Steps to In-plant Success

I AM A MANAGER of an in-house printing facility supporting multiple departments for a global corporation. Recently, my department survived a wave of outsourcing largely because we were able to prove that our place in the organization was necessary because of the value we add to the company's core business.

Allow me to begin by overstating the obvious. There has been an overwhelming trend to outsource any function that is not directly connected to an organization's core business. Those within the company tasked with making these determinations clearly have an agenda: to save the company money. Makes sense, I would think. But what they miss is the intangible cost of doing business that way, which ultimately impacts the company's bottom line. And that's your job. You must prove your value. Here's how you start.

Build a Solid Team

You can't succeed without teamwork. How do you do that? It's not always easy because each player on your team has his or her own personality and approach to achieving goals. You have to keep everyone on the same page at all times. Hey, you're in charge; you're the captain. You need to plot the course clearly and concisely, and communicate that direction extremely well. And you need everyone on your team to buy into that. So how do you do that?

First, build trust. You need a solid foundation. Those who report to you need to respect you and know that you are there to support them to get their job done. That can come in a number of ways.

First and foremost, always listen, be objective and allow them to grow and develop through training. Let them out of their comfort zones. Encourage cross training. Empower them to make decisions. Reward good behavior. And never penalize someone for making a bad decision. I would rather someone make the wrong decision than not make a decision at all. At least you have a 50/50 chance when you empower people to make decisions. When they stumble, they learn, grow and become better team players for it. Once you build a strong team, a strong foundation, you're good to go. Direct subtly, direct judiciously, provide support and reward all positive efforts.

Now Focus on Your Customers

What's next? You need a loyal client base. How do you establish that? Provide outstanding customer service, and always focus on your clients' needs. That can take a long time to accomplish. It's not about what you can do, it's about what your customers need. Hey, you're all working for the same company or organization, so stay connected to the people you support. Learn what your clients need, then lead your team to satisfy these needs. Do this by empowering them, delegating responsibility and providing them with the right tools to accomplish those goals. You are nothing without your customers.

Clearly your team can't provide everything your clients want, so you must have contingencies in place, such as outside printers to handle overflow work. Your customers don't need to know about this. Train your team to always confidently say, "yes, we can." Your clients don't care that your equipment is down or that you're already at full capacity. Tell them what they want to hear, which is that you will take this task off their plate and assist them in accomplishing their goals for less money than it would cost outside. You will have a loyal client base—a fan club—and that's what you need. That's value.

The Bottom Line

So now you have established that you have a strong team and a loyal client base. That doesn't address the bottom line. What if it costs your company or organization more to keep you than to outsource the work? They will outsource you. So figure out what makes sense for you to print internally.

Do outside cost comparisons with outside printers. If it costs you less to do it in-house, then do it. If not, let it go. Find your niche and know your organization's business requirements by talking to people.

Make sure there is a viable market for a particular service before offering it. Don't bring in a service for only one client. Their need could go away and then you'd be stuck. Follow your company's trends and ask questions. Find out what other groups' requirements are, then build solutions to address them.

Market yourself across your organization. Print promotional materials. Conduct open houses. Understand your organization's core business, and anticipate where there may be a need for your in-plant's services. Identify the key players and go after them. It may take several attempts. Don't be discouraged.

Go after new hires. They don't even know you exist. Be willing to partner with your Purchasing people. Reach out to them and take some of their workload off their plate by providing the service in-house. They will appreciate it.

You need to build your volume in order to prove positive impact to the bottom line. Your costs to the company are pretty much fixed, so the more you print, the cheaper your click charge will be. If, for example, it costs your company $100 per year to sustain your existence and you print only one image, then your cost is $100 per copy. But if you grow your volume to 100,000 images per year, your click charge is $.001 per image. No one outside is going to beat that. Find that threshold where you need to be, and share that with your team so that they understand what your expectation is and what your goals are. Reach out to all departments repeatedly. It can take a while to get results, but don't be afraid to be persistent.

Sell your value, convenience, savings and quality, and most importantly, build relationships with your customers and pass those relationships on to your team. If you've built a strong team, the pieces fall in to place.

Conduct surveys, either online or by slipping a survey card in with every order. This is very important. Don't be afraid of negative feedback. Learn from it and grow. Build a fan club, and if it ever gets to the bitter end, organize a focus group of your top fans and let them tell management why they need you and how important it is to the organization's core business.

Be involved with the assessment process as much as management will let you be. As difficult as it is, be a team player and be involved with the assessment. It gives you control over your destiny. Believe in what you're fighting for and know that you are making recommendations for the company's best interests.

This has been my ongoing core philosophy, and it has brought me great success. I wish all of you the same successful outcome.