23. Create a Fun Work Environment

Andrea and Griffin discuss our second value under the Be Positive Tenet, "Create a Fun and Enjoyable Work Environment"

Also, CAB ratings, truck keys and ponder the personalities of our mix designs.

Values Poster: https://hahnrmg.com/about/values

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to Load It, the Hahn Ready Mix podcast with Andrea Meyer, Griffin Hahn, and producer Lex. Hi everyone.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

How's it going today?

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Very good. It's finally not raining and not over a hundred degrees. It feels like a nice day.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

So nice out there. Although that haze is weird. Is that Canadian wildfires again?

SPEAKER_00 0:27

I have no idea, but I'm just being grateful for what we have today. Compared to all the other days.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Blame Canada. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

What a terrible, terrible month or months of summer weather.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Yes. It's been horrible. The weather has been. Just 99 degrees and 100% humidity or raining. Raining.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

My every day. My front yard and my backyard are both swamp land. Like especially my kids have a trampoline in the backyard, and it I'm afraid they're going to get completely eaten by mosquitoes when they go out there because there's a complete swamp underneath.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Yeah. When I when I talk to other people that aren't in this industry and they're like, the weather hasn't been that bad. And I'm like, you you don't get it if we get an inch of rain at 5 a.m. Even if it's done by six, we're done for the day.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Every day calling for rain.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

And so um people are like, oh, you know, it was sunny most of the days this week because well, after it rained for an inch.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

So while you were still sleeping, we were awake, mad about the rain.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Yes. Yes. What uh announcements do you have for this week?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Uh I want to talk about keys again, but I have a different, a different perspective this time. I've just been uh begging and pleading for people to put their keys back, but I actually did some work myself on reorganizing the keys and sorting through the spare keys and all of the unmarked keys. So I have a really good idea now what we have and what we don't have.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

I'm pretty confident in my spare key set that I have in the dispatch office. So if we ever are missing a key, a primary key, we can find a spare pretty easily. So I think we've made some improvements in the process, and I appreciate everybody's patience and helping with that. And I think we're in a much better place now.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

Good. Nice work.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Thanks for taking that on.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

It's been it's been fun. I actually have my 12-year-old daughter is here right now putting labels on another key storage area.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Good.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

Family effort.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Well, I had a few announcements. Um when we talked about we're gonna get started in Wilton on some paving coming up. So everybody that um doesn't get to Wilton very much will have that opportunity. A reminder for all of our quad city drivers in particular that are used to central mixed plants. You know, we got to make sure we get our full revs in before we leave the yard in in Wilton and any of our dry batch plants. So uh but we're excited to get going on that project. Another thing, we get periodic updates from our insurance company on our cab rating. What is that? Do you know what that stands for? I don't know what that stands for.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Um I'm sure I did at one point, but I don't right now.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Basically, it's what law enforcement looks at for when we get pulled over, how well do we score, right? Yes. So that is an important metric for both our insurance rates, and it also informs law enforcement how often they should pull us over. So they're sitting there, they watch our truck drive by, they may look us up, look at our cab rating, and that determines whether they're gonna chase us down or not to go.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Is this worth the effort to look into?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Right, right. So on most topics, we're doing as we have like zero infractions, everything is is really good. Um under the topic of unsafe driving, uh, we have our score has risen a bit, and we're still well below the threshold of where they would change the law enforcement tactics. But it's something we definitely don't want to keep this trend going because that will result in us getting pulled over more, and obviously we have often perishable loads on, and you know, we just we don't want us or or our drivers to get any more tickets or anything. But most of that rating has gone up because of failure to wear a seatbelt or speeding. So if we can just really make sure that we're being careful, the seatbelt should be just kind of an unconscious thing we do every time we get in the truck and and make sure we're paying attention. We have help from the Samsera cameras to make sure we're not speeding. Um, so but we can do better on that front. And and it's not like we've had a ton, but more than we've had in previous years. So we just need to keep stand up.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

We do not need to draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves by simple things like not wearing a seatbelt. There's enough tricky things or innocent mistakes that can be made that a seatbelt is just such an obvious thing to make sure we we do that.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

I had another announcement related to the keyboard. I noticed um working back there that that's kind of a central gathering place for everyone in the morning. If you have to come in and get your keys, you're obviously there. So I saw an opportunity uh by the time this podcast comes out. I'm committing to having a nice place to post announcements. So one thing that I will try to update every week is information about this podcast, you know, reminding people that there's a new episode and what the episode's about, so it might uh pique their interest in in checking it out. But I also wanted to add a whiteboard back there so anybody could put a question or topics down for the podcast or for anything else. And I'll check back there every day and see if anything comes up. Just make it a little bit easier.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Cool. Cool. We talked about the weather and how challenging that has been, and that's definitely affected our business, but also our you know, the local construction economy is it's awful right now. So there's not a lot going on. And so I just want to reiterate to everybody how the magnitude of kind of mistakes or not paying attention to the details uh is even bigger at this at this kind of time because the the uh aggressiveness of our competitors, right, is everybody's looking for work means that we have when we're trying to differentiate on our customer experience, we have to be perfect on that. And we've had some issues over the last couple weeks that I'm really proud of how we've responded to those issues and we've done things right. But I feel like some of them were avoidable. Um, if we would have just paid some closer attention or um or or or double-checked our work and things like that. So please everyone just remember that impacting the customers in a situation like this when things are slow, we we never want to negatively impact our customers. But you know, it makes it harder to win the next job. So we need to be ultra laser focused on making sure that we're crossing our T's and dotting our I's to do things right for our customers.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

So Yeah, it's been kind of painful watching us struggle at a lower volume when we should be it should be easier for us to do so well at a lower volume. So I want I really want everybody to get focused again on doing our best, even when we're not operating at 120% capacity.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Aaron Powell We've talked about this before. It's it's it's kind of illogical, it doesn't make sense, but we seem to be better with our hair on fire. Yeah. That like if when we are, you know, a hundred percent resources committed and and just kind of playing whack-a-mole trying to stay on top of everything, we seem to nail it. And then when it's when it's uh a little bit slower, things slip through the cracks. So I think that's a focus thing, right? So we just need to make sure we're we're staying on top of it.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Uh I have a fun announcement. Uh appreciate everybody that went out to all the drivers that took trucks out to the BIX.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Uh speaking of bad weather, man, we can even get a break for the BIX.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

I don't know. I I went out to watch it with the boys and it rained while we were getting in place. And then as soon as the race started, it kind of stopped raining. And it was actually like one of the coolest BIXs as far as temperature that I remember. So that was a great time. Talking about the BIX afterwards. We were joking around about the battle up Brady, which they have like high school teams and they have individual races. They also have a sponsor race, a sponsor relay race. And just so happens, we are a sponsor of the BICS. So we can participate, and we have never really even looked into it. We can participate in the relay battle up Brady. So it's just a 400-meter sprint up Brady Street, four legs, so four four people would sprint 100 meters. So I think next year we're gonna try to put to keep put a team together.

SPEAKER_00 8:54

Well, it's more than think you're going to. You've committed. You've committed. You're doing it, and it's up to you to find the three fastest people in the company to do it with you.

SPEAKER_01 9:03

I am committed to trying to do it, but here's the thing: we we have to be fair about this. And the only way to be fair is to do qualifying. So we're going to have to we'll set up on John Fell Road by the office here. If any anybody's interested, we get closer to next. We got to, you know, gotta see who's in shape. Come next.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Well, yeah, you have a year to prepare. You could get in shape just for this.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yes. But we'll do the four fastest people that can run a hundred meter dash.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Uh boy, I can just see people lined up to sign up to do this.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Oh, I think it's we're gonna have to do like multiple heats.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

It's gonna be I can already see Lex has volunteered. He raised his hand immediately. Like he thinks he should be on the team.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah. Well, so the best part was we were joking about this and saying, you know, trying to say, well, who could be on the team, you know, Lex could do it, Sam could do it. And uh Jeff got all offended and he's like, hey, Drake relays 1991.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

And of course, of course he thinks he's the fastest person here.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

So that also borne out just a one-on-one. Jeff and I have to race because he thinks he's faster than me, and I'm going to smoke him. So we'll probably do that sooner than later. He's gonna pull a hammy. We better do it off. Better do it off uh working hours.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Okay. Tell your friends we are looking for the fastest running on foot uphill Hon Ready Mixon police.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Find Griffin to sign up.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

We have a year. We have a year to do the uh We should keep this in mind as we're hiring more people.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Yes, ask ask as part of the interview. What's your what's your sprint time?

SPEAKER_01 10:38

We have a year to put together the Rocky uh what is that uh training program. The training program, yeah. So it'll be great. It'll be great.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Well that topic runs right into our subject for the day of our second to last value.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Second to last value. Create a fun and enjoyable work environment. It's under the be positive tenet, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Yes. And you and I were talking about this ahead of time, and you said you know this might not be a very substantial topic to talk about. And I think that's because you are kind of naturally a fun person.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Tell my wife.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

I am not as much of a naturally fun person, so it does feel like a substantial topic to me because it requires more effort, more thought on my part. But I think that your natural inclination towards fun and looking for fun things, it comes easy to you and it comes easy to a lot of people that work here. So you don't really recognize it as something that's out of out of the normal.

unknown 11:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

You also have pretty limited work experience outside of here, so you don't know how unfun a lot of corporate jobs can be, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:49

I think I I've definitely been exposed to it enough to understand that. And we defin we definitely have a lot of people that like to have fun here. And I think it's important because having a positive experience at work, you know, helps build bonds with your teammates, it relieves stress, boosts morale, right? All those things. And we don't want to be a place where people dread coming into work. I hear that from so many people where they're like, oh, I just dread Monday. I mean, I'm I'm unabashed when I say that Monday is my favorite day of the week. And so um I I hope and I want everyone to feel that same way. Not necessarily that I'm not saying that Monday has to be your favorite day, but that you're you look forward to coming to work because you enjoy the people that you work with, you enjoy the job. That's that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Aaron Powell Yeah. I think it it's natural for you, but it is also a strategic choice for the company. Like where we're we are doing it on purpose because we're looking for people who don't dread coming to work, who are gonna help us retain the kinds of people that fit in here, we're gonna have the type of performance that we're looking for, and that all kind of goes together.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Aaron Powell Yeah, I had written down fun as a retention strategy. So that's exactly what you're getting that there is that um people will will stick around at places where they're comfortable and can have a positive experience.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Aaron Powell Yeah, I think there's a few different things that go into a fun work environment. One of them being like just not taking ourselves too seriously. We take the work very seriously, we take, you know, servicing our customers very seriously, but taking yourself seriously is out of the norm here. Like even just yesterday, Jeff was teasing me about an email situation and I responded more seriously than usual, and it was it caught everyone off guard.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Yes, it did. I was in that chain. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

So just those kinds of things where if if you're going to be hard on yourself or hard on other people, you're going to be uncomfortable here.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

And I think that leads to a better, more enjoyable, enjoyable experience for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Aaron Powell Absolutely. I think, you know, we we hire for attitude, right? That's how we kind of protect that culture is is hire for people that will be a good cultural fit when we've, especially with some leadership um positions we've we've searched for over the last five years or so. That's been the number one thing we've talked about is somebody that culturally fit with us will have fun, will be positive, and um because that that culture is so valuable.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Yes, and it's not for everyone, right? Like I would say I'm on the I'm on the line of maybe I fit in here, maybe I don't.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Here's what I'd say. You are you are highly, highly tolerant of fun, even if you're not normally the the genesis of it, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Yes, but so I take it upon myself to interview for that and like make sure that people understand what it would be like to work here and that we would understand if that isn't for you.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yeah, yeah. Well, and so that comes with some challenges, right? So we we have high expectations for ourselves, our customers have high expectations for us. And it's easy to fall down to is a slippery slope to be like, oh, you know, we're too busy having fun and and not meeting expectations, or or you know, we don't want to have direct conversations or things like that. So we have to always find that balance and and make sure that we're not compromising our expectations and the protection of fun, because that that can't that just won't work for a business, right? So we have to we have to find the balance. And the easiest way to do that is if we all buy into the expectations. So we're all on the same page on this is how we do things and these are where we're not going to compromise. And then it's easy and it's relaxed to be fun along the way.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yeah, I agree. I I think about it as if if the fun is adding value and making people's day better, or if it's a distraction from what they're really supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

I think most of the time we stay on the right side of that.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Yeah. I think so too. We've had some uh we we some examples of some stuff that I don't know if it adds value necessarily, but it's been a lot of fun. So in my office right now, there are three little machines that make cricket sounds up in the ceiling somewhere, and I'm just refusing to look at them.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

So would do that to you?

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Uh and anyone and everyone. And uh so I have to.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

I'll tell you that's adding value for the rest of us who are not in your office.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

I uh little uh cricket sounds going on, you know, sporadically behind me. And the worst part is uh uh last week I saw a cricket going tracting real crickets, which is pretty fun. But uh we we've done some fun, some fun things like that in the past. I I remember Jeff went on a Christmas holiday and we wrapped everything in his room with wrapping paper and uh or in his office. So Chris Chumley, when he um had his second daughter, I think. Yeah, we filled his entire office floor to ceiling with pink balloons. And yeah. So we we've had some good ones.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

So yeah, I think you know, pranks and jokes like that are part of part of having fun here. But I think another big part of it is reminiscing. You know, there's so many stories, you know, way before our time that are just hilarious to hear about. And it's so much fun when people are sharing those kind of old stories or they come up again and again.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Yeah. Darren and John in particular and Chris and Brian from kind of the block side are are they seem to have endless supply of those, and it's always it's always good.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

Yeah. Well, even the drivers, you know, as I was spending time back there last week, it's fun. People get together in the morning and look at you know what the day is gonna have and kind of tease each other about what happened yesterday or what pants they're wearing or what, you know, whatever comes up. It's just really a a fun time. Everybody's laughing and having a good time. And then at the end of the day, when they're sharing stuff that they saw, and you know, sometimes there's even pictures and videos to share. Like there's been crazy videos circulating this week of Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

That is a crazy video. Those people were not having fun.

SPEAKER_00 18:15

No, they were not having fun, but we've had a lot of fun watching the video and sharing it.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Yeah, good.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Well, anything else on this topic, or do you think we've we've kind of I think just to recap at what you said, that fun is uh one of the reasons that people like working here, one of the reasons that they stay, and we will continue to be strategic about using it and and making sure it's adding value and also making sure we're not crossing the line.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, what do we have for a loaded question?

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Loaded question. This one actually just came in and it's making me nervous because I don't have an answer to it myself. But here is the question: if you and Griffin were one of our 10 million mix designs, which one would you be?

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Which one would I be? Oh. Um gosh, you could get like you could make some metaphors here. Like you could talk about the M4 24-hour patch mix being rigid and are you picking for me? No, uh yeah, well, I'm definitely not picking for me.

SPEAKER_00 19:22

Um I was gonna say TR41, because it's one of the only ones that I know, and it's uh it's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Yeah. It's yeah. Uh no-ash. Yeah, just boring mix. Okay. That seems like you. Yeah. Yeah. Gosh, I don't know. I haven't really given deep thought to the personalities associated with each with each of our mixed designs. So but uh I would probably go with something kind of uh weird or quirky, like blue topping mix for the bridge.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Something very special and expensive.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

Something with trap rock.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

Yeah, there you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

What about Lex? Which which mix design would we pick for Lex?

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Lex is definitely SCC because he's stubborn as all get out. And so yeah. I think that that would be it.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

I like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

I would p I was gonna say something more uh like behind the scenes and quiet, like you don't like a like a like a flobal fill that's that's it's for underneath the nobody thinks of it as a really critical piece, but it is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

I like that. All right. Well, keep keep the loaded questions coming. Uh we obviously can get as creative as you want. We can also talk about stuff that's not concrete. I'll remind everyone. We can we can talk about anything. Um all right. I want to start teasing the next episode at the end. I think that might get people interested in tuning again next week.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

You're starting this when we're finishing up the values, and now we have to be a week ahead figuring out what the next episode is.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Good news, everyone. We are almost done talking about values. So, next episode, we are going to finish up with celebrating success and learning from failures. So please tune in again. Share this episode with your friends, maybe someone who's making it a fun work environment for you. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you again next week.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Thanks so much.