New Momentum Under Way at StoneWorks
It’s been an exciting time here at StoneWorks ever since the hire of our new CEO Andy Johnson! We hope you’ve had a chance to read about Andy in our latest blog post (click here in case you missed it). We want to take a moment to share with our clients the direction of the company now that Andy has joined the team.
(left) Andy Johnson, CEO with owner/founder, John Baltzegar III
Priority number one for Andy is his steadfast commitment to honoring the legacy of StoneWorks owner John Baltzegar. “I’ve come into a business with a firm foundation,” Andy shared. “We have a solid reputation in the marketplace and a very competent, committed group of employees. With such a solid foundation, we can certainly build upon John’s legacy.”
John Baltzegar congratulates the April Employee of the Month, Martha Moore
As Andy transitions into his new role as CEO, this will allow John to redirect his efforts. “John is a successful entrepreneur and a business leader. However, his passion is in selling and that dates back to early in his career when he worked at the Augusta Chronicle” Andy said. “This transition is going to allow him to focus on sales more in depth than he’s been able to over the past couple of decades.”
In the past 6 weeks since Andy joined the company, he has dedicated himself 100% to learning the business from the ground up. “My objective for the first 30 days was to learn by looking and listening” he said. “I wanted to learn first about our employees and our customers. I’ve always believed that the path to success for a business is to focus on creating a high-level of satisfaction for employees and customers.”
March and April have provided Andy the opportunity to share meaningful interactions with each of the employees at StoneWorks. “It started day one,” he said. “You have to care for the employees, but not only that, you have to show them you care. You do it in bits and pieces: spend some time talking with them, learn about their families, where their kids go to school, among other things.”
To build off of the momentum started with the employees, he plans to provide them a forum to communicate with him on a consistent basis. He referred to this forum as employee round-table meetings. These are meetings where the staff will be encouraged to provide Andy with candid feedback on how they see the business. “These round-tables are an opportunity for me to listen to the employees,” he said. “I plan to bring five to seven people in once a month, treat them to lunch and allow them to ask questions or make suggestions.”
StoneWorks continues to hold a technical edge over any other business in the market for fabrication and installation of stone. “Our process for delivery of the product and service is digitally based. From the first phase of the process to the last, we deploy the latest technology to ensure our customer needs are met," said Andy. “This company has a history of regularly and consistently investing in new technology. That will not change as we move forward.”
As Andy continues to learn more about the employees of StoneWorks, he will focus the coming days on learning more from our customers. We would love to hear your feedback! Contact Andy with any concerns or suggestions at 843-689-6980.
