estimate the average Franchise usage is 20-30 products vs. SERVPRO’S 160+ approved products • Non-standard cleaning methods; e.g., the use of spray bottles to clean smoke damaged walls • Have little training in expert utilization of moisture detection and monitoring equipment • Lack of training to clean; as examples, high-end upholstery, furniture and cabinets (utilizing woodcrème paste), or floor stripping and re-waxing. • Servpro identified vehicles and equipment are often soiled, degraded, damaged, or improperly maintained. • We note many customer complaint reports, in which a communication failure with the production crew has been a factor. None of this is new. We highlight these issues, because of the increasing service quality and communication demands, by our insurance clients. We have heard company after company stress quality of service being key criteria for SERVPRO to remain dominate in
loss referrals. The Production Employee is the ‘face’ of SERVPRO. The employees, who have the most opportunity to interact and to be observed, often determine the success or failure of a satisfied customer; therefore, the urgent recommendation is for Franchise Owners, even those with Operations or Production Managers, to: 1. Personally review the types, methods, and consistency of training offered to Production Employees. 2. Offer a consistent path and methodology of training to upgrade the entire staff ’s skill level. 3. Provide advanced training with corresponding compensation increases as incentives. 4. Train Production Employees in Customer Service and communication, especially those for whom English is not the primary language. This is a critical necessity and one that will require considerable time and attention of SERVPRO Owners and Managers. The individual SERVPRO Franchise is required to provide the constant and consistent Employee Training; however, our Distributorship Team is committed to providing additional training opportunities via new Employee Training classes, advanced accreditation courses, webinars, and on-site visits. If you have a need for training assistance or to structure a Production Training Program in your Franchise, please contact this office.
OCTOBER 2012 - 3
Personal Best Volume Month August 2012
Michael, Patrick, and Kathleen Logue SERVPRO® of Atlantic City/Hamilton/Hammonton SERVPRO® of Haddon Heights/Voorhees
PERSONAL
BEST
Top Ten Volume Leaders Gross Volume Leaders August 2012
Per License Average Volume Leaders August 2012
1
Dave Kluger
934,722
John & Shayna Luciani
313,636
2
Steve & Brenda Young
635,441
Michael, Patrick & Kathleen Logue
217,001
3
Michael, Patrick & Kathleen Logue
434,002
Lance & Jennifer Harvey
210,859
4
Lou & Michelle, Danielle, Justin Sepe & Nicole Travis
387,832
Anthony & Danielle Palumbo
195,575
5
John & Shayna Luciani
313,636
Mitch Kaikow & Stu Cleary
194,050
6
Joe Pelli
300,575
Greg Geaski
165,745
7
John Maughan
277,472
Steve & Brenda Young
158,860
8
Ron & Louise Dion
259,568
Dave Kluger
155,787
9
Frank Mattos
255,936
Doug & Lisa Jameson
145,847
10
Charles & Donna Vingoe
250,022
Scott O’Donnell
136,595
4 - SERVPRO® SUN
Chart Toppers INTRODUCING NEW FRANCHISE
May 2012 Associated Revenue Cleaning Commercial Gibbs Cleaning Residential Duct Commercial
William & Stephen Loiacono
SERVPRO of Farmingdale/Massapequa ®
1 Rome Street, Farmingdale, NY 11735 Phone: 516.221.3666 • Fax: 516.221.3677 E-Mail: bloiacono@globerestoration.net sloiacono@globerestoration.net servpro10073@gmail.com Operating Territory: The bounded area in Nassau County, New York that is described as the entire Villages of Farmingdale and Massapequa Park also to include the entire Hamlets of Massapequa, East Massapequa, North Massapequa and South Farmingdale ....
Mattos Duct Residential Fire Commercial Kluger, D. Fire Residential Pelli Maughan In-house Construction Young Mold Commercial Citrangola, R. & Kluger, R. Mold Residential Johnson Young Resale Rookie Rookie Subcontract Kluger, D. Water Commercial Young Water Residential Young Total Volume Kluger, D. Young
July 2012 - 5
The Cost Effective Solution for Art and Collectible Claims ART - Art Recovery Technologies specializes in restoration of a wide range of valued art pieces. ART also provides emergency disaster response through quick on-call service to mitigate and restore valuable artwork. Let our staff of experts simplify your fine art or collectible claim. We ensure prompt, accurate and confidential performance that will satisfy the most discriminating collector or insurance professional.
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24/7/365 Emergency Response ART - National Headquarters 11847 Levan Road Livonia, MI 48150 continues on page 6 For more information about ART visit www.artrecoverytech.com
OCTOBER 2012 - 7
SERVPRO Training ®
SERVPRO® of Binghamton East
Crew Training
Water Certification
Fire Certification
Carpet & Upholstery Certification
Keith Steffens
We extend congratulations and best wishes to those receiving their SERVPRO® TRAINING CERTIFICATES
The Advertising Resource Guide is your reference to advertising policies, graphic design standards and sample print advertisements. This Advertising Resource Guide replaces the 2011 Advertising Resource Guide. The 2012 Advertising Resource Guide provides SERVPRO® policies and standard operating procedures for advertising.
“Every employee, every uniform and every truck sends a vital branding message to our customers ... Make it a positive Brand message!”
In addition, the Advertising Resource Guide Web pages provide Franchisees with preapproved advertisements consistent with and supporting the National Advertising Campaign. Franchisees must comply with the guidelines in this publication by January 31, 2012. WHY IS BRAND AWARENESS SO IMPORTANT? • Consistency Builds a Brand • Brands Build Trust • Trust Builds Relationships • Relationships Build Revenue IS BEING THE BRAND MORE THAN JUST CONSISTENT ADVERTISING?
“Every employee, every uniform and every truck sends a vital branding message to our customers...Make it a positive Brand message!” Rick Isaacson, Executive Vice President
8 - SERVPRO® SUN
April 2012 - 7
Words of Wisdom By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. ~Benjamin Franklin Begin with the end in mind. ~Stephen Covey You can’t plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind. ~Gordon B. Hinckley A plan is a list of actions arranged in whatever sequence is thought likely to achieve an objective. ~John Argenti Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. ~Alan Lakein Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans. ~ Peter F. Drucker Those who plan do better than those who do not plan even though they rarely stick to their plan. ~ Winston Churchill Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. ~Richard Cushing Few people have any next; they live from hand to mouth without a plan, and are always at the end of their line. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire. ~ Napoleon Hill If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. ~ Chinese Proverb
A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there. ~ H. Stanely Judd Always have a plan, and believe in it. Nothing happens by accident. ~ Chuck Knox Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan. ~Norman Vincent Peale But if you build your life on dreams it’s prudent to recall; a man with moonlight in his hands has nothing there at all. ~ Don Quixote It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance ~Charlie Batch The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin A hundred years after we are gone and forgotten, those who never heard of us will be living with the results of our actions. ~ Oliver Wendell Homes Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: it’s lovely to be silly at the right moment. ~Horace BAD PLANNING ON YOUR PART DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MY PART.
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On average, ERS’ restoration services can be completed for LESS THAN 38% of replacement cost and we offer a warranty on all equipment serviced.
National Hot Line: 888-355-0001 24/7/365 Emergency Response ERS - National Headquarters 12001 Levan Road Livonia, MI 48150 F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t E R S v i s i t w w w. e r s - u s . c o m
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The Industry Leader in Complete Document, File and Paper Restoration Services DFD – Document Restoration Services’ capabilities range from document freeze drying, copying and file folder replacements to mold spore removal. DFD has the most advanced freeze drying capabilities and our team is equipped and trained to handle/process any job with the utmost urgency and care. DFD is ISO 9001:2008 Certified and HIPAA compliant. In the event the customer is in need of any of their records during processing, DFD has the capability to retrieve, scan and e-mail individual files upon customer request.
DFDs’ Custom Designed Vacuum Freeze Drying Chamber
Water Damaged Files
DFDs’ In-House Copying/Scanning/Printing Center
Smoke Damaged Files
File Re-Building
DFD Offers the Following Full-Service and Complete Document Reclamation Services: • Mitigation - Capture and Assess Damage • Drying - Chamber and Freeze Drying • Restoration - Cleaning and Treatments • Duplication/Reproduction - File Copying and Re-Building
DFD Expertise in Restoring: • Medical and Dental Files • Legal and Accounting Records • Library and School Books • Engineering and Architectural Drawings • X-Rays and Microfiche • Electronic Media
National Hot Line: 888-217-3418
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24/7/365 Emergency Response
DFD - National Headquarters 11847 Levan Road Livonia, MI 48150 For more information about DFD visit www.documentfreezedrying.com