Retreat Moves This Shop Ahead

No in-plant manager has a better rapport with his staff than Director Rich Finner.

The six full-time employees running Riverside Community College's Production Printing department are engaged in steering the shop every step of the way. And they've got a reason to be interested—not only do they mentor part-time student employees, they have a hand in how the shop's money gets spent.

Here's how it works: Twenty-five percent of the revenue coming into the southern California shop is a result of unsolicited insourcing.

"We don't drum up that business. They come to us," explains Finner.

The money is deposited in what he calls a "departmental trust," and the staff decides where it ought to go. To make those decisions, the employees use some of the cash to fund a semi-annual retreat.

"We go out to the canyon to a lodge, and we come up with our plans for the department," says Finner.

He says the day-long retreat usually yields about 15 goals the shop decides to meet over the next six months. Coupled with weekly meetings to check the progress of those goals, Finner contends it's an ideal system for running a healthy, happy shop.

"It is so cool that at the end of six months we had 15 things to do, and we did it," he says.

As a matter of fact, Finner and his team just returned from a retreat.

"The whole emphasis of this retreat was on how to toot our own horn," he says. "We decided we have to make sure upper management knows we're here."

So the team broke up this initiative into a series of monthly goals. One month will see a cost comparison mailed off to all customers showing the savings gained by using the in-plant. In another, a free gift promoting the services of the in-plant will be distributed.

The result of this focus on teamwork is a shop that truly cares about the quality of the product going out the door, says Finner.

"The secret to our success is the attitude of all of our staff members to do quality work. Nothing goes out this door that is not saleable. Nothing is haphazard," he insists.

The focus on quality has paid off several times over. The shop is the proud holder of several In-Print awards, and its design department has been nationally recognized.

A shop full of presses helps with those awards, as well. The small in-plant is home to a four-color Heidelberg GTO, a Heidelberg SORK, three A.B.Dick 9850s, and two Ryobi 2800 presses.

To keep the machines running, the customers happy, the students learning and the staff involved, Finner says the best approach is to be laid back, but supportive.

"I just coach the staff. I'm here to make sure our goals are met," he says. "We're a small, tight-knit group. Everybody wears three or four hats."

—by Mike Llewellyn