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Thoughts on Jubilee Circus ... er, Jubilee Chocolates
Wow, have I really been working there nearly a month? What a fucking carnival it was today. We shipped almost 100 orders, approximately five times our normal delivery load. Hooray for Easter.
I have a ton of thoughts on how to improve operations there, I just need to take the time to write them down. Here's a basic outline:
1) Stabilize the workforce. Currently, J.C. has ~15-20 employees. John (the boss), Ryan, & Andrew work basically full time. I work almost full time these days (weird!). Everyone else comes in for a few hours a week - most of them seem to get 10-15 h/w. This is stupid for a bunch of reasons: no-one feels any deep connection, responsibility, or ownership for a job they work so infrequently (& for which they are paid so shabbily); it creates confusion when the same crew isn't present day in & day out; & it represents an added layer of complexity that really isn't necessary. Nobody currently working at J.C. considers their work there to be a "real" job. Suggestion: find two or maybe three people who are really willing to make a go of making some sort of real job out of it. Raise their pay, perhaps add some no-frills medical benefits, possibly even give them some profit-sharing, & then give them responsibility.
2) Get an accountant. Get everyone properly set up as employees, with W-2 forms & tax witholdings & timesheets, etc. This pay-me-whenever crap is ridiculous.
3) Integrate information management. Hire someone with some mad database skillz to create a better functioning system for tracking order placement, FedEx shipping information, order fulfillment, & billing. Have it include a way of creating a page every day that lists all the orders that need to ship out that day. Automate the weather-checking function if possible.
4) Streamline production. Break the chocolate production process into three major parts: actual chocolate production (ganache, coating, cutting, enrobing/marking, cupping, stocking all materials required for these activities); box/ballotin production (packing chocolate in boxes, all aspects of package decoration, stocking decoration materials & boxes/ballotins); & shipping (knowing what needs to be shipped every day; producing FedEx labels, stocking shipping materials, making sure fulfilled orders get recorded so they get billed). Put one person in charge of each portion of this process. John should be in charge of chocolate production IF he can handle the duties. If not, hire someone with chef experience (someone like Rosemary or Melanie) & have them do it. Andrew should be in charge of shipping - he basically is now, but make it HIS responsibility & pay him more.
5) Get with The Vision. Start living up to the marketing hype about being a socially progressive, environmentally responsible company. Secure, without fail, organic, locally produced raw materials. Recycle. Treat the J.C. workers decently. Interact with the Feltonville community (hire workers from the area?).
Internet Quote of the Day: "Dammit, Jake, yer an enabler!" - From topfive.com's Top 16 Lines You'll Never Hear in a Western (Part II)
I have a ton of thoughts on how to improve operations there, I just need to take the time to write them down. Here's a basic outline:
1) Stabilize the workforce. Currently, J.C. has ~15-20 employees. John (the boss), Ryan, & Andrew work basically full time. I work almost full time these days (weird!). Everyone else comes in for a few hours a week - most of them seem to get 10-15 h/w. This is stupid for a bunch of reasons: no-one feels any deep connection, responsibility, or ownership for a job they work so infrequently (& for which they are paid so shabbily); it creates confusion when the same crew isn't present day in & day out; & it represents an added layer of complexity that really isn't necessary. Nobody currently working at J.C. considers their work there to be a "real" job. Suggestion: find two or maybe three people who are really willing to make a go of making some sort of real job out of it. Raise their pay, perhaps add some no-frills medical benefits, possibly even give them some profit-sharing, & then give them responsibility.
2) Get an accountant. Get everyone properly set up as employees, with W-2 forms & tax witholdings & timesheets, etc. This pay-me-whenever crap is ridiculous.
3) Integrate information management. Hire someone with some mad database skillz to create a better functioning system for tracking order placement, FedEx shipping information, order fulfillment, & billing. Have it include a way of creating a page every day that lists all the orders that need to ship out that day. Automate the weather-checking function if possible.
4) Streamline production. Break the chocolate production process into three major parts: actual chocolate production (ganache, coating, cutting, enrobing/marking, cupping, stocking all materials required for these activities); box/ballotin production (packing chocolate in boxes, all aspects of package decoration, stocking decoration materials & boxes/ballotins); & shipping (knowing what needs to be shipped every day; producing FedEx labels, stocking shipping materials, making sure fulfilled orders get recorded so they get billed). Put one person in charge of each portion of this process. John should be in charge of chocolate production IF he can handle the duties. If not, hire someone with chef experience (someone like Rosemary or Melanie) & have them do it. Andrew should be in charge of shipping - he basically is now, but make it HIS responsibility & pay him more.
5) Get with The Vision. Start living up to the marketing hype about being a socially progressive, environmentally responsible company. Secure, without fail, organic, locally produced raw materials. Recycle. Treat the J.C. workers decently. Interact with the Feltonville community (hire workers from the area?).
Internet Quote of the Day: "Dammit, Jake, yer an enabler!" - From topfive.com's Top 16 Lines You'll Never Hear in a Western (Part II)