Fernco

Fernco: Leadership Training Impacts Organization and Employee Engagement

Founded in 1964, Fernco Inc. (www.fernco.com) produces various plumbing couplings and adapters, manufacturing the industry's largest and most innovative product line proven reliable by professionals in the field. They began in a Master Plumber’s garage with a patent of the ‘Donut.’ After more experimentation, they soon introduced the first Fernco flexible coupling to the market in 1973. By setting standards for performance, availability, and support, Fernco remains committed to a single goal: its customers’ complete and total satisfaction. They presently employ 350 people at their Davison, Mich. headquarters.

Challenge

Fernco saw the need to develop a standardized focused leadership model for their team. This necessity, however, was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As sales increased and new leadership positions became available, the company was not able to provide training to assist in the development of 27 individuals who were promoted into leadership roles during this period. Fernco’s Director of Continuous Improvement was looking to make up for lost time by implementing leadership training that would have an immediate impact on their organization and employee engagement.

Solution

With the assistance of Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), Fernco received funding from Michigan’s Going Pro Talent Fund grant for workforce training. Throughout the year, a total of 27 leaders completed MMTC’s Supervisory Skills 1.0 course, which provided the skills necessary for more effective communication, managing time, building better teams, and leading people through change. To date, 69 Fernco leaders have completed the hands-on Supervisory Skills 1.0 class; 30 of these leaders will be advancing to the Supervisory Skills 2.0 – Sustained Leadership class in the future.

Expectations of improvement in overall business throughput, an increase in quality of work, and strengthened relationships with peers were met. The engaging training included videos and worksheets and incorporated invaluable team exercises relating to smart leadership. The skills and course content enabled the supervisors to:

• Identify their leadership style and its strengths and weaknesses to increase awareness and effectiveness through modification
• Discover different behavioral characteristics to navigate through individuals’ interpersonal differences
• Uncover communication barriers and listening/communication techniques to enhance interaction in all directions
• Examine how individuals are motivated and identify opportunities to encourage subordinates to achieve organizational goals
• Determine the most effective methods of delivering on-the-job training and apply them for increased competence
• Pinpoint what causes conflict and how to mitigate and prevent escalation.
• Identify how to manage time to maximize available time and decrease non-productive activities
• Recognize how to relate to subordinates to ensure the smoothest possible transition through change
• Examine the components of effective meetings and apply them, resulting in meetings that are more productive

Results

• Jobs Retained: 25 out of 27 participants from the 2022 Supervisor 1.0 training, which is a retention rate of 92.6%
• Investment in Workforce Practices and Employee Skills: $70,000; Grant allowed us to double the annual training budget
• Improved culture: The Fernco culture is very family-focused and was always good, but after their supervisors went through this training, the culture became more collaborative and job satisfaction increased. Employees at Fernco have always risen to the occasion when needed, but now that a different type of support is coming from their leaders, they really go the extra mile to make a difference. While it cannot necessarily be measured, it can definitely be felt