Organization Background
Superior Restoration primarily provides water and fire restoration services—though it has more recently added coronavirus disinfecting and sanitizing services to its product mix. The company was founded as a mobile carpet cleaning service in 2010 by Skylar Lewis before he later pivoted to offering higher-margin restoration work.
Challenge
Even when he first started his business, Lewis dreamed of having his employees take over running the business. “I wanted them to have that ‘Own It’ attitude,” he says. To do that, he focused on building a culture that emphasized empowerment and autonomy. But he recognized that the team was missing something: transparency and literacy around the financials. “They were flying blind,” says Lewis.
Solution
After connecting with another restoration company in Chicago, Lewis learned about The Great Game of Business® (GGOB). He moved quickly to hire his coach, Kevin Walter, and kick off playing The Game in the summer of 2019.
Results
The Superior team saw immediate results inside the business—especially when it came to cutting costs and boosting profit margins. The team has continued to build on their early success even through the tough times of the pandemic. “I truly believe GGOB has set the marker for success for our company and team,” Stephanie Suchocki, Superior’s Vice President of Operation, who now runs operations inside the company as Lewis has shifted to coaching and mentoring other business owners. “It gives us a starting and ending point. It has created a higher level of engagement, retention and personal autonomy allowing team members to see a bigger vision than themselves. The vocabulary around ownership has changed tremendously around our company.”
“GGOB has given us employees a sense of ownership in our roles and the company. It has also taught me to be more budget minded.”
~ Rich Grise, Senior Project Director
Pain Points and Opportunities
The rising cost of gas and other supplies has been an issue for the Superior team, but the real pain point has been employee retention. They have even had employees leave and say that they didn’t really buy into GGOB, even though they benefited from it.
Stephanie says that told her and the team that those people were never a great culture fit in the first place. “We need people to buy into GGOB because it’s become part of our culture and how we do business,” she says. In fact, while the pandemic forced the company into survival mode and caused them to take their eye off some of GGOB practices, they have since doubled down on elements like playing MiniGames. “It’s made a huge difference,” says Suchocki, noting that the team has begun earning healthy GainShare bonuses again. “When you’re winning, that helps retention. We’re finally getting our mojo back.”
“It has had a very positive impact on our company culture. People genuinely care about our company and feel empowered to make a difference. It is the closest group of employees of anywhere I have ever worked, and The Great Game of Business has a lot to do with it. I am genuinely thankful to be working at a company that cares so much about its employees.”
~ Patrick FitzGerald, Sales Manager
MiniGame™ Highlight
The Superior Restoration team relies on playing MiniGames throughout its different departments to improve processes, systems, and to stoke revenue growth. In one case involving the repair department, they played a game to improve the average start time of when they kick off work on a project. In fact, the improvements the game brought about led the department to play the same game a second time. “That one Minigame helped significantly, but all of the MiniGames we have played have had an impact on our culture,” says Suchocki.
What’s Next
One of the key areas Stephanie and her team are focused on improving in the coming year is the engagement and accuracy of their forecasting. “We want to get everyone forecasting,” she says. To help inspire interest in other GGOB practices, Suchocki says she’s bringing as many team members as she can to the 2022 GGOB Conference in Kansas City after missing the past couple of years. “I can’t wait to see what’s new and engaging,” she says.
“Playing GGOB has made me more conscious of my family’s way of spending while learning efficient ways for us to save.”
~ Ed Cardenas, Business Development Rep.
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