Jean-Luc Devis: A Career of Customer Service

A veteran of five different in-plants over the past 33 years, Jean-Luc Devis certainly has an impressive resume. But ask the Washington State Printer what his all-time favorite job was, and he’ll quickly hark back to his childhood and the years he spent as a traveling carnival worker, running game stands.

“I traveled from carnival to carnival for 12 years of my life, during the summers,” he reflects, wistfully. “It was my favorite job.”

The freedom of those youthful days is a far cry from his current responsibilities overseeing one of the largest state printing operations in the country—while enmeshed in politics and battling privatization efforts.

Born in Fecamp, Normandy, France, Devis immigrated to Cleveland with his parents when he was just a year old. His dad started a carnival waffle stand, and Devis worked there as a child. In his free time, he made friends with the gypsies in the carnival scene, helping them with their game stands and eventually running his own.

After graduating from high school, an interest in map making led him to study cartography at Ohio University. During that time, Devis took his first in-plant job, at the American Society of Personnel Administrators, where he ran an A.B.Dick 360. (The press was not easy to run, he admits.)

In the summer of 1976, he took a break to bicycle across the country with a large group of enthusiasts. The adventure kindled a lifelong interest in cycling.

After graduation, Devis was hired by Mapcom Systems, and moved to Virginia. When the company president decided to bring printing in-house to save money, Devis was put in charge of starting up and overseeing the in-plant.

His position was eliminated in 1982, so he took a job with Alexander Drafting Co., where he worked for five years. Though downsizing cost him this job as well, it made him available for a much better opportunity.

He was selected by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to oversee its Photographics & Reproduction Services operation. It was during his 15 years there that his innovative ideas first caught the attention of IPG. He was featured in a 1998 cover story. Under Devis’ direction, the in-plant created an inkjet addressing operation by mounting an inkjet head on a conveyor running between a collator and a saddle stitcher.

“That had not been done before,” he observes.

Devis also set up a digital network for remote online color copying, initiated online business card submission and introduced a computerized shop floor management system. This is also where he first demonstrated what has become a lifelong emphasis on customer service.

“It was something that seemed to be lacking in the in-plant industry,” he explains. “We never treated them as customers [because] they were part of the same company. I just felt [it] was really important to treat others how you wanted to be treated.”

Westward Bound

In 2002, ready for a new challenge, Devis moved across the country to become director of Printing & Mailing Services at Oregon State University. Here he made his mark by reducing overhead costs and bringing in new business. He helped initiate a campus-wide cost-per-copy program, a Web submission system and an electronic procurement system, while focusing on customer service.

After four years at OSU, though, an opportunity came along that he couldn’t pass up. He applied for the job of director of Washington’s Department of Printing, a governor-appointed position. Few who know him were surprised when he got the job. He had his work cut out for him, though.

“They had been losing money for nine years,” he says.

Devis quickly developed a strategic plan to renegotiate leases, improve the customer experience and bring in new business. Despite a continuing drop in printing, he still managed to close the budget gap in the recent fiscal year.

One big success story was bringing the printing of drivers license renewal forms back in-house, which saved $360,000 a year. They are now printed on FSC-certified paper produced at Grays Harbor Mill. This had the added advantage of creating jobs in this local mill town.

Devis’ love of the outdoors inspired him to get his in-plant FSC certified. In the process, the Department became the first state government in-plant to do so.

“It hit my values, but also, in the Pacific Northwest we’re very green, so we thought it would resonate with our customers’ values,” he explains.

In his four years at the in-plant, Devis has also overseen the launch of an improved digital storefront, an upgraded shop management system and an in-plant newsletter for customers. He established a customer advisory group to solicit honest feedback, and introduced customer educational forums.

“It’s made them aware of our value,” he says.

Despite all the improvements he has brought, political forces are threatening the Department of Printing. It is currently undergoing a major audit.

“My hope for the outcome is the auditor will see the value of consolidating the multiple print shops and the vast amount of state print into a centralized facility,” he says. There are 11 other in-plants serving the state’s government, and he feels the state will see “huge gains” by consolidating them into the Department of Printing.

When asked what he’s most proud of about his career, Devis says it is the customer outreach programs he has initiated. But also, he is proud of the people he has mentored at past in-plants who have since been promoted into management positions.

Outside of work, Devis continues to enjoy cycling and backpacking, and has taken some ambitious trips with his wife Valerie. The pair were recently ordained as Zen priests. He credits a Buddhist philosophy with helping him stay calm in stressful times while being mindful to carry out every task with a holistic and balanced perspective.