IT WAS a particularly painful memory from Kim Knox’s early career: a former boss remarked that as the youngest and least-paid, Knox would be the one taking extra overtime. The comment drew laughs from more tenured employees, but not from Knox.
“I will never forget how it made me feel, like I was worth less and could be worked harder just because I was paid less,” comments Knox. “That made a big impact on me and how I treat those that work for me.”
Today, Knox, supervisor of Print and Mail Services for The Regence Group, in Portland, Ore., has taken the lesson learned during this event and turned it into a successful leadership style. Bolstered by broad experience in the print industry, it is a style marked by hands-on leadership and a relentless emphasis on teamwork.
Prior to becoming supervisor of a 15-person team, Knox had a colorful career. It started as a family venture. Her mother, who was a West Coast Grocery employee at the time, alerted Knox to an open position in the file room at her company. Knox applied and entered the work force as a file clerk in 1985.
The door to print and mail services quickly opened from there. She transferred to a shipping clerk position at West Coast Grocery, and over the next 10 years held multiple positions within its print and mail services department.
“I worked my way through every position in the place,” comments Knox.
In 1995, Knox acted on a tip from her former boss and accepted the position of swing shift lead for King County Medical. One year later, King County Medical and Pierce County Medical merged to form The Regence Group.
Changes were plentiful over the next year. Knox moved on to work as day-shift lead and then as supervisor of print services. Her in-plant also relocated from Seattle to its current facility in Tacoma, Wash., a beneficial move for the Tacoma native.
Until 2005, Knox remained as the supervisor of Print Services. When the Mail Services supervisor and manager were laid off, she assumed her current title with responsibilities over printing and mail services.
Now and Later
It would not be the last time that layoffs would make an impact on her daily work life. Recently, Regence closed its in-plant in Portland, retaining only its in-plants in Tacoma and Salt Lake City. After the closure, Knox’s in-plant inherited a four-color, 20˝ Ryobi 3404 DI press. This expanded the Tacoma facility’s capabilities, enabling it to offer four-color offset work.
The Ryobi press joined a pair of existing two-color Heidelberg perfector presses (a 72ZP and a 52ZP) and three Xerox printers (a 2060 and two 6180s), among other equipment. Offering digital printing, offset and mail services under one roof has advantages for the in-plant’s customers, Knox says.
“Customers can call one person to get updates on their project’s status,” she notes. “If changes in scheduling need to happen, I can give an answer right away or offer other alternatives.”
Her in-plant has been busy since the closure of the Portland plant, but Knox is proud of the fact she has not had to turn any customers away. The operation continues to find ways to better serve its clientele—a mixture of internal and external accounts.
The 11,500-square-foot facility has an operating budget of $3.4 million. This year, $725,000 has been held aside for a possible new equipment purchase.
Regence is focusing on its digital assets, and part of this money will likely be used to acquire digital variable data capabilities. The company is also investigating the purchase of a 29˝ Heidelberg press and the possibility of replacing or upgrading its MailStar five-station inserter with a flat inserter.
In addition to improving technical capabilities, Knox strives to deliver superior customer service. This is a personal, as well as a team, goal.
“I like to be accessible, admit when I make mistakes, and ask for help and ideas from all members of my team,” says Knox. “I try very hard to make sure that they know that they are as much responsible for the successes or failures of our department as I am. We are very much in this together.”
Knox is a frequent attendee of In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association conferences and has been an IPMA member for 10 years now. A devoted Trekkie (and surrogate “grandmother” of six), Kim spends her breaks working out in a nearby exercise room while watching Star Trek. She proudly admits to owning DVDs of every Star Trek episode from all four series—as well as all 10 movies. IPG
Team Spirit Helps Regence Group Thrive
IT WAS a particularly painful memory from Kim Knox’s early career: a former boss remarked that as the youngest and least-paid, Knox would be the one taking extra overtime. The comment drew laughs from more tenured employees, but not from Knox.
“I will never forget how it made me feel, like I was worth less and could be worked harder just because I was paid less,” comments Knox. “That made a big impact on me and how I treat those that work for me.”
Today, Knox, supervisor of Print and Mail Services for The Regence Group, in Portland, Ore., has taken the lesson learned during this event and turned it into a successful leadership style. Bolstered by broad experience in the print industry, it is a style marked by hands-on leadership and a relentless emphasis on teamwork.
Prior to becoming supervisor of a 15-person team, Knox had a colorful career. It started as a family venture. Her mother, who was a West Coast Grocery employee at the time, alerted Knox to an open position in the file room at her company. Knox applied and entered the work force as a file clerk in 1985.
The door to print and mail services quickly opened from there. She transferred to a shipping clerk position at West Coast Grocery, and over the next 10 years held multiple positions within its print and mail services department.
“I worked my way through every position in the place,” comments Knox.
In 1995, Knox acted on a tip from her former boss and accepted the position of swing shift lead for King County Medical. One year later, King County Medical and Pierce County Medical merged to form The Regence Group.
Changes were plentiful over the next year. Knox moved on to work as day-shift lead and then as supervisor of print services. Her in-plant also relocated from Seattle to its current facility in Tacoma, Wash., a beneficial move for the Tacoma native.
Until 2005, Knox remained as the supervisor of Print Services. When the Mail Services supervisor and manager were laid off, she assumed her current title with responsibilities over printing and mail services.
Now and Later
It would not be the last time that layoffs would make an impact on her daily work life. Recently, Regence closed its in-plant in Portland, retaining only its in-plants in Tacoma and Salt Lake City. After the closure, Knox’s in-plant inherited a four-color, 20˝ Ryobi 3404 DI press. This expanded the Tacoma facility’s capabilities, enabling it to offer four-color offset work.
The Ryobi press joined a pair of existing two-color Heidelberg perfector presses (a 72ZP and a 52ZP) and three Xerox printers (a 2060 and two 6180s), among other equipment. Offering digital printing, offset and mail services under one roof has advantages for the in-plant’s customers, Knox says.
“Customers can call one person to get updates on their project’s status,” she notes. “If changes in scheduling need to happen, I can give an answer right away or offer other alternatives.”
Her in-plant has been busy since the closure of the Portland plant, but Knox is proud of the fact she has not had to turn any customers away. The operation continues to find ways to better serve its clientele—a mixture of internal and external accounts.
The 11,500-square-foot facility has an operating budget of $3.4 million. This year, $725,000 has been held aside for a possible new equipment purchase.
Regence is focusing on its digital assets, and part of this money will likely be used to acquire digital variable data capabilities. The company is also investigating the purchase of a 29˝ Heidelberg press and the possibility of replacing or upgrading its MailStar five-station inserter with a flat inserter.
In addition to improving technical capabilities, Knox strives to deliver superior customer service. This is a personal, as well as a team, goal.
“I like to be accessible, admit when I make mistakes, and ask for help and ideas from all members of my team,” says Knox. “I try very hard to make sure that they know that they are as much responsible for the successes or failures of our department as I am. We are very much in this together.”
Knox is a frequent attendee of In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association conferences and has been an IPMA member for 10 years now. A devoted Trekkie (and surrogate “grandmother” of six), Kim spends her breaks working out in a nearby exercise room while watching Star Trek. She proudly admits to owning DVDs of every Star Trek episode from all four series—as well as all 10 movies. IPG