The Importance of Getting Your HR Ducks in a Row

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Author: Kristen Harper

The Fristoe GroupI joined the Kenton Brothers team with the help of The Fristoe Group. Due to a personal relationship between Gina Stuelke and Daren Fristoe, the door was opened to create a business relationship when KB was in need of a Controller/HR Manager position filled.

After a couple of meetings and some good coffee with TFG, I knew that the KB team was where I wanted to work. The time was taken to ensure both myself and KB were looking for the same end result and that we would mesh well as a team. There was a high level of personal approach and interaction that is lacking in a lot of business encounters today. This really set the experience apart, which is what made it work so well!

Getting Your HR Ducks in a RowSince joining the team, I’ve developed a great working relationship with TFG. I can’t explain how important it is to any organization to get their Human Resource policies in place. Here are some relevant examples:

  • Not having I-9’s completed and correctly stored can put a company at risk for major penalties.
  • A properly written and constructed employee handbook can save a company thousands of dollars in legal fees and help limit liability.
  • Making sure your organization has properly implemented the new FLSA labor laws is critical.

TFG really puts their focus on finding a fluid and customized result that is priced effectively for their client’s needs.

Make sure you have your HR Ducks in a Row. And if you need help, give TFG a call!

Making Memories with a Christmas Tree Stand from the 1950s

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Author: Neal Bellamy

Heirloom Tree StandSome of my fondest Christmas-time childhood memories are of our tree, the stand and the entire process of getting everything ready for the season. We had a tree stand that was so unique, that none of my friends or family had one like it. Ours was gold, it was built in the 1950s and weighed 20 pounds, but the coolest thing is it rotated the real tree and you controlled the lights by flicking little switches. It changed our entire process around setting up our Christmas tree.

Every year when we headed out to go find a tree, it had to be perfect all the way around, because there was no hiding the bad spot in the corner. Ornaments; we had to have a lot, and they needed to cover the entire tree… not just what you could see when it wasn’t turning. The lights were actually made easier, you just plug them in at the bottom, turn them on, then rotate the tree and guide the lights up as they installed themselves. The electric music box in the tree was simple, and I still remember exactly how it sounded.

When I had children, I wanted to re-create the entire experience.

Heirloom Tree StandIt took me a couple of years, but I was able to track down a stand just like our old one. Mine is white, with gold glitter, very 1950s. I’m still amazed at the inventiveness of the stand.

It’s funny how sometimes the new and old technologies don’t always work well together. Apparently, the 1950s trees were lighter, narrower and more balanced than the trees of the 2000s. I had to rebuild the gearbox because our trees were too heavy and eventually stripped the gears. The trees don’t always fit into the base because the trunks are too big. Twice now, because of a crooked trunk, the tree has tipped over, causing a huge mess and many broken ornaments.

Thankfully none of that has dampened my children’s spirits. We still go field to field looking for the perfect tree. They enjoy turning on the tree and making it spin. Only now, I make them look up the trunk to make sure it’s straight. It’s amazing to me that sometimes the simplest things can make such a lasting impression.

Snowflakes

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SnowflakesWhat is a Kenton Brothers snowflake?

Our staff has come up with a unique way to handle snowflakes, otherwise known as a complicated issue or procedure. A snowflake can be a real problem.

We label an issue as a snowflake and let the entire team know what’s coming down the pipes. The team has found that this fun way of labeling a difficult or challenging problem puts things in a different perspective. For some reason, it makes the problem a bit less scary so that we can focus on coming up with solutions.

Everyone enjoys stepping up to the challenge and figuring out how to solve the various tasks as a group. And a good amount of teasing will be given to the person that the snowflake issue started with!

SnowflakesOur sales team has found that if they throw too many snowflakes at the accounting team at the same time… a box of chocolates or a French Silk Pie might be a necessary peace offering.

And it’s the time of year when we can go outside and have a good ole fashioned snowball fight… with real snow… for team-building.

We want to wish everyone a happy holiday from our team at Kenton Brothers, and enjoy those snowflakes while you can!

The Pain and the Pleasure of Modernization

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Oh, the pain! That searing white pain that starts in the temples. You can feel it enter every synapse in your brain.

ModernizationThe questions start…

How can I move my company forward? Are my competitors passing me by? How do I break down the walls of that dreaded, dark, deplorable word: LEGACY. Do I throw it all away and start over? How do I get with the times?  And worst of all… How much is it going to cost me?

As a business owner, or as the head of any organization, you’ve faced these questions at some point. It can be scary, and it can be downright dangerous. In this blog, I wanted to share some lessons I’ve learned by taking on some of these questions related to Kenton Brothers and our 120-year-old legacy.

Our legacy dates back to the days when we did umbrella repair and sharpened lawn mower blades between locksmith jobs.

ModernizationToday, we’re a company that installs and services state-of-the-art access control and IP video surveillance for government agencies, universities, banks and thousands of small businesses all over Kansas City. That said, we still love being the areas most trusted locksmith.

So on to the lessons I’ve learned…

Lesson 1: Expect to make mistakes!

In business, you’re taught to avoid mistakes and mitigate risk as much as possible. While this is true, every executive on any board will tell you that they made plenty of mistakes along the way. So don’t get caught up thinking that everything should be going more smoothly. It won’t. Just like in combat, the plan goes out the window the moment the first shot is fired.

Lesson 2: Where you start makes a HUGE difference!

This was a hard lesson to learn but also very important. As Stephen Covey and our CEO Gina Stuelke says, “Begin with the end in mind.”

In our case, this was critical because the path changes based on the daily socialization and execution of our team. Where we want to end up will never change. It gives us a solid target to keep our eye on when things go sideways – and they will – bet on it! So create a plan that has the end clearly defined. What will you measure to know whether or not the transition was successful?

Lesson 3: Embrace your legacy!

Yes – go ahead and give it a huge, crushing hug! The legacy that you have may be an obstacle to moving forward, but it’s ingrained in your organization –so love it up! This was my hardest lesson to learn. As a “finisher” I want SO badly to check the done box and finish the task so that I could revel in the fact that we accomplished something.

I wanted to see LED signage in our office displaying the most up to date Key Performance Indicator (KPI) information.

What I found is that the things that make us successful come from our legacy. Our core values, our work ethic, our continued commitment to our culture. This is the magic sauce that will drive the results and market share we’re looking for.

Lesson 4: Modernization, like success, is a journey… not a destination – so take pictures!

You never truly reach the level of modernization you hope to as the world around you is constantly reinventing itself… while you are trying to do the same.

With today’s world made up of “The Internet of Things” and devices taking advantage of artificial intelligence and the cloud – one can only hope to stay ahead of the curve. So… enjoy it! Yes, relish the fact that you are pushing the envelope and exploring new territory.

Once in a while, take a look around and take some pictures. This will give you visual evidence of any progress you’re making. Look at the numbers, ask your team how they are feeling. I would recommend you do this monthly. This will give you a clear picture of the progress while allowing your team time to move the ball.

Lesson 5: Caution! The change curve ahead.

As you’ve read several times in other places, change is handled differently by everyone. Spend time understanding this reality.

Early adopters are great and make it a lot easier by proving it works, but the team members with the most experience and knowledge tend to be the most afraid of change. They have the most value in the current system. Engage them early and often because they’re the ones with a strong sense of culture and work ethic. This was by far my greatest lesson learned.

One last encouragement…

Lean on your team and let them lean on you. Transition is hard, so much harder than you can imagine sometimes – but it will get better as long as you communicate and keep supporting each other. Once in a while, get out and have some fun together!

Yes, we do that.

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Every Kenton Brothers project starts with an interview with our client about how they’ll be using our equipment.

The conversation usually involves keys, locks, video cameras, and access control. We ask lots of questions to understand their needs and goals. We usually have a solution ready to go that has the right mix of technologies to meet the requirements of the project.

Sometimes, our existing solutions don’t fit the opportunity and we search for a better answer.

SW 7018 DovetailIt’s becoming more frequent that our client (or their architect) is concerned with the aesthetics of our installation. An example would be where a camera should be mounted on the building. They might also want the cameras to blend into the color scheme. They might want the camera to be gray or black, or they might be incredibly specific with a paint request like Sherwin Wiliams 7018 Dovetail.

Many companies would just slap their equipment on the side of the building and call it good. We don’t think that’s the right answer. We’ve gone as far as painting every camera for a client with SW 7018 Dovetail paint to make sure it blends perfectly with their building.

Not settling for mediocre.

Interesting Wiring ProblemI’ve seen some very nice wiring in access control panels, but not every panel is properly labeled and not all of the cables were run in an organized way.

The most interesting (and somewhat confusing) wiring job I’ve seen was an access control / intercom / alarm system that had all the wiring hanging freely under the receptionist’s desk. There were probably 300 connections under their desk and a dozen relays and timers. All of this was located where the receptionist could take the entire system down with an out-of-control swivel of their chair.

We weren’t okay leaving things in such disarray. Armed with some wiring toners and a couple of skilled installers, we cleaned up the wiring and protected the equipment from accidental interference.

Never been done before?

Sometimes what makes a project special is that it’s never been done before. We’ve become proficient with countless new systems and technical applications over the years. The pace at which new products are released or updated is staggering.

The most interesting new solution I’ve seen recently is when a university wanted to integrate their school administration system into the access control solution. The idea was that the access card a student is issued could be assigned from the school administration system during enrollment.

The access control system had an Application Programming Interface (API) and the school system runs on Oracle. A little software development isn’t going to stand in the way, so a few months of programming and voila, an integrated system that does just that!

Technical challenges are nothing new at Kenton Brothers. We strive to understand and solve your problems. If you have an interesting problem, we’d love to hear about it.

Because, yes, we do that.