PARTNERS IN SUCCESS

Why Poynter Sheet Metal receiving a top industry honor is a win for labor and management

By / Natalie Bruckner

Reputation is everything in business. While it’s essential for any business to build a strong reputation among customers and potential future customers, there’s something very humbling about gaining recognition from peers: people who know the industry, understand its challenges and nuances, and recognize leadership within the sector.

When SMACNA’s Poynter Sheet Metal was named SNIPS Contractor of the Year, Joseph Lansdell, president at Poynter, felt extreme pride. “This award is a testament to how hard every employee has worked to help us stand by our mission of achieving excellence as leaders in the industry and community through continuous improvement,” he says.

The peer-reviewed award celebrates HVAC contractors who complete duct fabrication and installation around the country and whose cumulative portfolio of work and company culture exemplify innovation and excellence in the HVAC sheet metal fabrication industry. For yet another SMACNA contractor to receive the award, it’s another feather in the cap for SMACNA contractors and SMART craftpersons who have been working together through these challenging times to drive the industry toward a cooperative, innovative, and exemplary future.

Scott Parks, business manager, financial secretary/treasurer at Local 20, says that this kind of recognition is great on many levels. “It is a remarkable accomplishment,” he says. “Both the management team and the members working for Poynter have worked extremely hard throughout the years. Having a third party validate these efforts demonstrates they have been on the right path for some time. The hard work, sacrifices, and investment have paid off.”

He adds that the award also stands as an endorsement for an industry that is “not the best at tooting its own horn.”

“The exposure and earned media provided by this prestigious honor will be noticed by end-users and decision makers from coast to coast,” Parks says. “This award provides great insight on Poynter’s commitment to all-round quality and will have many thinking, ʻI want Poynter on my next project.’”

You could say Poynter exemplifies everything this industry strives toward—it has built an excellent labor-management relationship; it values its employees and is committed to their growth; and it embraces technology to excel in what they do and make everyone’s lives just a little bit easier.

And the proof of their success is in the numbers: since 2014, the company has seen its sales double to $100 million.

Lansdell attributes a big part of the company’s success to embracing technology fairly early on in the game. “We were able to see the correlation between using technology and saving time, whether it was investing in better machinery or creating a digital paperwork process,” he says. “Better machinery allowed us to do more work and save time. Digital processes also elevated administrative burdens from our employees and allowed us to grow without large increases in the staff, all while avoiding employee burnout.”

During a time where labor shortage has reached an all-time high, this focus on being able to train and retain quality staff is essential, and Landsell credits Poynter’s relationship with Local 20 for being able to overcome high staff turnover rates.

Poynter also recognizes that while fair pay is important, employees today are looking for more than that—they long for professional growth and personal development. According to the Workforce Learning Report by LinkedIn, 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn.

“As a company dedicated to innovation and constant improvement, training is essential,” Landsell says. “We have adapted so much technology and have so many processes to make our work efficient; however, those two things are only successful if we use them efficiently. We have a program where we train our upcoming foreman on best practices, and 83% of the people who participated in this class are still foremen.”

For outside training, Landsell says the company encourages employees to get involved in local organizations for professional development training and partner with JATCs to encourage cross-training for field teams. “Our leadership team is also heavily involved in training outside the company,” he says.

Landsell is heavily involved in training and conducts “contractors’ school” at Poynter for all local apprentices. “This two-day, in-depth class teaches the apprentices the costs of contracting,” he says. “It includes soft skills, estimating, time management, and leadership. Nick West, our VP of shop operations, serves as the chairman for the Joint Apprenticeship Board, and our general superintendent, Kyle Wilson, serves on the Joint Apprenticeship Board of Lafayette, Indiana.”

With this focus on employee satisfaction, the staff are proud to be part of the Poynter team, and Landsell continues to explore ways to ensure his people remain that way. “There are a lot of things we do internally for employee engagement, from having internal ways of sharing jobsite photos and giving kudos to project teams, to sales challenges and having a weekly scorecard that shows the hard work each department is putting in each week,” Landsell says. “Each of these practices exists to create an environment where we appreciate how hard everyone is working to make this company successful.”

This commitment to relationship building extends beyond the Poynter family, too. Their labor-management partnership a demonstrates how creating an environment for open and frequent communication results in not only a healthy collaboration, but is essential to growth.

“We currently have kick-off and close-out meetings for every project we are on,” Landsell says. “This allows us to have all parts of our business [shop, field, preconstruction, and management] together in one room, focused on any issues that may come up in a project. These meetings give our employees the opportunity to showcase their capabilities and show ownership of the parts of the projects they are involved in.”

There is no “them” and “us” as far as Poynter and Local 20 are concerned. Every human interaction is valued and respected. Without it, Landsell and Parks agree, there “would be no growth.”

Local 20 ensures that new elected and appointed officials understand the importance of a good working relationship with the contractors. Part of the onboarding process of new representatives and organizers involves a presentation on the importance of the labor-contractor relationship. “Is a combative relationship in the best interest of securing work opportunities for our membership?” Parks asks. “The simple answer is no. Are we allowed to represent our membership while maintaining a good relationship with the contractors and advancing our industry? The simple answer is yes.”

Landsell is excited about the company’s future as they use flex space to incorporate more prefabrication into their shop.

“I think it is going to give us the opportunity to serve our clients in new, and exciting ways,” he says.

And while the industry continues to face labor shortages, he is looking forward to growing labor-management initiatives and exploring new ways to attract people to the union and get them excited about the sheet metal industry.

“Not having the trained professionals to meet market demands is the worst scenario for our membership, contractors, and industry,” Parks says. “Preparing as many apprentices as possible to fill the shoes of the baby boomers who are departing our industry is priority one. We encourage all to attend the night classes that are offered in five- to ten-week blocks.”

Traditionally, the Local’s five training facilities are just as busy at night with upgrade classes as they are during the day with apprentices. “It’s extremely important to look ahead at the demands of our industry so opportunities are not missed and expectations can be exceeded,” Parks says. ▪

Natalie is an award-winning writer who has worked in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Canada. She has more than 23 years experience as a journalist, editor, and brand builder, specializing in construction and transportation. When she’s not writing, you will likely find her snowboarding, mountain biking, or climbing mountains with her rescue dog