VECTOR AEROSPACE
HELICOPTER SERVICES

The action behind this story of Best Practices took place between 1998-2001 on the grounds of a Helicopter Company located in Richmond, British Columbia. At that time the company was known as Acro Aerospace. In 2004 it's name changed to Acrohelipro Global Services and in 2008 the company assumed the name of its parent company, Vector Aerospace-Helicopter Services.

The story which follows describes how Michael Coughlin, president, was able to make some extraordinary changes. He was able to change employee attitudes, beliefs, and ways of work that resulted in a better bottomline as well as more involved, satisfied and productive employees. The circumstances of this story are timeless and would fit the picture of workplaces today. Michael Coughlin moved from Acro Aerospace to Cascade Aerospace and is currently at Heli-One as a VP of business units in Delta, British Columbia. Heli-One is an operating subsiduary of CHC Helicopters.

CONDITIONS AT ACRO WHEN MICHAEL ARRIVED

1. The Company had grown quickly and had great capabilities
2. Financial performance was unsatisfactory
3. Customer satisfaction was low
4. Morale was grounded
5. Employee turnover was high
6. Employees trust of management was low
7. Employees were intimidated by some managers
8. Things were "beyond bad"

CHANGES MADE IN PRACTICES

1. He encouraged communication at all levels to break the barriers which separated management and the workers.
2. He nixed the free coffee for management.
3. He eliminated reserved parking for management.
4. He made management changes and set an expectation that employee satisfaction was a top company priority.
5. He conducted group and individual meetings where employees could vent their feelings.
6. He chatted casually with employees during work hours and tried to instill a sense of fun in the workplace. Celebrations, parties, recognition, friendly wagers entered the workplace
7. He set achievable work targets.
8. He promoted celebrating achievements.

RESULTS OF THOSE CHANGES AND HOW THEY PAID OFF

1. Teams were set up among employees.
2. Teams used their own initiative to restructure the company's organization.
3. People began to understand what they could do to affect financial results.
4. Changes were dramatic. Some teams redesigned their work areas reducing inventory levels and floor space by dramatic percentages.
5. The company has experienced double-digit growth.
6. The results upheld what Michael believes are some basic business truths: "When employees are given direction, encouraged and supported to make changes, customer satisfaction will rise and financial performance will improve. You cannot achieve long term performance for customers and shareholders without a motivated and satisfied workforce."

THE STORY OF AN INVOICE PROCEDURE

1. The process of preparing Invoices for customers was taking weeks instead of a day or so
2. A team of those involved sat down for 2 days to look at the process. Each employee mapped out the process and discussed why each step was done. In many instances, the employees did work just because "we've always done it that way!" The team redesigned the process taking into account the needs of the customer and the company.
3. Those changes have resulted in an improvement of invoicing to one day and a one-time increase in cashflow of over one million dollars!

The changes at ACRO described above have not been complicated, but they have required continuous effort and commitment by the president, other senior management, and all the employees. Michael says that daily pressures sometimes cause the new ways of work to bend under the weight, so reaffirming the company's direction, providing support and encouraging the input of employees is a constant never-ending job, but well worth it! ACRO received an award of distinction for "People Focus" from the Quality Council of British Columbia.

The story about Acro Aerospace was first printed in B.C. Business, August 2000 in an article titled "Satisfaction Guaranteed" written by Roberta Staley. Changes in content were made by Michael Coughlin, president of Acro Aerospace (1998 - 2001).