Mary Miller, CEO
Imagine coming into work one day and hearing, “make a list of the dreams you want to achieve in your life and as a company we will help you through the process; whether it is purchasing your first home, going back to school, or and even learning a new language. Sound like something only a mom and pop boutique business could pull off? Not so! These team building ideas are easy for any business leader to implement.
JANCOA Janitorial Services, Inc. currently employs over 300 employees and through their Dream Manager Program sees annual sales exceeding $10 million with an added bonus of a 300% decrease in employee turnover. Not only is the Dream Manager Program a great icebreaker for leadership and teambuilding development, but opens the door to employee communication, collaboration and expanded team building ideas.
Mary Miller, CEO and owner, of JANCOA Janitorial Service, Inc. is an award-winning, family owned and operated, commercial cleaning service located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mary is known for her energy, positive outlook, and a desire to learn and help others realize their uniqueness and personal power. Mary states that the biggest innovation for JANCOA was the development of the Dream Manager, which grew from an employee retention program into an inspiring example of what a business can be.
Through JANCOA’s revolutionary program, Mary encourages her employees to identify their dreams and take real action steps to achieve those dreams, which has led to a 300 percent decrease in employee turnover with an ambitious goal of 10% company growth per year. All this in a commercial real estate market that has been battling steady decreases in occupancy!
Some dreams conceived and accomplished by Dream Manager Program participants include:
- Working on their financial situation, including the Financial Peace Program
- Furthering their education by earning a GED and college degree
- Purchasing a home or automobile
- Starting a small business
- Mending personal relationships
- Stop smoking
- Creating their own Dream Manager charities
- Adopting a child
- Launched individual and team fitness and wellness programs
- Starting their dream career after their time at JANCOA
- Continuing career growth within JANCOA
The result was a team of employees that felt good about themselves and became more engaged in their work, resulting in consistent quality. In the cleaning industry, a turnover of 350 percent per year in not unusual. Mary stopped the revolving door in their business by creating an environment that would attract and keep the best people. Their turnover rate went from 360 percent to 45 percent while productivity doubled, showing a bigger profit benchmark than predicted.
“The “magic” we found,” states Mary, “is that when we started to take care of our employees, they took care of our customers. Our basic message to employees is that no matter where you come from, no matter what level of income or education you’ve attained, you can lead a productive, fulfilling life—and you can make your dreams become reality.”
Through Mary’s tremendous efforts and her legendary employee benefits program, the Dream Manager, she has created an exceptional work environment and a truly successful organization. With innovative processes, team building ideas and equipment, JANCOA’s fulltime employees now benefit from paid training and career development programs, which they have used to realize dreams like improving their English, earning college degrees, buying a first home, and even starting a business of their own.
Besides greatly reduced turnover rates, a profitable bottom line, and a healthy annual growth rate, what other rewards does JANCOA see from their Dream Manager Program? Mary says her staff is regularly recognized for their exceptional courtesy, skill, attention to detail, which attract a lot of new business by word of mouth.
By creating processes that provide value and efficiencies for customers, business partners, and team members, JANCOA continues to be the industry leader in the Greater Cincinnati commercial cleaning market. JANCOA works with a large number of schools and medical buildings to provide a green and healthy environment for their facilities.
Mary sums it all up by stating, “In today’s business world, uniqueness of your employees is what helps to set you apart from your competition. It’s part of what creates your organization’s culture. The uniqueness of personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a one-dimensional group into a team with diversity and flavor.” So the next time an organization plans a team building event, start by assessing team skill levels and build from there to greater employee retention, loyalty, and cooperation.
Copyright TIGERS Success Series by Dianne Crampton
About TIGERS Success Series
TIGERS helps leaders and consultants build teams of engaged and loyal employees. Download a complimentary report of the responses of 2835 Senior Global HR Executives who commented on whether Team Building is a Waste of Time at http://www.member.corevalues.com Learn what these leaders had to say about trust and communication and other valuable team building ideas, too.
