Entryway’s Post

Team Tuesday & Employee Spotlight! Today's McClay's spotlight is with Juan L. Azbate who works for our McClay's Transportation asset division as a dispatcher. Juan does great work with communicating, and collaborating with our drivers and customers each day to make sure our shipments run smoothly and accurately. Juan also takes care of scheduling our drivers each week to ensure everything is properly planned and to create efficiencies with route planning. Q: How Long have you worked at McClay's Transportation: A: 5 glorious years. I have grown a lot in this role as a dedicated dispatcher over the past years, and I look forward to working with the team moving forward and continuing to grow in the role. Q: What do you enjoy most about working at McClay's: A: I enjoy the friendliness of our team, customers, and the easy going culture that it brings with it. Q: What are some of your interests outside of work: A: In my downtime away from the office/yard, I enjoy Chess, Video Games, Soccer/Football and family time! Q: What's your go to food, snack, cuisine...: A: Any food is my favourite food. Make no mistake I like food. My motto is, I will try anything once. Q: What is something interesting that people might not know about you: A: I came to Canada as a refugee with one bag of clothes and a box of my most precious CD's. That's a great memory and we appreciate you sharing that with us. We at McClay's are happy that you decided to take that risk Juan. We are happy to have you on our team! Also, please refrain from calling me, Yuan as much as possible, or for that matter Jose...LOL...It's Juan!!!! Thanks for telling us a little bit more about yourself Juan. It's great to have you as a McClay's Team member! #mcclaysdifference #culture #easygoing #Checkmate #familyfirst #soccerlife #foodielife #refugees #yuan #musiclovers #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

Over a year of living life in the mid-west! Relocating from the UK to Chicago. And as I reflect on the past year, it feels as though I should be writing about what a big move it’s been, maybe talking about how daunting it was and the risk I may or may not have taken. But I’m not – and that’s probably the perfect summary of my time in Chicago so far. Monday to Friday is very much Saragossa, very much what I have been used to over the past 8 years and very much what we’ve built. Each member of the team would be at home in either of our UK offices and that’s made my transition to life in the US a smooth one. I think that’s largely referred to as culture! Chicago is a cool place. ‘We’ get 4 genuine seasons to experience (the winters aren’t that bad) and plenty of Chicago sport to get behind.  If I was in Miami, New York, San Diego, Austin etc I’d probably find that “cool” as well, there’s an element of it just being “new”, but after 12 months it safe to say that Chicago is a unique place to be. The beach, Lake Michigan, The Riverwalk all within close proximity. The food scene is exactly as advertised and the people are unbelievably welcoming. Shoutout Adrian Boone II for showing me the ropes. Team Growth. Our initial team of 6 will be a team of 16 next month and Chicago was our most profitable business unit globally, in May & June – two really proud milestones for me personally. We are hoping to secure a new site in the coming weeks which will see us move to new premises in August and support the continued growth of the team.  I’m not sure what the latest studies on time at work v home would say, but I feel very fortunate to spend the majority of my time with a team of ambitious, genuine and positive individuals. Cons. The chocolate just isn’t the same, I’ve had to accept the term “soccer” and my family are 4,000 miles away. The journey our US operation is on, coupled with the excitement which comes with that, is enough to cushion the blow, but it’s tough! The opportunity here is huge. The team we’ve assembled are serious about their careers. The accountability for completing tasks is consistent across all team members, there is a positivity and fearlessness about day-to-day obstacles and this is forming a genuinely high performing culture. I’ve spent some time in our Bristol and London offices in recent days. Our culture and identity is consistent throughout our organization, regardless of the geographical location. This helps to create a real togetherness despite the obvious challenges. Here’s to the next 12 months, a new office, new team members, new challenges and new stories to tell.

Was down in South Florida last week and had my favorite coffee spot CALI COFFEE every single morning, even driving 15 minutes for it some days 😎 Every day I ordered the same thing, an iced Baywatch (coconut and white chocolate, yum) with oat milk. Out of 6 days, only once did the staff ask me if I had a number for loyalty. 5 of my visits didn’t count for my loyalty because I wasn’t asked to put my number in. I don’t blame them, they’re 17 year olds working summer jobs with drive thru lines sometimes 10-15 cars deep and they’re focusing on making drinks and being efficient. This is why credit card based loyalty is crucial for brands. No friction of having to train staff to ask guests for a number when busy, or to rely on guests to remember to do it. If Cali Coffee used Thanx, they would know my daily order, my frequency and how much I spend automatically each time I come in and pay for my drink. It’s why Thanx is the future of loyalty 🩵

Right now I’m watching a group chat where my team of Sailors are fighting (not really) over who is going to stay late tomorrow to cover down for a shipmate. I largely attribute this to a process I put in place when I first took over. Sitting them down, I gave them a copy of my philosophy and outlined my priorities: 1. Well being of me, my family & my team and theirs. 2. Career progression (promotion, commission, separation) 3. The Mission Almost always in that order. As every member of my team is pending med separation, or retiring, I told them that their number 1 priority was to make their appts. When asked why the mission came last, I explained that the only way we could make our respective cache of appts & still do our jobs was if each member was trained & willing to do a missing member’s work & pay into a system where everybody gets the time they need because “everybody rows”. This type of cross-training sounds good in theory but is often poorly executed. Explaining is one thing, executing is another. Next I asked my team to build a watch rotation for our duty assignments. When my PO1 submitted it without including me because I was a Chief, I gave it back to him & told him to resubmit it with me pulling my fair share of duty. He was uncomfortable doing so at first , but after I refused to approve it without him including me, he eventually relented. For the next months I not only stood the duty with them, but would roger up for extra shifts when they were out of pocket or send them home early (as long as they could answer some Navy trivia) & take their shift. This wasn’t me not knowing my place or being taken advantage of. It was very intentional. The purpose was to be able to create a system that was survivable regardless of the departure of any member, because all members are invested in the success of the shop. The measure of success is that for the past couple weeks I’ve been out of the loop on baby leave and have turned over duties pending my transfer. Yet and still, the culture persists. By making ourselves the priority and showing how taking care of ourselves moves us to a more capable place overall, we were able to shift the culture of the shop. This would not have worked if I just told them to cover down & not done it with them. My example was needed to ensure buy in. By all accounts it also should not have worked with a team who could throw their hands in the air & say “I’m almost out the Navy”. I believe it did because I believe that nobody joins the Navy to fail & I made a bet on the hearts of my people. Through constant reinforcement of people centric priorities, we arrived where we are now: A culture of trust & genuinely looking out for each other, which has ironically bled over into collaborative task ownership. I’m super proud of them & grateful they are onboard and will rest assured tomorrow while I’m at my own medical appointment. “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”.

Today marks seven months since I took on the role of manager at Dreamland, and what a journey it has been! This opportunity has allowed me to put my Project Management skills into practice. When I began, our processes and systems were inefficient, and we frequently received customer complaints. Important documents, check-in/check-out systems, safety protocols, and cleaning protocols were outdated and rarely followed. Determined to make a change, I implemented a new approach: - Delegated Tasks: Empowered team members to make decisions and take care of their own tasks. - Clear Procedures: Introduced task sheets and procedures that staff can follow, contribute to, and use to develop high performance habits. - Performance Tracking: Established a Google Sheet system where staff tick off completed tasks with their names, allowing me to track performance and use this data for raises and promotions. - Enhanced Safety: Introduced a wristband check-in/check-out system to ensure child safety. Only the adult with the matching wristband can pick up the child. This system also tracks playtime, occupancy, and product selection. These changes have significantly improved our efficiency and customer service. We’ve received 40 new 5-star reviews since January, boosting our Google rating from 4.5 to 4.8. Additionally, customer satisfaction and return rates have increased by 12%. Looking forward to continuing this journey and achieving even greater heights with the Dreamland team!

My journey at Airhouse has come to an end… Airhouse set out to service the unique needs of high growth Direct-to-Consumer brands. It was more than just a 4PL or a 3PL marketplace – it was a managed network of 3PLs whose collective capabilities were greater than the sum of its parts. The business model was clever, providing value to both the 3PL partners and the DTC brands we served as customers. This model allowed us to offer competitive pricing to our customers while maintaining positive unit economics in an industry that is simultaneously cost sensitive and quality focused. Despite our ultimate failure, I believe that this model can be not only successful but could be a real game changer in the logistics industry. I embarked on my Airhouse journey during a challenging period in my life, when health issues made it impossible for me to leave my house for several years. I needed a fully remote role at a time when such arrangements were rare. I spoke with many companies but everyone expected 3 to 4 days per week in the office which I was not able to do. When I was contacted by Airhouse’s recruiter they had just hired their first engineer and had no product, partners, or customers yet. Meeting Kevin, Sarah, and Sam for the first time, I was impressed by their logistics industry expertise and well-developed business plan. I was also excited by their energy and the positive attitudes that would be the staple of the Airhouse team for the life of the company. This was a team I was excited to join and build something with. The past six years have been an unparalleled period of personal and professional growth. Collaborating with talented engineers pushed my software engineering skills to new heights. Product ownership afforded me the freedom and focus to build solutions our customers could rely on. A supportive team culture and candid feedback from my team and peers nurtured my development as a leader and manager. On top of that, getting my health back on track and getting out into the world again has been amazing. I firmly believe that hiring the right people is the most crucial aspect of building a company. Especially on product and engineering teams, new hires face a steep learning curve when joining an organization. Prior knowledge and experience are the foundation upon which new hires stand as they start their journey; a positive attitude, strong communication skills, and an eagerness to learn are essential for individual and team success. We set a high bar for ourselves and as a group held each other accountable. I am immensely proud of the team we assembled at Airhouse. Each member cared deeply about delivering the best possible service for our customers, partners, and internal stakeholders. I would gladly work alongside any of them again and hope our paths cross in the future.

The year was 2012… I was bitten by an entrepreneurial bug with a strong sense of purpose and making an impact. While researching for good summer schools for my kids' vacation time, I realized there are no classes for art/craft activities apart from some basic paper folding activities  that they do in school. Then I saw a franchise opportunity in collaboration with POGO channel (One of the popular cartoon channel) for M.A.D craft summer camp. I lapped it immediately, spoke to few friends who were good in art to partner with me, collaborated with few apartments to give me space in their complex to conduct the camps. Soon with quick thinking on the feet, collaborated with schools, Justbooks library for space and increased the reach from one to multiple locations and made it profitable. Children who attended our camps soon keep coming back every year and made it popular through word of mouth. I acquired so many skills: 1. Marketing and promotions 2. Selling an idea effectively to make it earn the money invested and grow it as well 3. People management skills which now also help me in my career as HR 4. Managing operations and logistics 5. Agility to make a better version of the services year on year to give the customer a complete value for money. No experience is big or small, if I now look back on my journey, we should consider every such moment as a learning opportunity contributing to our overall growth as a professional, leading to success.

Classic Carriers is proud to call Darke County home, so we were thrilled when asked to host an educator tour at our facility. Teaming with WorkForce Specialist Tamala Marley and Careers Connection Coordinator Todd Schilling from the Darke County Economic Development Council, we set out to teach local educators about a modern trucking company. The Educator Tour at Classic Carriers Touring Classic Carriers opened educators’ minds to how technology-driven today’s trucking companies are. We pulled up a refrigerated semi-trailer and other vehicles for the group to climb in the cabs to see how sleek, modern and comfortable they were. Then, they entered a maintenance bay with a semi above them, were handed flashlights and perused the undercarriage, learning the different parts and their functions. And after seeing the enormous warehouse and cold-storage units, they left with their perceptions changed. The possible career opportunities within a trucking company were more than they knew. A Corporate Partner for the Community Classic Carriers is proud to partner with the Darke County Economic Development Council (DCEDC) to recognize and keep local talent. Through school programs such as “job shadowing,” the DCEDC takes students for half- or full-day visits to local companies, so they can see what the job entails first-hand. Tamala said that sometimes they have an idea of the job but learn much more when they see it themselves. Targeting those close to high school graduation is a critical factor in retention. Todd said, “Sometimes young adults think they have to go to college out of town, but Darke County has tremendous opportunities for someone who never went to college. Certificate programs are offered and easily attained for talented students. And there’s more happening in Darke County, OH than many realize.” Working with other companies throughout the county leads to business relationships that spread out and form a net to open the door of opportunity for young people. The connection to the development council adds another layer of relationships that link a job to the seeker. Work-Based Learning Is Essential for Hiring and Retention The economic council feels it’s essential to provide job shadowing opportunities to help local companies hire the right employees. One’s perception can change when seeing the actual work a position requires.

Delivering More Than Just Food: My Uber Eats Journey. Living in NYC, the city that never sleeps, I've learned the true meaning of hustle. By day, I juggle my contract role and by night I navigate the bustling streets delivering for Uber Eats, my second job to make ends meet. Working two jobs in this vibrant city has been a challenging yet rewarding experience. Each delivery I make isn't just about food—it's about connecting with people from all walks of life, discovering hidden gems in different neighborhoods, and learning the true essence of resilience and determination. For those that know me know how I love to connect and interact with people but most of all make people feel good. Balancing multiple jobs has added to my invaluable lessons in time management, perseverance, and the importance of a strong work ethic. It's not always easy, but every day is an opportunity to grow and push my limits. To all my fellow hustlers out there, keep grinding and never lose sight of your dreams. Every step, no matter how small, brings you closer to your goals. #UberEats #NYCHustle #TwoJobs #Resilience #WorkEthic #CityLife #NeverGiveUp #workingmom #timemanagement #multitask #stayready #goals #hardwork

My first job: Working at the local zoo. I was in high school. It was about a 30 minute drive from my house. I went to this zoo several times growing up...once got bit by a small pony (to be fair...I had it coming. I wasn't being very nice). Then a few years later got a job working there. Funny. I worked 50-80 hours/week, making $3.05/hour. They paid me about $180 a week so $720 a month. I remember thinking this is amazing. But I really didn't like getting up at 5:30 in the morning in order to get there on time & start my work day. But looking back the biggest lesson I learned: Earning money for doing something. Even if it’s something I don’t like. What a noble concept! That was my first experience of earning money and it definitely wasn't the most satisfying thing I've ever done. However..... I enjoyed the paycheck way MORE than I hated the job. Anyway, what was your first job? #trucking #firstjobs #growingup #driverrecruiting