50 Issue 254 - August / September 2024 www.signlink.co.uk Iknow the feeling of having to juggle a lot of work, and a production meeting might seem like the last thing you have time for. But trust me, that hour of planning will put you in control of your workload, help boost team morale, and have a positive impact on your customer relationships. 3 REASONS WHY REGULAR MEETINGS HELP YOUR TEAM & CLIENTS! 1. IMPROVED COMMUNICATION: Regular production meetings keep everyone in the loop about project updates, deadlines, and issues that come up. Sign shop owners can build trust and foster a sense of ownership within their team by communicating tasks effectively. This will ultimately lead to greater pride in both the projects your team works on and the company as a whole. David Underwood of Sarasota Sign Shop, a contributing member of the Behind the Signs Facebook community, responded to a recent question about production meetings in the group. He posted that his company has a total of eight employees, three of which are team leads. They huddle twice a week as a whole group for 30 minutes, and David also holds condensed meetings with his shop and install lead. He commented that sometimes it's hard stopping everything to hold meetings with that many people, but it’s a great way to keep everyone on the same page. When I owned Sign Tech International, our lead project manager sent a daily 'Happenings' report via email, detailing which tasks were finished the previous day, currently in progress, and scheduled for the next day. The report served as a prompt for necessary actions related to each task. Those tasks completed the previous day might require actions like arranging final permit inspections or sending completion photos and invoices. Tasks scheduled for the current day needed confirmation that everything was on track with no issues. Tasks scheduled for the next day might require contacting the client for access to a building or storefront. It all boiled down to effective production management and communication between our team and clients. IMPACT ON TEAM RELATIONSHIPS: Regular production meetings improve communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, which reduces misunderstandings and conflicts between team members. This creates a positive work environment where your team feels valued and respected, which builds stronger bonds. IMPACT ON CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS: When the team communicates well, clients receive better service. Being informed about project details and timelines will help provide accurate updates, manage client expectations, and address concerns promptly. This builds trust in the company's ability to deliver quality signage solutions, which leads to more work. 2. EFFICIENT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Production meetings allow you and your team to identify bottlenecks early on and work on solutions that minimise delays and maximise productivity. For example, if the printer is busy with a big project for two days, consider outsourcing the work. This way, you can complete smaller projects on time and invoice the jobs more quickly, which helps cash flow, and keeps your clients happy. Another example is if the paint department was backed up, it would help to hire a night shift worker to prep the signs for the day shift painters. Having regular meetings ensures that you and your team can see these issues arise and work together to creatively manage resources in ways that preserve company profits and meet client expectations. Amanda Yates, a sign shop production manager and Behind the Signs community member, has worked at two separate sign shops over the years – a smaller shop that had seven to eight team members, and a larger shop with 17 to 20 production team members. The smaller shop had very short lead times with 40 to 50 orders on the floor Founder of SignTracker, Joe Arenella offers his advice on why holding regular production meetings can be the key to taking charge of your work and avoiding chaos Joe Arenella founded two sign shops before launching SignTracker, a software program that helps sign shop owners track their jobs, quote more consistently, and provide their team a birds-eye view into what’s going on in the shop. Joe is also the host of the Behind the Signs Facebook group and YouTube video podcast. www.sign-tracker.com INDUSTRY TIPS / JOE ARENELLA, SIGNTRACKER The Benefits of Holding Regular Production Meetings
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