Things Happen

"Things happen."

It is a simple refrain. Yet, it’s full of possibilities, easily capturing and accurately articulating most any set of unplanned results or circumstances.

For EMC, “things happen” when customer concerns or change of scope cause things to veer off plan during the process of gathering, documenting or communicating lighting system and facility conditions.

For you, our Labor Partners, “things happen”  when managing receipt and inventory of material from multiple vendors or dealing with unplanned site changes.

Then factor in the weather, and “things happen” that impact everyone’s part in a project and with greater probability in the northern regions as winter approaches.

With all the moving parts and hand-offs in the delivery of a solid customer experience, the reality is that it is likely that something will happen and that the consistency of where or when it happens is…well, inconsistent.

We are fortunate to have experienced partners in the field, experienced EMC team members and the commitment to figure things out.

That said, we can still become stuck in the moment.

In my experience there are five key things to do when “things happen.”

1. Step back and assess the situation as quickly and fully as possible.
   • Make sure that time is takent to fully assess the condition. A quick reaction in an effort to appease an anxious facility manager can lead to wasted time and an unnecessary or costly solution.
2. Document and communicate quickly to the rest of the team.
   • Don’t shortchange the communication process. A quick phone call to alert the team is important, but equally as important is capturing critical details in an email that allows everyone to more fully digest and react to all elements of the condition.
3. Work together to create a plan to fix things.
   • Everyone on the team can bring value to the situation. Many steps may have to be done to rectify the situation. Make sure that the entire team has the opportunity to review the condition and weigh in with options and the list of things that will need to be done to deliver.
4. Communicate the plan with confidence as quickly as possible to the customer.
   • The customer needs to be brought into the conversation with a clear and confident message that shows a clear understanding of the situation, the best path to be taken to get past it and an estimated timeline to completion. Sometimes it will also help to share some of the options that were not chosen to help them understand some of the thought process. That is a site-by-site decision based on personnel and the situation.
5. Get busy and resolve things to the best of our ability.
   • The plan will only be as good as the action that is then taken to get things back in order. If the entire team is onboard and ready to go, then move as quickly as is possible to resolve issues and maintain customer communication to reinforce the message that we have things under control.

There are certainly times that we all find ourselves getting stuck in the moment, paralyzed by what we see in front of us. We spin…we sweat and worry about the possible impact of what we are seeing. That not only delays possible results, but also amplifies the reason to engage the broader team to discuss and brainstorm options. None of us can always have the best or right answer. The team–the full team–can help and should be engaged quickly.

This also allows us to show the customer that we are mobilizing all available resources to manage the situation. Customers are smart enough to know that some answers won’t come easily, but if they see the team pull together and dig in, grace will usually be given, and best answers can be found.

We have experienced partners and we have experienced internal team members. There are not many things that have not been seen or managed by the broader team. We can solve most any issue when we pull together.

Remember...when "things happen" it is time to mobilize the team.

John Loheit is EMC's Director of Labor Partner Development. In this role he oversees the Labor Partner Network and Field Quality Assurance. He has been in the lighting industry for 15 years, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN.