SIEB HEATING, PLUMBING AND AIR CONDITIONING – EFFECTIVELY USING TEAMS IN A SERVICE INDUSTRY

TEAM MEMBERS:RYAN RAFKOSTEVEN WAYSUE DANKEKRISTENE JACKSONMELANIA ESTESCAREEA NORDÈ

SIEB HEATING, PLUMBING AND AIR CONDITIONING

Oldest family-owned plumbing and heating company in the United States

One stop plumbing and HVAC company for a lifetime

“Trust is a Must” Well-trained technicians with high

quality workmanship

Ryan Rafko

ROB SIEB - PRESIDENT

Spoke to Rob Sieb who is the current president of the company

5th generation of family to run the business

Been with the company officially for 37 years

Oversees all operations of company with a very hands-on approach

12 questions asked about the company and its approach to using teams effectively

Ryan Rafko

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE OFFICE

4 divisions housed under one roof Service - Plumbing and Heating and AC

issues for installed equipment (breakdowns, troubleshooting, etc)

Commercial - Heating and Air Conditioning (Installs of new equipment)

Residential – Heating and Air Conditioning (Installs of new equipment)

Industrial – Plumbing and Heating (Service and Install)

Ryan Rafko

A TYPICAL DAY CONSIST IN THE OFFICE

Every day is different depending on appointments and issues that arise

As President he may go out on a call to a major client, trouble shoot on a job with an employee, be in the office conducting meetings, or doing paperwork required of being a small business owner

Chris Musselwhite said “…the team leader must provide the necessary support and structure for the team, starting with putting together the right people” and “Creating an environment that promotes problem-solving as part of creating an effective team structure”

Ryan Rafko

EMPLOYEES

20-25 full-time. Usually have additional employees hired as apprentices and temporary help.

Steven Way

BRINGING THE TEAM TOGETHER

They have weekly required safety meeting and other meeting as deemed necessary.

Steven Way

YOUR COMPANY HANDLES A VARIETY OF HEATING, PLUMBING, AND COOLING

ISSUES. SPECIALIZED TEAMS

Each division is essentially its own separate team. They have employees who are assigned to each division and will handle jobs based on the need.

Many employees are able to help other divisions as needed if the workload calls for it.

Cross-training is essential so that jobs and quotes on projects can be held to the standard that Sieb sets forth for its customers.

Steven Way

APPROACH

Sieb Heating, Plumbing and Air Conditioning have developed a teaming approach with their sub-contractors.

Sue Danke

THINGS THAT CAN AFFECT A PROJECT

Atkinson et al., 2006 state “there are many sources of uncertainty that can affect a project and include among other things ambiguity, differing culture and characteristics of the project partners” (as cited in Clarke 2012, p. 200)

Sue Danke

TEAMWORK

Sieb has put aside any problematic issues in order to build a lasting relationship with outside contractors and form a team.

This has enabled them to complete project s within the deadline constraints.

Further, keeping the customers satisfied

Sue Danke

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Rivera-Vazquez et at., 2009 state “knowledge sharing is the process where individuals mutually exchange both tacit and explicit knowledge, and jointly create new knowledge “ (as cited in Swart & Harvey, 2010, p. 708).

Sieb has an excellent reputation in the community and has had years to develop its continued knowledge.

Sue Danke

INNOVATION

Even though the company could rely on its knowledgeable staff and its top-of-the-line service for continued success, they still keep an eye on any possible threat to their business.

In their research, Curran, Niedergassel, Picker, and Leker (2009), argue “firms are realizing that they need to improve their innovation ability to foster growth and profitability” (p. 458)

Sue Danke

STAY ON TOP

Sieb is staying on top of the industry by maintaining vigilance in innovation and technology.

Sue Danke

COMMUNICATION

How the Teams Communicate

Almost all communication occurs Face-to-Face Via cell phone

Questions/Problems? Phone Employees and/or

supervisor Jackson,Kristene.2013

Kristene Jackson

TEAM COMMUNICATION

The truth about communication

Communication failures

Improving communication As a team member As a team leader

Kristene Jackson

MOTIVATIONAL TOOLSHow do you motivate the team to accomplish goals? Money

Recognize and communicate a job well done

“Employees care about the image of the company and how their work reflects it.”

Motivateplay.com

Kristene Jackson

IMPROVEMENT THROUGH MOTIVATION

What is motivation and do all teams have it?

Where has the motivation gone? Finding motivation “Positive leadership inspires and

motivates teamwork” (Glenn, 2010, p. 140).

Kristene Jackson

ORGANIZATION CONFLICT Policies in place to avoid conflict

Alcohol, drug abuse, tardiness policy Contract employees are sent back to the Local Union

Hall for disciplinary measures Full time employees are also held to these policies

Employee conflict Listen to each side and bring employees together for

conflict resolution If employees are not able to work together

termination could be the next step Stirring the pot

Employees working together may create a disruption but the core team is able to overcome these obstacles

Melania Estes

COMPANY EXPECTATIONS

First time through capability Customer service

Full time employees held to this measure To complete the task the first time without

going back to a site If employees are not capable to support this

requirement they can be let go or if they are a temporary employee, there services are no longer needed

Melania Estes

WRAPPING UP

How important is team work in the success of a business?

Vital - Team work is extremely important in any organization or company.

In a company that has been around as long as Sieb’s, understanding the fundamentals of teamwork has been advantageous.

Having the ability to identify, address and resolve problems or issues that arrive in a timely fashion is also important.

Careea Nordè

RECAPPING

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL TEAMWORK

Trust Dependability Working as an

individual, yet being a team player

Having Hands-On Leadership

Meeting Frequently Being Innovative

Utilizing additional help

Customer Satisfaction Swift Problem-Solving Knowledge is Power Employee

Empowerment Communicate Motivate

Careea Nordè

OUR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

To get an idea of how your company works, what does a typical day consist of in the office?

How many employees do you have and do you have an employee meeting to bring them together as a team?

Your company handles a variety of heating, plumbing and cooling issues. Do you have specialized teams to handle these different tasks?

Does your company use teams for specific projects? Do you ever involve anyone from outside the company

to help on team projects in order to get a variety of perspectives, such as suppliers?

Do you visit supplier shows or benchmark other competitors to have an understanding of their business processes?

OUR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CONT’D

Could you give us an example of how the teams communicate?

How do you motivate teams to accomplish goals? How do teams in your organization handle conflict? Do you get involved with team conflict, and, if so,

how do you deal with it? How do you handle members of the group

complaining about the same person? Has one of your teams failed at accomplishing a

task or not met your expectations? If so, how did you handle it?

REFERENCESBecker, E.F., & Wortmann, J. (2009). Mastering communication at

work: How to lead, manage and influence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Clarke, N. (2012). Shared leadership in projects: A matter of substance over style. Team Performance Management, 18(3), 196-209. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527591211241024

Cottrell, D. (2009). Monday morning motivation. New York, NY: Harper Business.

Curran, C., Niedergassel, B., Picker, S., & Leker, J. (2009). Project leadership skills in cooperative projects. Management Research News, 32(5), 458-468. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01409170910952958

Glenn, S. (2010). A kicky in the attitude. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Gostick, A., & Elton, C. (2010). The orange revolution: How one great team can transform an entire organization. New York, NY: Free Press.

REFERENCES CONT’DMaxwell, J.C. (2001). The 17 indisputable laws of teamwork. Nashville,

TN: Thomas Nelson.

Musselwhite, C. (2007). Building and Leading High Performing Teams. Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20070101/musselwhite.html

Swart, J., & Harvey, P. (2011). Identifying knowledge boundaries: The case of networked projects. Journal of Knowledge Management, 15(5), 703-721. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673271111174285

Topchik, G.S. (2007). The first-time manager’s guide to team building. New York, NY: Silverstar Enterprises.

WE HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED OUR PRESENTATION

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

RYAN

STEVEN

KRISTENE

MELANIA

SUE

CAREEA