Take it from me, being there is half of the battle, and Zoom meetings don’t count. This was true 50 years ago when I was working in our office, and it was true last week when I was in front of customers. There may be a price to pay, but the dividends will surely come back to you, as they have for me – virus or no virus.
For developing truss designers: your skills will come quicker, listening and learning from your design manager or boss, ideally while you’re officed near the production floor. In early years, we needed to hear the complaints of sawyers. Today, you need to experience the dynamics of the truss business – customers, sales, complaints, and resolution. As a good example, Buddy Bennett, owner of Metrolina Truss, started new hires working at a desk in his office. He was there for their questions. And they would see, hear, and better understand how he interacted with customers.
For accomplished designers: you are worth the most as a mentor, within earshot of trainees, and as a resource for outside salespeople and customers. You will also be worth more as you master the tough challenges that walk in the door or call into the office. And you will set a good example for the people who may report to you.
The most productive business relationships develop from working close together. Joe Hikel, CEO of Shelter Systems, found that mistakes and miscommunications declined after everyone returned to the office. Norm Casagrande, as President of Code Plus Truss, built a highly successful business from scratch, by keeping his design team close at hand. So successful, in fact, that BMC purchased it.
If there’s a best time to make the best impression, it’s the end of the year. That’s when business may wane, and managers are making personnel decisions for the coming year. Stay close to your manager and ask him how you are doing, where you need to improve, and how you can best serve the needs of the business.