Posted by Krista Moon on Sun, Aug 07, 2011 @ 10:38 PM
"Cajun Contractor" Michael King will interview Todd Hall, President of Glastender, on Saturday September 13th @ 9:00am CT.
Listen to the interview live at www.lifestyletalkradio.com. Click at the top left where it says "Listen Live".
Michael King has been in the home improvement business for many years and is considered by his peers to be the foremost authority on all phases of general construction. He will interview Todd about the home cocktail station product line, their features and benefits, and the genesis behind their creation.
Tune in!
Posted by Krista Moon on Mon, Jan 24, 2011 @ 12:10 PM
Todd Hall, 40, President of Glastender, has been with the company for over 20 years. Glastender designs and manufactures stainless steel bar and restaurant equipment, and has a new product line including cocktail stations for the home.
When it comes to running a business, Saginaw County’s Todd Hall has an open-book policy. He says it’s a good way for employees to fully participate in the company’s financial future.
As President of Glastender, a family-owned custom bar and food service equipment company, Hall’s seen his share of success. Open since 1969, Glastender had experienced growth every year since 1990. Until 2009.
The business, like most others, wasn’t immune to the recession, and orders fell 30 percent last year. Hall said the slip began at the tail end of a $7 million investment in the company’s headquarters, 5400 N. Michigan in Saginaw County’s Kochville Township.
Today, the company employs about 170 people, Hall said. About 230 people worked there at the end of 2007. After falling orders and company cutbacks, Hall said he needed to find ways to save on everyday costs and avoid even more layoffs.
Instead of putting one person in charge of finding ways to pinch pennies, Hall enlisted the help of the whole company. In early 2009, Glastender converted to an open-book management style, training employees to know exactly what does and does not make the company money, along with giving every employee weekly access to the company’s financial statements — a big change from the monthly glances the statements got before the transition.
“In hindsight, moving into open-book management right when the economy got bad was great because that’s when you have to pay attention,” Hall said. “Open-book management teaches employees how to make money, how to run a successful business.”
As part of open-book management, all employees received financial literacy training and learned the ins and outs of how to make Glastender a better business, Hall said.
“If I teach everyone the rules of the game, then I have 170 people trying to make it happen, not just the 20 people on the management team,” Hall said. “And then there is this expectation that they will use those rules to try and make money.”
Another part of the open-book system includes about 60 employees volunteering to be on expense account subcommittees, combing through purchases and expenditures, looking for simple ways to save. Reducing interdepartmental faxes, shortening the time parts sit on shelves and switching from a special cleaning solution to old fashioned soap and water were among the solutions they found. “Little ideas add up,” Hall said.
More than halfway through 2010, things are looking up for Glastender. Hall said about 20 employees were recently called back to help fill an increasing number of orders, and he expects the company to see a profit this year.
Probably the most popular part of open-book management, Hall said, is the company’s “fill the bucket” program, where workers watch as a bucket fills with profit and, once it’s full, 25 percent is shared with the employees. Every employee who qualifies, from management to support staff, gets a check for the same amount. On Sept. 1, management announced the company’s first bonus payout since 2008.
“Giving employees a stake in the game makes it more than just profit sharing,” Hall said. “This is more motivating.”
By Kathryn Lynch-Morin | The Saginaw News