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Building Teamwork While Building Bikes
At a time when companies are becoming increasingly impersonal in order to cut costs, and employees interact with each other less than ever before, Tucson-based Horizon Moving Systems is breaking the mold and working to improve positive interaction among employees. However, they are doing so in a rather untraditional way -- by building bikes.
In May, 75 employees from Horizon gathered at 7 a.m. to kick off their busiest time of the year with a bang. At the start of the peak moving season, transportation companies like Horizon were busy helping families all across the nation pack up and move over the next several months.
A relatively new trend, bike-building workshops are becoming a popular way for employers to get employees excited about teamwork, while giving something back to the community at the same time.
Using instructions to assemble the parts of the bicycle, 17 teams of Horizon employees collaborated to build fully functional bikes. The process helped employees interact with each other and work together to accomplish a difficult task. While building the bikes, the employees were simultaneously building positive relationships within the teams, which carries over into the workplace.
"Working as a team is vital to making a move go smoothly for our customers," says Harry Lakin, sales manager of Horizon Moving Systems.
One of the brilliant aspects of the exercise is that in the end, the bikes are given to local underprivileged children. The employees built 17 bikes to be donated to two local charities: the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Casa de los Niños, organizations that promote children's well-being through a variety of programs.
The idea behind Horizon's bike-building activity was to get employees excited about the upcoming moving season and working cooperatively together, so they in turn can provide the best possible service to their customers. "When employees are proud of what they do, it shows in their service," says Lakin, "and customers are the ones who ultimately reap the benefit of our passion for our jobs."
Quote of the Day
"Pay your people the least possible and you'll get from them the same."
-- Malcolm S. Forbes
