Sometimes it takes a good jolt to set things right
Developing better relationships and experiences
About 15 years ago we got hit with a jolt to the chest that made us sit up and take notice. We saw a company that was doing extremely well at building. We were succeeding in getting our projects built on time and on budget, and for most construction companies that would have been enough.
But what we also saw were clients that, although they were extremely confident in EllisDon as builders, did not always enjoy the actual working relationship with us. We formally polled our clients and subcontractors and what we heard was that we needed to take our service to the next level.
A client’s or subcontractor’s experience can be an elusive thing, but we knew we had to nail this down and get it right if we wanted to get a reputation for exceptional service.
We created a formal program, called “Client First”, in order to develop a very systematic way to track our clients’ experience and ensure that at every point we were doing whatever necessary to make the building process a better experience for all involved.
From the initial kickoff meeting where client expectations and the EllisDon Code of Conduct are reviewed, to the Project Partnering Session where each stakeholder’s roles and responsibilities are established, and through the ongoing client relationship management, we are receiving formal feedback on a regular basis which allows us to continually improve.
How important is the Client First program to EllisDon? More important than just words on paper, the success of the program is directly tied into the employees’ performance rating.
And it seems that the hard work is paying off. Our client satisfaction ratings are excellent, and our subcontractor community continually gives EllisDon preferential pricing as they recognize, “we want them to succeed”.
One client recently commented that working with EllisDon was, “professional and quite fun – that’s refreshing.”
We couldn’t ask for a better compliment!
Contact Information
EllisDon Corporation
89 Queensway Ave W, Ste 800
Mississauga, Ontario L5B 2V2
Phone: 905.896.8900
Fax: 905.896.8911
© EllisDon Corporation 2010
