Hardwood Floors April/May 2017

Denny: I’m more of a coach than a position player. I oversee everything from the foresters, timber management, and timber bids, to the sawmill, including what is being cut, giving priorities, and knowing the demand and what is needed at the flooring plant and with lumber sales. Jake: I deal with the day-to-day logistics of running Hickman Lumber. If someone is off work, I fill in their spot. Some days I’ll be grading lumber, working in the dry kilns, running the forklift, and even stacking boards. I do it all. I’m in charge of hiring and firing, and listening to the employees’ problems. Jessica: I’m in charge of marketing and sales. My brother, Jake, thinks I just sit on Facebook all day, but I wear a lot of hats. I spend most of my hours on the phone and emailing quotes and handling sales for Allegheny Mountain Hardwood flooring. I’m also in charge of marketing. I do the website, social media, blogs, print media, and set up and work home shows and trade shows. I’m also adamant about education within the design-build community and am involved with the local ASID, and Pittsburgh Green Build. I’ll do Lunch and Learns for architects, interior design classes at local colleges, and general presentations open to the community. We’ve been hosting a day- tour of our operations that I’ve organized the last four years. We’ll visit the woods, sawmill, and flooring plant, and explain everything from FSC certification and how the forest is managed to how the lumber is cut, dried, and manufactured into flooring. There are four generations working side-by-side within most organizations today. What are some common challenges you see between employees from different generations? Larry: The older employees, long time or new, appreciate the benefits we offer (full family health insurance, 401(k), vacation, etc.), and for the most part, have better work ethics. The younger employees are slower to pick up on that, but the younger generation is very quick to pick up on new technology in the way of automation and computer-oriented utilization. Denny: The older guys hardly ever took a vacation. It’s tough for us now to find young ones to work. The turnover rate is much higher with the younger generation. Jake: Our biggest challenge between generations is that the older generations show

up to work every day and soon they will all be retired. There are more than a dozen guys who have worked with us for more than 20 years. The longest to date is more than 40 years. It’s hard to get the younger generation to show up and do their job. The older generation does have a harder time picking up the new technology. Jessica: I definitely see the technology gap. Five years ago, the guys at the sawmill would still fax down information to the office instead of using email! It’s hard to “teach the old dogs new tricks,” but that adds to the fun challenge of creating simplicity in the new ideas. In spite of all the differences between the generations, what do you see as the areas of common ground on which to build strong and effective working relationships? Larry: I like to communicate with the employees, ask about how things are going, and share comments from customers about the products they are helping produce. That seems to give them a common goal. Denny: There are not a lot of jobs in the area. A successful business is going to keep food on everyone’s table. Jake: Keeping everyone on the same page and focused on the same ultimate goal, which is to produce a high-quality product every time. Jessica: I enjoy finding ways with new technology that I can simplify the process for some of the older generations. Especially with sales and management, which I deal with more. Using Excel and creating programs for inventory, saving formulas to figure things like equal lineal footage without having to sit down and do the calculations each time. I like taking their years of knowledge and experience and sharing the stories and knowledge through blogs and lessons with people who did not grow up in a sawmill. What are the most common workplace stereotypes you’ve heard about your generation? Larry: Most of my generation are hardworking, at least until they get too old. They have devoted their careers to coming up with innovative ways to produce products using a renewable resource. They’ve also found a way to make a living doing it to support their families, which is very important for my generation.

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