There are really two sides to communication: First is the interpersonal side of communication, which includes active listening, body language, and eye contact. We discussed those last month. The other side of communication is the system created within the company to facilitate the effective flow of information.
Michael Matrka, president of Michael Matrka Inc., a design/build firm in Columbus, Ohio, uses a series of formal meetings to ensure that the right people get the right information at the right time. Regularly scheduled meetings include the following:
Weekly sales meeting. “We work with an agenda, discuss leads, go over work in backlog, client feedback, marketing tactics, and opportunities coming down the road. It's a very productive meeting,” he says.
Administrative meeting. “I meet with the office manager, sign checks, discuss cash flow, discuss projections, and get my hands around the financial situation of the company,” Matrka says. “Because we've found that some of this makes me irritable, we never hold these meetings at the end of the day, which would leave me stewing about it overnight.”
Office meeting. This one includes everyone in the office — estimator, cabinet shop manager, production manager, and salespeople. “Again, we get everything on the table every week, talk about available resources, what work's in the pipeline, and talk through how to improve the information flow process internally,” he says. “It's made a huge difference in our efficiency.”
Weekly production meeting. “This is held with my production manager only,” Matrka says. “He has his own meeting with the production staff, and I try to stay out of it so that he can grow that team, and grow himself as a manager. So, to keep me apprised of their workload and potential obstacles that might occur, he and I meet alone.”
Company-wide meeting. This is a monthly meeting. “We call this the budget meeting, and it's one of my favorites. We've created a simple spreadsheet that we use as a teaching tool to look at how much has been sold, what gross profit has been produced, how much is in backlog, the overhead dollars we need, and compare everything against last year,” Matrka says. “It's a wonderful opportunity to talk about the big picture and explain why certain things need to happen if we're going to have a successful year.”
In addition to the meetings above, Matrka also spends an hour each and every month with each of his key managers. “It's totally their agenda. I simply make myself available to them,” he says. “My goal with this time is to get to know each of them better, recognize what makes them tick, what motivates them. This knowledge helps me better understand them, and that changes the entire environment in which we work.”
He admits that finding the time for this array of meetings is hard work. “There's no doubt it takes time to hold these meetings,” Matrka says, “but we also know that we can make time for anything we feel is important, and I definitely believe that thorough communication is a priority. It's made a significant difference in our company and now, we're all seeing the success.” —Victoria Downing is president of Remodelers Advantage, Fulton, Md.; 301.490.5620; victoria@remodelersadvantage.com.