Hello JPS team!
“GO GO QUARTER 3 ”
What a summer we’re having in Calgary! It’s been hot, we’ve been busy, and we continue to set the pace for service and professionalism in our industry and trade.
Despite the challenges that many companies are experiencing with performance and operations, JPS continues to run and perform with excellence.
I would like to thank everyone for all the efforts that have been made by every individual to help make JPS what it is today. Taking care of customers and making them “feel right at home!” is what we are all about and we are getting better and better at it. The positive 5 star customer reviews prove it.
Becoming great at anything, takes discipline, sacrifice, personal growth, and focus. I’d like to say “thank you” for your willingness to align yourselves with our core values so that we can make the changes necessary to become a better and better place to work and perform.
I’m currently working with James and Alana to create our next three years development and expansion plan so stay tuned in September to hear more about what we have planned in the days and years ahead. Things like our new building, the redesigned show room, our training academy, the new departments we are creating, and the plans for acquisitions and expansion.
These endeavors are to be undertaken so we can provide more opportunities for staff and to enhance the quality of customers that we service. I hope as we unfold the plans and the pathway to our future that you’re able to see opportunities for your own personal future with JPS in the days ahead.
The best is yet to come! With the greatest appreciation,
Derek Belzile
Derek Belzile
Prioritizing Work-Life Balance!
As we are experiencing our busiest season, As we are experiencing our busiest season, its more important than ever to maintain a its more important than ever to maintain a healthy work-life healthy work-life balance. balance.
Take Regular Breaks: Take Regular Breaks:
A balanced approach helps ensure sustained
A balanced approach helps ensure sustained productivity, prevents burnout, and productivity, prevents burnout, and promotes overall well-being. promotes overall well-being.
Stretch, walk, or simply relax. Stretch, walk, or simply relax. Ensure you take your lunch break and Ensure you take your lunch break and consider taking a walk outside to consider taking a walk outside to rrecharge. echarge.
E Establish Boundaries: stablish Boundaries:
Personal Time: Dedicate time to
Here are some tips and tricks to help you
Here are some tips and tricks to help you stay balanced and energized: stay balanced and energized:
Prioritize and Plan: Prioritize and Plan:
Set Clear Goals: Identify your most critical Set Clear Goals: Identify your most critical tasks and focus on them first. tasks and focus on them first.
Time Blocking: Allocate specific times for Time Blocking: Allocate specific times for work tasks and personal activities. Stick work tasks and personal activities. Stick to your schedule as much as possible. to your schedule as much as possible.
Personal Time: Dedicate time to hobbies, family, and activities that you hobbies, family, and activities that you enjoy. This helps you disconnect and enjoy. This helps you disconnect and rrejuvenate. ejuvenate.
Stay Organized: Stay Organized: To-Do Lists: Use lists to keep track of To-Do Lists: Use lists to keep track of tasks and deadlines. Prioritize tasks tasks and deadlines Prioritize tasks and check them off as you complete and check them off as you complete them. them.
Digital Tools: Utilize productivity apps and calendar tools to manage your time
Digital Tools: Utilize productivity apps and calendar tools to manage your time effectively. A great example of a tool for office staff is Asana: effectively. A great example of a tool for office staff is Asana: https://asana.com/?noredirect=true https://asana.com/?noredirect=true
Practice Self-Care: Practice Self-Care:
Healthy Habits: Maintain a balanced diet, stay hydrated, and get enough sleep.
Healthy Habits: Maintain a balanced diet, stay hydrated, and get enough sleep.
Exercise: Incorporate physical activity into your routine, whether it's a workout
Exercise: Incorporate physical activity into your routine, whether it's a workout session or a simple walk. session or a simple walk.
Seek Support: Seek Support:
Communicate: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to your manager!
Communicate: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to your manager!
Collaborate: Work as a team to share the workload and support each other.
Collaborate: Work as a team to share the workload and support each other.
By integrating these strategies into your daily routine, you can maintain a healthy work-life
By integrating these strategies into your daily routine, you can maintain a healthy work-life balance, even during our busiest times. balance, even during our busiest times.
Remember, taking care of yourself is essential to achieving long-term success
Remember, taking care of yourself is essential to achieving long-term success and well-being. and well-being.
Jamie Shepelwik
AUGUST AUGUST
CELEBRATING MILESTONES
Birthdays
AUGUST BIRTHDAYS
JOSH ANDERSON - AUGUST 1ST
BRYAN GARCIA - AUGUST 8TH
DANIEL WARD - AUGUST 9TH
SHANTELLE CAPPIS- AUGUST 11TH
JP CATAHAN - AUGUST 11TH
SIMON STAD - AUGUST 15TH
TESSA GILLIS - AUGUST 18TH
RAMANDEEP SIGNH - AUGUST 21ST
ADAM RANGER - AUGUST - 27TH
SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
DAVE FREEMAN - SEPTEMBER 6TH
GRACE ONWUBUEMELI - SEPTEMBER 8TH
AUGUST WORK ANNIVERSARIES
RAJ BHATIA - AUGUST 2ND - 2 YEARS
CALLUM BRAINBRIDGE- AUGUST 6TH- 1 YEAR
JOSH OLSEN - AUGUST 16TH - 3 YEARS
SEPTEMBER WORK ANNIVERSARIES
ANDREW LEGRAND - SEPT 1ST - 2 YEARS
JESSICA MURRAY -SEPT 5TH - 6 YEARS
SEAN MCKEIGAN - SEPT 5TH - 1 YEAR
TRACY HOPE - SEPT 9TH - 2 YEARS
GRACE ONWUBUEMELI - SEPT 18TH - 1 YEAR
COURTNEY NOBLETT - SEPT 19TH - 2YEARS
KEVIN FORTINSKI - SEPT 22ND - 2 YEARS
THE IMPORTANCE OF GOAL SETTING
One of the most important things you can do for your professional development is set goals for yourself.
Your goals give you a path and a purpose in your career. Your department may have goals for the team and your company can have overarching goals that drive business decisions and strategy.
Setting project goals and meeting deadlines can seem overwhelming, especially if you have team members relying on your contributions or a manager overseeing your progress.
Learning how to set specific SMART goals can help you face your next looming deadline with confidence. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timebased to give you the most chance of success.
What are SMART goals?
Simply put, SMART goals are specific, measurable and actionable. By using a series of five benchmarks that comprise the SMART method, you’ll be able to create concise goals and action steps that will keep you on track.
How can specific goals make a difference?
Consider this example of a vague goal, and how this same goal could be expressed after using the SMART Method:
Vague goal: I want to help my department stay on budget this year.
SMART goal: Each month, I will distribute a budget report that shows our department’s current expenses in comparison to our allotted annual budget and I will highlight areas where we are overspending. Based on our current spending, I will offer suggestions on how to cut expenses so that we are back within budget.
Your SMART goal is now something measurable and actionable with enough specifics to help you achieve real results. Keep reading to see exactly how we went from a vague goal to a SMART goal.
How to set SMART goals using the SMART method.
Let's take a closer look at the five components of creating a SMART goal.
1. Make your goal SPECIFIC
The first step in creating a SMART goal is to make it specific. Consider your goal in quantifiable terms by asking yourself the following questions:
What do I want to accomplish?
Will achieving this goal have an important impact? What actions will I need to take?
Applying SMART "Specific" criteria: “I will distribute a budget report."
2. Make your goal MEASURABLE
This step in the SMART process prompts you to apply methods of measuring your progress toward achieving your goal. Being measurable also takes into account any actions you would implement to help you further your progress toward your goal. For instance, this may take the form of tracking the time it takes you to complete an action or meet a milestone.
Applying SMART “Measurable” criteria: "I will distribute a budget report that shows our department’s current expenses in comparison to our allotted annual budget
3. Make your goal ACHIEVABLE
This aspect of the SMART strategy relates to your goal being achievable. Do you have the resources and time needed to achieve the goal?
This may include gathering necessary data, asking team members for help and learning new skills. You're more likely to be successful in your goal once it is specific, measurable and deemed achievable.
Applying SMART “Achievable” criteria: "I will distribute a budget report that shows our department’s current expenses in comparison to our allotted annual budget and I will highlight areas where we are overspending.
4. Make your goal RELEVANT
A relevant goal will directly contribute to successful results. Keep in mind that every action you take should move you closer to your goal. In our example, a relevant goal will directly reduce expenses.
Applying SMART “Relevant” criteria: "I will distribute a budget report that shows our department’s current expenses in comparison to our allotted annual budget and I will highlight areas where we are overspending. Based on our current spending, I will offer suggestions on how to cut expenses so that we are back within budget."
5. Make your goal TIME-BASED
A time-based goal has a specific time deadline. You’ll want to determine if your goal is a short-term or long-term goal (or a combination of both). From there, you can determine a timeline and set a schedule to meet deadlines and accomplish your objective. Your timeline should also be realistic and allow you plenty of opportunities to make adjustments to your goal regarding its relevance, specificity and achievability. Consider the final step in the SMART process in the following example.
Applying SMART "Time-based" criteria: "Each month this year, I will distribute a budget report that shows our department’s current expenses in comparison to our allotted annual budget and I will highlight areas where we are overspending. Based on our current spending, I will offer suggestions on how to cut expenses so that we are back within budget."
This goal now fits all the criteria of a SMART goal because it shows how specific the objective is, outlines a way to measure progress, is achievable and relevant to the desired outcome, and sets up a timeline for each milestone.
SMART goals can be an efficient and important tool for teams when collaborating on projects
QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS TEAM TEAM NEWS NEWS
OPERATIONS
Over the past several months many JPS employees have had the opportunity to help us continually improve by participating in what is known as an AAR or After-Action Review.
This process is effective and very important as it impacts our ability to learn from our experiences. Because the AAR process will be happening with more frequency in the future, I would like to take this opportunity to thank those that have participated in the past. I would also like to provide some AAR information that may be beneficial to people that will be participating in their first AAR.
The first After Action Reviews happened within the US Airforce during the Vietnam war. The process proved invaluable, and it didn’t take long for other branches of the military to adopt the technique. The practice evolved and many businesses have since benefited from the use of After-Action Reviews.
There are many ways to conduct an effective AAR, but a standard approach would be to ask four basic questions regarding the event being discussed.
(1) What was planned?
(2) What happened?
(3) What would you do differently next time?
(4) What would you do the same next time?
So, this tells us that the AAR tool should/can be used not only for finding ways to improve, but it can also be used when excellent performance should be replicated.
To realize the maximum benefits of an AAR please remember that active participation is important and that everyone’s views matter. There are no right or wrong answers and at no point should blame be interjected. Always be open to new ideas.
Again, thanks to everyone that has been a part of AAR’s here and thanks in advance to all that will be participating in the future. I couldn’t possibly overstate how important your contributions are.
Finally, I would like to say how impressive our teams’ results were through a very hot and demanding July. Every department showed that they were ready to take on the challenges that come with consistent high temperatures.
Not only did we assure that our customers were “feeling right at home”, but we also did this in a safe and efficient fashion. Congratulations on a busy month that finished with zero lost time incidents! Well done team…
Steve Ramsey
SERVICE
As I sat at my desk during various intervals this past week, I had a smile come to my face in response to both the sight of Steve Vermette playing fashionista with his new life size man-a-kenn, and the report of continuing upward service revenue trend for the 4th consecutive month!
Last month alone was a record breaking revenue for service and maintenance combined, clearing $300K including membership revenue!
The heat wave has been a good test of our training and tech capacity, proving us to be resilient and capable of taking on new challenges. There's been a lot of first time exposure solo tasks for our techs, and we're clear on where we can perform and where we can improve.
Look out - next year this time we'll be more ready than ever to break Q2 records with increased efficiency!
Thanks to the collaboration of all the departments as the flood of busy-ness was met with prepared processes and potential chaos evaded.
Dave Freeman
FINANCE
We've seen a positive trend with a 7% increase in revenue so far this year.
While external factors like weather and economic conditions led to some slower periods, favorable weather in July resulted in a strong performance.
July saw an impressive 62% revenue boost compared to 2023.
We hope to keep this momentum throughout the next 2 months as we wrap up the quarter!
Alana Market
CUSTOMER SERVICE
The Heatwave kept the CSR dept very busy.
Record-breaking month!!
* 3,781 inbound calls
* 2,295 outbound calls
* 2030 website forms
* 2,166 booked jobs
* 176 New JCC members
Loviella had her 1st anniversary with JPS Furnace!!
Shantelle Cappis
HYDRONICS DEPT
Exciting Launch of the Hydronics Department!
We are thrilled to announce the official launch of our Hydronics Department at the start of Q3!
This new department, under my leadership as the department head, marks a significant expansion of our company's capabilities.
I'm proud to introduce our new hydronics technicians, Kody Butchko and Jason Rowe. With their combined expertise and dedication, Kody and Jason are invaluable additions to our team. Their extensive experience and exceptional work ethic will undoubtedly drive our success in this new venture.
Stay tuned for more exciting news in Q4 as we gear up for the highly anticipated launch of our Electrical Department!
We're excited about the growth and new opportunities ahead, and we can't wait to share more with you.
Welcome to Kody and Jason, and thank you all for your continued support!
Steve Vermette
BUSINESS SERVICES
For Q2, we held a few very successful company and departmental events! Thank you to everyone who joined when they could!
Departmental gatherings are an important part of JPS's culture as it boosts morale, increases communications and deepens relations.
We are grateful to be able to enjoy such events. We also hosted a JPS Stampede BBQ packed with axe throwing, a bouncy castle, and yard games! Thanks to Jack for being the BBQ Masterchef this year.
More gatherings will take place over the next two months.
Our 2024 Holiday Party is well into planning and set for the end of November, keep an eye out for more details
Jessica Murray PHOTOSTORY
Huge congratulations to us at JPS Furnace & Air Conditioning for being recognized as one of the top 5 Daikin Distributors in North America and winning the prestigious Daikin "Fit" Sales Award for the third year in a row!
The CSR and members of the Ops team had a ladies night out on the town including a limo escort.
The Installation team went to Launch Pad to swing their best shot
We had an absolute blast at our annual Stampede Brunch. It was an unforgettable experience as we had fun celebrating with friends, family, and even our furry companions. From games to mouth-watering midway treats, it was indeed a Stampede to remember!
Big shout out to Nana our “Chief Organizer” - we appreciate and LOVE you! Keep taking care of us
If you have a social media account and you are not following JPS on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn ? Then you are GULITY AS CHARGED
Follow us today on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn on JPS Furnace & Air Conditioning. Comment, like and share our posts.
HowSmartareYou? HowSmartareYou?
4 PICS & A WORD
Guess what all the images have in common and discover the hidden word
JUSTFORLAUGHS JUSTFORLAUGHS
#1 My boss asked me to put a joke on the first slide of the pre ntation…apparently a picture of my pay s hat he was look
If a neighboring business puts up a sign saying ‘lowest prices’, simply erect your own sign saying ‘main entrance’!
My boss told me to stop acting like a flamingo, so I had to put my foot down.
‘We need somebody for this role who is responsible.’
‘Not a problem, sir. Every time something went wrong in my old job, my manager told me I was always responsible!‘
‘I’m a walking economy, you know’ ‘How so?’
‘My hairline is in recession, my stomach is always in inflation, and these two together bring me into a deep depression’.
EMPLOYEESPOTLIGHT
Name - Tracy Hope Department - Warranty Role - Warranty Coordinator
How long have you been at JPS?
Since September 9th 2022, (2 years)
What do you like the most about JPS?
I like everything about JPS. The work culture and team work and the people.
What is/are your hobbies?
I like to crochet, go for drives with no destination and enjoy spending time with family.
If you where not doing what you are doing at JPS, what else will you be doing?
I can't imagine working anywhere else other than JPS but if I had to it would be nice to maybe go back to school.
Who inspires you the most?
Everyone I work with inspires me. Everyone at JPS roots for each other and they are always willing to help or be a sounding board for problem solving.
What's the one thing you wish you knew before starting out in your career?
Always believe in your own ability and focus on the things that matter, both personally and professionally. You don't know what you can succeed at unless you try.
How do you recharge when you are stressed at work?
I don't get stressed at work a lot but when I do standing in the sun and also having a laugh is great.
Where is your favorite get away location?
I love the mountains and lakes around Fernie BC.
What advise will you give someone joining JPS today?
Enjoy it and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Share your Favorite motivational quote with us.
FROM THE FOUNDER’S DESK
Congratulations everyone for another amazing team effort making it a great second quarter .
I expect the final half of the year to have its challenges, but with the growth we have made I have no doubt we will overcome them all!
Be kind and helpful to one another and continue growing. See you all soon!
James Strilcic
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