PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE The Struggle to Find Good, Trustworthy Employees yesterday and he had to terminate three em- ployees over the past month for some form of stealing! Whether it’s money, material or time, stealing is stealing. I applaud him for taking swiſt action to rid his company of this cancer. These former employees are trained lock- O smiths and will be applying for a job at may- be your shop? Are you going to do your due diligence and check their references? In this state where the locksmiths are licensed, are you going to do some research to see where they were listed as working last — maybe a company in your area? You worked hard to build your company into a reputable business that customers de- pend on; what would happen to your great reputation if an employee got caught steal- ing from your customers? There are a large number of so-called “locksmiths” who went back at night in your truck to open the safe they changed that day to relieve your cus- tomer of cash. Pretty easy to do when you already have the building key and the safe combination! Fortunately, most of these guys got caught and are in prison where they belong. Even successful business owners need continuous management training. In my locksmith company, locksmiths only do locksmith stuff, and management only 6 KEYNOTES NOVEMBER 2014 ne of the biggest issues our members face is hiring good, competent employees. I was talk- ing to an ALOA member just does management stuff. There is nothing wrong with going out and running calls when incoming business demands it, but your first responsibility is to manage you company. When your company is run- ning, smoothly then you can go out and play with locks. Next year’s Security Leaders Forum will be held in the San Diego, CA, area. This fo- rum is for managers to interact with other managers and share business tactics and ideas. The three-day educational program will only deal with the management issues involved in running a successful locksmith company. Distributors will be there to discuss what their company can do for you to help grow your business in one-on-one sessions. Manu- facturers will be there showing new product and picking your brain on what and why you use specific products. You are with all attendees for breakfast, lunch and a cocktail reception in the early evening, talking man- agement issues and enjoying the beautiful resort setting. This forum is a must for all locksmith shop owners that are hiring and managing employees. Your ALOA board will be meeting at the Silver Legacy Hotel/Casino in Reno, NV, on November 22-23. The open por- tion of our board meeting is open to any ALOA member. If you feel that you would like to observe our board meeting, please contact the office and let them know that you’d like to attend. We will need your “What would happen to your great reputation if an employee got caught stealing from your customers?” full name and member number so we can verify that you are a member. Unan- nounced members who haven’t registered to reserve a seat will not be admitted to the meeting. I appreciate all of the e-mails I receive with suggestions and complaints, and both are important to the continued growth of ALOA. I respond to every e-mail I receive, so please keep them coming. Stay safe and have a wonderful Thanks- giving holiday. Best regards, Tom Demont, AHC, CAI, CFDI, CFL, CMIL, CML, CMST, IFDI, ARL President [email protected] WWW.ALOA.ORG
