By Matt Wilson, NTEA President
Chairman & CEO of Switch-N-Go,
AmeriDeck & Bucks Divisions of Deist Industries Inc.
This article was published in the May 2016 edition of NTEA
News.
This article is the first in a series on employee
recruitment and retention. As outlined during the 2016 President’s Breakfast in
March, this topic will be a focal point of NTEA for the duration of my term and
beyond.
My experience
I spent the
first few years of my professional career working for financial service firms
around the United States. Like most jobs, it had its pluses and minuses.
One thing these companies really focused on was career
development, and an element of this process was a formal mentoring program.
Within my first week of employment, I was assigned peer and leadership
mentors.
The peer mentor was an employee who had been with
the firm about a year and could relate to many of the daily issues
new hires come across. I met with this individual on a quarterly basis — usually
over coffee or lunch — and we would run through any questions I had or
situations I was facing. This mentor shared insights and helped identify
potential solutions to my current concerns.
My leadership mentor was a partner within the firm who
was focused more on my career advancement and making sure I was adequately
challenged by my work teams or clients. We met twice a year, and there was a
formal process which included documentation and scheduled follow-up to address
any remaining open-ended items.
After joining Deist Industries, I started working in the
field with Owen Simmons, one of our outside sales representatives. He was
trending toward the end of his truck equipment industry career and had a wealth
of knowledge he was willing to share. During his time with our company and
beyond, Owen would write or call to see how I was doing and mention industry
best practices and national/world articles he thought would be beneficial. While
I only worked with Owen for a few years and our careers were at different
stages, he took the time to go the extra mile with me. I grew from this
opportunity and will always appreciate how he helped me transition into this
industry.
Current practices
Although we
are a small business and resources can be tight at times, we have tried to
implement forms of mentoring to provide employees with the framework needed to
excel. For example, when our workforce lacked management experience, we hired a
part-time person, Joe Gausman, who was nearing the close of his career and had
accumulated wisdom he could share with our young leaders. Providing business
insights was not his only job, but he excelled at it, priding himself on being a
resource and coach. He helped develop many of our supervisors and managers
during his five years with us. Now, those individuals carry forward those
teachings with their direct reports. This is an ongoing practice. As the company
has grown and more experienced people are hired, we make it known that mentoring
and developing colleagues are job expectations.
Additionally, our newer team members are encouraged to
become active in NTEA’s Generation
Next program. Membership provides excellent
training opportunities and a great network of industry professionals who may be
working in similar situations.
I continue to have mentors in my life, as well —
industry-related or not — and value their input greatly. For instance, I meet
with a group of business owners on a quarterly basis. We discuss business, life
and anything else that fits into the breakfast dialog at our neighborhood diner.
Beyond this, I have continued relationships with more experienced business and
industry professionals. My time on NTEA’s Board of Trustees has enabled me to
cross paths with many good people who are fellow industry leaders. While none of
these contacts is a formal mentor relationship, I benefit from having
conversations with those who have collectively done more than I will ever do in
the work truck industry.
Resources
If mentoring is not
already part of your company’s employee recruitment and retention strategy, I
hope you consider the benefits of implementing this practice. I know I have
benefited personally from formal and informal mentoring all of my career.
Following are some resources you may find
helpful.
- NTEA can help you sharpen
professional growth within your organization. Members can take advantage of
online education, monthly webinars, sessions featured at premier events like
The
Work Truck Show®, Executive
Leadership Summit, and more.
- Generation Next is a program
free to employees of NTEA member companies who have less than 10 years of
service in the work truck industry. Discover this career
development opportunity at ntea.com/generationnext.
- Young Presidents’ Organization
(YPO) is a premier peer network of chief executives and business leaders,
providing access to education and networking. Learn more at ypo.org.
Many colleges and universities offer family business centers to support
family-owned companies. Check local listings to identify options in
your area.