Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/134362
MaNageMEnt (continued from page 48) fnishing times (fexible fnishing times for feld employees). Vacationschedulesandsicktimerulesmustbeset.Likewise, the penalties for employees who miss excessive time or violate company rules must be defned. • Defned Vehicle Maintenance Programs –Vehicles and equipment such as trailers, fork lifts and scissors lifts represent substantial capital investment for dealerships. Maintaining these assets is critical. Successful frms develop fxedschedulesformaintainingequipment.SomeuseGPS to warn the service is due. Rules are put in place assuring the equipment is clean. Strong marketing frms make sure their trucks are well lettered making the company vehicles attractive moving billboards. • Safety Meetings – A set, routine program for safety training is a must. Firms that hold weekly or monthly safety meeting provide training in on-the-job safety procedures, resulting in fewer injuries from avoidable accidents, less lost time, and often resulting in lower insurance premiums. Safety programs also allow owners and managers, burdened with the responsibility of employee safety, to sleep better at night. • Training – Whether the employee is new to the door industry or a veteran from another door company and whether the employee is a feld tech or an offce person, training is a critical managerial responsibility. The feld employee needs to understand procedures from where to fnd and how to pay for truck fuel to how and where to get routine maintenance. The new hire, just starting to learn how to install a garage door, must go through a defned apprentice period, with another experienced tech assuring the owner/manager that the new tech is trained well enough and ready to go on a job alone. Many times, management will formalize training through vendor sponsored training sessions geared toward training feld employees on the advantages and idiosyncrasies of the vendor's products. Likewise,newnon-feldpersonnelsuchasan offce clerk or a new sales person must frst learn the business, understand the corporate policies, and be trained to perform his or her job in a manner acceptable to the dealership owner. Basic skills such as how to navigate the computer system must be taught. Training 50 International Door & Operator Industry™ reduces the learning curve for new employees allowing the new employees to be productive sooner. Managers who procrastinate in providing training for new employees not only cost their company unnecessary expense, but also create avoidable anxiety with the new employee. • Financial Management – Financial management includes many necessary tasks. Organizing and supervising a quarterly or yearly complete physical inventory is critical. Unless an inventory is routinely taken, tallied and totaled, the cost of goods sold cannot be accurately determined. Banking procedures must be created and followed from getting deposits to the bank to tracking bank accounts to dealing with bankers for new operating loans or establishing a line of credit. The management must understand who is responsible for each of these functions. Managementandthefrm'sCPAmustsetaccountingrules and procedures. Someone in the frm has to track sales, accounts receivables and collections along with keeping the checkbook current and balanced in order to monitor the company's cash fow status. Financial management includes frequently verifying that current pricing for goods and services guarantees the frm will enjoy adequate gross margins for all of its sales. Finally, capital purchases such as new installation and service vehicles as well as trailers, forklifts and scissors lifts should frst be included in the business plan and then the actual purchase negotiated by the owner or a designated manager. Continued on page 53