A New Beginning to Complete the Circle by Harcourt Tendhall
2 February 2022 { General Fiction }
When it comes to new beginnings, they really are so very important. So when I started my new job, I was determined to make a real go of it.
I arrived exactly five minutes early and reported to reception. They were expecting me, of course, and after a minute, my new boss’s secretary came down to collect me. She took me to his office, where he made me welcome.
‘Harry, good to see you again. Please, take a seat,’ he said, gesticulating at the one placed in front of his desk.
I sat. It was lower than his, but with no means of raising it. It was then the first inkling of doubt crept into my brain. I dismissed it, thinking it was just an unfortunate oversight on his part. After all, I was to be his Number 2 in this business.
He reiterated my responsibilities, virtually word-for-word, from the interview. I already knew them and was more interested in meeting the people I would manage directly. He explained he wouldn’t be available every day, so it was important that I hit the ground running and would need to think on my feet. I was getting annoyed. Here I was, teetering on a precipice, hour one of day one, and he’s throwing business-speak at me. I threw in one of my own.
‘That’s fine, Malcolm. I’m confident I can do all that, and so must you be, or I wouldn’t be here. Let’s get down to brass tacks. When do I meet the team?’
‘Right away.’ He checked his watch. ‘They should all be in the boardroom by now. Why don’t we go through?’
‘Great. Lead on.’
We entered the boardroom to a group of junior executives, expectant looks on their faces. Malcolm introduced them to me, and I shook everyone’s hand. You can tell a lot from a handshake and, as I sat next to Malcolm, I added a number next to each name I had previously listed on my notepad. Malcolm set off on another corporate diatribe, and it took me a minute or so to find a point of interjection.
‘Thank you for the introduction, Malcolm. Do you mind if I ask some questions?’
‘No, of course not. Go ahead.’
‘Okay. Jerry, you’re in charge of finance. What’s the cash-flow like at the moment?’
Jerry flung a worried glance at Malcolm, who, to his credit, kept a neutral expression. He said, ‘Cash-flow is currently healthy. We have a positive balance and the department is highly successful at chasing down late payments.’
‘Excellent. In terms of payment performance, what is the average number of days?’
‘Err, do you mean between invoice and payment date?’
‘Is there another?’
‘Err, well, no. We’re currently running at forty one days.’
‘That’s eleven over our terms, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, but it’s below the industry average.’
‘I know. We need to look at improving that. Let me have your proposals by this time next week. Now, Sandra; stock control. We seem to carry an awful lot of stock. Do we have suppliers with poor delivery records?’
‘I don’t think so. There’s nobody springs to mind.’
‘How can you justify carrying, on average, three months’ supply of raw materials?’
‘Well, we have the space, and it gives us the capability of increasing production capacity without putting a strain on resources.’
‘That’s fine, as long as we can match that with human resources, otherwise it becomes simple overstocking. Okay. I need you to provide me with a breakdown of each supplier, their track record on deliveries, and our stock levels. Can you get me that by the end of the month, please? Once we have the information, you and I will review it together and then review the contracts we currently have with our suppliers.
‘Okay, Jack, I want you to report back to me as soon as possible on frequency of breakdowns on each machine. I also want to know the man-hours spent on each machine for both breakdowns and maintenance. Together with that, I want to know how much spare production capacity we have, including the labour to go with that. We can then review how cost-effective each machine is and compare genuine production capacity with raw materials.
‘Sheila, can you prepare a full report on Human Resources? I want to know the capability of all our staff. I would also like your recommendations and justifications for any additional training requirements to increase efficiency. Can I have that next Monday, please?
‘Finally, Eric. Health and Safety is something I’m very keen on. I believe a healthy and safe work force is a happy workforce. Can you give me a full report on accidents, illness, and any safety issues? That should also include any additional safety training, so liaise with Sheila on that. You will also need to include building services testing regimes as well. Can you also let me have those by next Monday?
‘Okay, thank you all for your time this morning. I’ll get round to seeing each of you this week, when we can take a little time to get to know each other, but that’s enough for now, unless you’ve got anything more, Malcolm?’
‘Err, no. Thanks everyone. Let’s get back to it.’
They all filed out of the boardroom, leaving me with Malcolm.
As Eric shut the door behind him, Malcolm said, ‘You might have warned me. I could have had all that information available and waiting for you.’
‘Yes, but it wouldn’t have come as a surprise to them, would it?’
‘No, but what’s the point of that?’
‘I want each of them on the back foot this week. I’m going to be drilling down into how they work and what makes them tick. Efficiency has to be present at every level of the business and it starts at the top. They need to demonstrate to me by their actions that they operate their own role efficiently. When we’ve got each report, I intend to go through each one with them and weed out the inefficiencies. In future, they should be able to do that themselves. This is only the start of streamlining your business, Malcolm. It’s what you hired me for, but we’ve a long way to go. Once I’ve carried out this initial review phase, we’ll need to spend some time deciding what we are going to do going forward.’
‘Brilliant. Come on, I’d better show you to your office.’
That all happened twelve months ago. We have made some substantial efficiencies and expanded into a new area. Turnover is up, as is profit, and the company is operating like a well-oiled machine. Malcolm has complete trust in me, and it’s time for the ultimate phase of my plan. That will happen tonight. I’ve invited my new partners to a celebratory meal in a private room at my favourite restaurant. You see, Malcolm thinks he ‘poached’ me from his biggest business rival. In actual fact, it was me who engineered the entire scheme. I heard his MD was retiring and let it be known that I might be looking for a move. The rest, as they say, is history.
‘Hi everyone, I’m glad you could all make it. The terms we have offered each of you for contracts with Malcolm and Son are equitable by industry standards. I am as aware as anyone that each of us has to make a profit, so by taking this route, you have avoided the cut-throat competitive tender process. The sealed bid each of you are providing tonight will secure your contracts for as long as you pay the annual sum in advance and you meet your key performance indicators. Is everyone happy with that?’
I looked around the table. Everyone nodded their approval. They would. I taught them all and promoted them into my position each time I moved on. They understand how I like to do business.
‘In that case, please pass me your bids.’
Each produced an envelope, bearing only their name, and passed them down the table to me.
‘Thank you. Subject to the contents of these envelopes meeting our agreed requirements, we will issue the new supply contracts for your signatures in the morning. Now, I propose a toast: Success and prosperity for all.’
‘Success and prosperity for all.’
We all chinked glasses and the waiters began service.
When I arrived home that evening, I opened the envelopes. Their contents were exactly as requested. I’m not greedy, but this has been my life’s work. A cheque for one per cent of their annual contract value, paid in advance on this anniversary every year. The turnover of Malcolm and Son last year was £850m. Raw materials and parts purchases account for £400m. I take a handsome salary from Malcolm and Son, together with what, by some industries, is a modest annual performance-related bonus, but like I said, I’m not greedy.
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