Episode Overview
Jessica Short cares about people. She went into social work after college, and when she switched gears to work at a home services company serving Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, she continued to apply empathy lessons in that workplace.
In her family’s business, Priority Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing, Short rose quickly to become general manager, one of few women who hold that title in the industry.
Employees have responded to her traits that stem from days as a social worker. The number of team members has more than tripled from 25 to 84.
Culture is strong. The company's reputation is great. Mentorship opportunities abound. All those things pay a return on investment, Short says.
“ I could go around to all of my staff, especially internally in our office, and ask them, ‘Do you stay because of money or because of the people?’” she says. “They're going to say ‘the people’ every single time [because of] how they're treated.”
Short says she’s open to change in the workplace and values honest communication.
“Social work really taught me that people can change,” she says. “People aren't necessarily right or wrong. There's a reason why they did the things that they did or the choice that they made.”
Short is confident that the internal culture reflects out to the community and is a factor in business expansion.
“A good name is desired above all riches,” she says. “[We do care] about the profit margin. But we are thinking about how we make customers happy. How do we keep them happy with us so that they can trust us?”
And, of course, become repeat customers.
Jessica Short recently joined ServiceTitan’s Jackie Aubel on the “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast, which included Short’s thoughts on:
[2:55] Steady growth from 25 to 84 employees
[6:44] Adding a service division
[8:43] Applying leadership lessons from social work and understanding your team’s real-life struggles
[26:24] Building trust with your customers and working alongside family
[28:55] The “why” behind each employee
Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
Chris Hunter: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or anywhere you get podcasts.
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