Restoration Rewind Delta Development Group Monthly Newsletter
October 2016
IICRC CDS Commercial Drying Specialist Training Class In September Delta Development Group sponsored a private IICRC certification class for everyone in our franchise network. The class, taught by one of the industry’s best, Mickey Lee, was a 5 day course in commercial drying. The course description directly from the IICRC website describes the class as such: “The IICRC Commercial Drying Specialist (CDS) course is designed to be an advanced drying concepts and management course. The focus of this curriculum is on commercial, industrial, institutional and complex residential structures. During the course, Delta personnel became proficient in the analysis and anatomy of commercial structures, improved their inspection techniques, learned advanced psychrometric concepts, and learned to administratively manage a large drying project. The goal of this course was for the students to be proficient in drying a commercial or complex structure and understand the concepts of managing such a project”. Every one of our offices had a student in attendance, giving this certification to each one of our locations. This certification combined with the PREP program certification and roll-out, will help all of our offices to grow the commercial side of their businesses.
Booties for the Cause By now you should have received your gift of pink booties from Dixie and all of us at Delta Development Group. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Wear your Pink Booties and make a difference. Statistics confirm that ONE in EIGHT women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Take photos of your staff in their awesomely pink booties and send them to us and to Shubee. Shubee is donating $1.00 for every photo posted by a homeowner on their favorite social media account. See the flyer on the next page for details. SUPPORT!!!
Using Social to Create Awareness ®
Get Social & Help Support Breast Cancer Awareness
This October, ShuBee® will be raising money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For each picture of a technician wearing pink shoe covers shared and tagged with #coveredforthecause on social media ShuBee® will donate $1 to NBCF.*
HOW CAN YOU HELP? STEP ONE Wear your pink shoe covers and “I wear mine for” button on every service call.
STEP TWO Ask the homeowner to support a great cause by posting a picture on their favorite social media account with #coveredforthecause
STEP THREE
ShuBee™ donates $1 to the NBCF
STEP FOUR
Your clients love you for supporting such a great cause and remember you the next time they need a service or repair!
HELP SHUBEE® REACH OUR GOAL OF 5,000 PICTURES SHARED BETWEEN OCTOBER 1 AND 31ST.
www.shubee.com • 866.683.7780
*up to $5000
CE Classes Across The State Delta Disaster Services of Western Colorado and Northern Colorado both recently held three-hour Homeowners continuing education classes. Michael Mastous was able to teach both classes on behalf of the franchise offices. Both classes were very well attended and all of the students had great reviews. Kudos go out to Jake Tegtman from DDS of Western Colorado and Cammy Seaman of DDS of Northern Colorado to running successful CE class programs in their market areas.
Cash in the Door! Based on AUGUST Royalties‌ Delta Disaster Services of Southern Colorado, once again, leads the pack! Congratulations to Emmis, Rosey and the rest of the crew! Honorable mention goes to DDS of Western Colorado with their best month ever!! They had a great month at DDS of Salt Lake as well. Great job everyone!
Denver Project Utilizing New Media Blaster Our Denver office has recently taken on a large scale media blasting project we would like to share with you. We are using a new media blaster that many of you saw during Dick Wagner’s class while at Aramsco/Interlink in Denver. This particular loss was part of the Nederland fire disaster we had this past summer.
The media blaster will be hooked up to a compressor and a crew will work on the exterior of the home in proper protective equipment while media blasting all the heat and fire damaged wood trim.
The customer and the insurance company are both behind us in our decision to try and save all of the affected materials and so we built the estimate accordingly. We bided the job by the square foot. We also included a daily rental charge for the compressor and on-site supervisor charges for half of the projected time within the estimate. In our general items category we included the protective equipment. In dealing with a large loss adjuster we discussed using square foot charges versus time and material. It was agreed that if our actual incurred time and material is greater than what we estimated, the adjuster will acknowledge the time and material settlement. Our projections are for two technicians over a 10 day period. We also required scaffolding be installed by our window installer. There are 30 Andersen windows that need to be replaced and it was requested that scaffolding be set up to assist in this project.
Before we confirmed the media blasting would work, we did a trial demonstration with both Aramsco and the homeowner present. It was agreed this would be the best method. Our goal from the inception was to have all of the affected materials media blasted and all of the windows replaced before the first snow. You never know about Colorado weather, however, we feel we are on track to accomplish this. We will update everyone in our next newsletter.
New Vehicle Roll-Out Delta Development Group has decided on two new vehicles for the DDS fleet. The Dodge ProMaster will be the new Emergency Services vehicle used by new franchises. We have negotiated fleet pricing for this vehicle allowing us to order them to spec and have them drop shipped to the new franchise location. DDG has put together a price package of approximately $44,000 for the complete Dodge ProMaster. The complete vehicle package will include: • • • • •
Vehicle Sprayed red bed liner on the interior floor Interior LED Lights Logos (A partial wrap) An Aluminum Racking system
This vehicle is also available to current franchisees. Just contact DDG for details and to get your order started. We have developed new wrap patterns for this new emergency services vehicle. We have also developed a new wrap design for pickup trucks. Artwork can be found in the Intranet on FranConnect very soon.
Delta Disaster Services Recognition from CCC
Marketing Corner As marketers you may feel like you are always “ON” and have no real time for yourself during the work week. Being able to recharge and regroup during the week can provide you the necessary energy and focus to make the best of your week. This article has a few great tips on how to do just that. Be upfront with yourself and your work life balance and let yourself recharge. Enjoy!
5 Things you can do at Home, to Improve your Life at Work. STEPHANIE VOZZA 08.23.16
We all want to find happiness at work and at home, but 24% of U.S. employees say the balancing act is getting tougher to manage, according to a study by Ernst & Young (EY). That’s because work is spilling into time that should be spent on personal pursuits. About half of managers work more than 40 hours a week, the EY report found, and a study by Project: Time Off found that the majority (55%) of us end the year without taking advantage of paid time off. That unused vacation time totals 658 million days. But happiness experts say work-life balance is a myth. Work life and home life aren’t separate; there’s just "life," and happiness comes from figuring out a way to combine the two seamlessly. "People who are highly resilient don’t see the day in terms of separation," says Maria Sirois, clinical psychologist at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. "There isn’t work me versus home me. Ninety percent of success of life is about who we are and what we bring to the day at work and at home."
Here are five things you can do at home that will promote happiness at work.
1. PRACTICE HAPPINESS Research has found that happy people do better at work, so when you’re home, consciously choose to do activities that lift you, says Sirois. "Home life often includes a list of chores and obligations. All of those responsibilities can be burdensome if you’re not also invigorated by what brings you joy," she says. "When we create a home life filled every day with something that lifts us, we will transfer that happiness to work." It can also help to have a happiness check-in, adds Tim Bono, who lectures on the psychology of happiness at Washington University in St. Louis. "Take time every so often to remind yourself of what’s going well," he says, adding: It’s easy to get bogged down with reports, presentations, and other hassles at work, but it’s also important to direct attention to things that are going well for you. Research has shown that adults who take just a few minutes each week to reflect on what they are grateful for (even amid life’s stressors) feel better about their lives overall, report more optimism about their upcoming week, and even get sick less often.
2. SCHEDULE MICRO-RECOVERY MOMENTS Most of us have hours during the day when we operate at peak performance. The time of the day where we struggle to work, however, can be improved by practicing microrecovery, says Sirois. "It’s those few minutes you set aside periodically to nourish yourself by doing activities that elevate calm and serenity or activities that increase energy and vitality," she says. "Sleep also helps us regulate our emotions and maintain a positive mood throughout the day."
Sirois suggests scheduling these mini-breaks into your day until it becomes a habit. Go for a walk outside, do some stretching, read poetry, or simply have a cup of tea. Choosing what to do will depend on what makes you happy, she says.
3. LEAD FROM YOUR CORE STRENGTHS You will improve your life at work when you use your authentic qualities, says Sirois. "Strong characteristics define who you are, such as creative, energetic, optimistic, extroverted, compassionate, prudent, and much more," she says. "It’s important to understand your core strengths and leverage them, because it will build engagement and energy." If you aren’t sure of your strengths, Sirois recommends filling out the free questionnaire at www.viacharacter.org. "The material is heavily researched by scientists in the field of positive psychology and backed by rigorous data," she says, adding that people who are aware of their strengths and find a way to apply them at work find more meaning.
4. CREATE TECH BOUNDARIES A CNBC Mobile Elite poll showed that 70% of executives feel that mobile technology helps work invade their leisure time. Sometimes, the best way to avoid the temptation to work at home is to create a physical barrier to help keep yourself present with your family or friends, says Andrew Filev, CEO of workmanagement platform Wrike. "When you're home, keep your device someplace out of site," he suggests. "If you find it hard to part with your device, at least silence it or consider using airplane mode. "Burnout is a real threat, and failing to give yourself adequate time to recharge your batteries can make it happen faster and worse," says Filev. "If you rest and spend time with the people you care about, you'll find your work benefits from it."
5. GET ENOUGH SLEEP Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lead to cognitive impairment similar to that of alcohol intoxication. It also makes us more reactive to small nuisances that otherwise would have rolled right off our backs, adds Bono. Researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki found that the optimal amount of sleep for energy and wellness is seven to eight hours each night, according to the study published in the medical journal Sleep. It’s easy to let sleep fall further down your list of priorities when you have too much on your plate. "What you don’t realize, however, is that the brain is doing a lot of important work when we sleep," says Bono. "Sleep increases activity in the frontal lobe, which sharpens our mental acuity and helps us stay on task toward the next day’s goals," he explains. "Sleep also helps us regulate our emotions and maintain a positive mood throughout the day."
Financial Planning Fourth quarter 2016 is here and it is time to start thinking and planning for 2017. As businesses mature, the need for planning also changes but Never goes away! It just changes. Always start with the basics and add items where you need to or in areas where you feel like you want to affect some change for the coming year.
One of your first steps in year-end planning is making sure everything is “in order”. Some things to check in QuickBooks: Make sure an appointment is scheduled with your accountant to get your year-end books in order. Remember once your taxes are filed, you will not be able to make changes to your QuickBooks files. Now is the time to make sure everything is categorized correctly. • • • • • •
Have assets been correctly coded? Equipment, Start Up costs, Tennant Finish – all are coded as such and not coded as expenses. Is everything properly job charged? Now is the time to make sure. Is everything charged to the correct account on the Chart of Accounts and/or Item? Is labor properly broken down between mitigation and construction? Are payables and receivables all coded correctly? Proper Class? Correct Customer?
Every Error in QuickBooks can (and most likely will) skew your overall numbers! Garbage in -- Garbage out. It becomes very easy to get caught up in the day to day of our business and forget to thoroughly plan for the future. Start “thinking” and making notes about next year now. When we reach the new year, you will have a very good plan for going forward. We are available for individual phone calls with any and all franchisees to discuss their 2017 Business plan, Objectives and Budgets. Our most important job is to help you, mentor you, and guide you with your business. Some of the things to start thinking about: •
Subcontractors: o Make sure you have a current Insurance Certificate or Independent Contractor Release o W-9’s for 1099’s
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o 1099’s will need to be mailed by January 31 HR Files for Employees: o Be sure to guard all personal data. o I-9’s on file o W-4’s on file o Employee applications o Confidentiality Agreements Address Objectives (Sales and Production) o Sales Goals for the year o For both Mitigation and Construction Marketing: o New Accounts o Plumbers o Agents o Fire Department o Direct Repair Programs o Events: Golf Tournaments, Charity, etc. o Others? You need good Budgets that you can stick to but also change as needed. Marketing o Mitigation o Construction o Overhead expenses Employees o Training and Education o New employees needed – Where and What Any Capital Expenditures needed for next year o Mitigation Equipment o Vehicles o Office Equipment, Computers, tenant improvements
Remember: Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Got Money? Delta Development Group is offering $500 of cold hard cash to the franchise that gets the first job signed up from their PREP efforts. We know many of you are out talking about the PREP program and signing up the properties in your area. We want to reward you for your efforts. The first office that gets a signed job from their PREP efforts will receive $500 from DDG. You must have provided the PREP packet and program to the referral source, they must also have their completed map and photo documentation from you. That combined with the signature page from that company’s agreement and you got yourself $500 bucks! Keep in touch with Jason on your PREP marketing efforts and let us know as soon as that call comes in!
How Good Manners Made This Restaurant the Best-Selling Fast-Food Chain in America
It’s official: Chick-fil-A is the most polite restaurant chain in America. Yesterday, fast-food industry magazine QSR published a study, which rated the country's various fast-food chains on their customer service. Chick-fil-A employees ranked first in the following three categories:
Smiling Saying "please" Saying "thank you" Chick-fil-A workers also ranked second in the category "pleasant demeanor," fourth for making eye contact, and second for order accuracy, getting orders right 95% of the time. All of that great service is translating into big numbers. A separate report published by QSR earlier this year revealed that the brand, which is headquartered in Atlanta and specializes in chicken sandwiches, produced revenue of almost $4 million per store, blowing away its closest competition by over $1.3 million. Chick-fil-A also ranked eighth overall in total sales, despite a relatively low number of locations. (Chick-fil-A has only 1,646 franchised units in the U.S., in contrast with total-revenue leader McDonald's, which reported 12,899 franchised units.) Which leads to the next question: How does the company get employees working in traditionally low-paying positions to perform so high? Going back to that Business Insider report: Chick-fil-A says its service is so consistent because it invests more than other companies in training its employees and helping them advance their careers-regardless of whether those careers are in fast food. Franchisees are encouraged to ask their new hires what their career goals are and then to try to help them achieve those goals.
And we will leave you with this…