Core Values
Five key principles are of primary importance, and lie at the very core of our company. And each of these have a direct positive impact on the quality of work every Feyen Zylstra client receives.
Safety
Safety awareness is the very essence of success in many industries. It is a contract between yourself, your fellow workers, and your loved ones. The enforcement of safety procedures is the wise and prudent urging to develop lifesaving and healthful habits.
Safety is extremely important to us at Feyen Zylstra. This attitude toward safety is a result of a concerted effort by the owners to promote the importance of safety and well being of employees as a top priority.
Several years ago, Marlin Feyen and Bob Zylstra instituted changes to improve safety at Feyen Zylstra. These changes were followed by a stronger commitment from the Safety Committee and Management team. The result was an improvement in several safety measures as well as an esteemed safety award.
Professionalism
"Professionalism" on the job implies that one demonstrates the necessary technical skills. A professional is expected to perform at standards far beyond the ability of the amateur. Yet, it is more than mere skill that sets the professional apart. It is a dedication to excellence that does not waver in the face of frustration or challenge.
At Feyen Zylstra, we demand more from employees than mere technical competence. We demand excellence. However, we do not demand perfection. In the hectic, day-to-day world of business, particularly in an organization dedicated to superb performance, the weaknesses of human nature are going to manifest themselves. Still, in the spirit of professionalism, we can guard against such occasions.
Training is one component of our effort, making sure we provide each employee with the caliber of training required to reach and maintain a high level of technical competence. Communication is also a vital component, ensuring that goals and expectations are clearly defined and we all know and understand the contribution expected. Teamwork is another key to our professionalism. No team ever wins when any one individual takes on all the responsibility for victory. The capstone of our professional structure is respect. Only when we show respect for each other can we truly claim to understand the value of professionals.
Integrity
Knowledge. Training. Experience. Over time—through hard work and diligence—these qualities bring one to a level of professionalism. But another quality is also important: Integrity. Indeed, through the acquisition of knowledge, training, and experience, one learns to do things right. However, a person of integrity must also resolve to do the right thing.
At Feyen Zylstra, we pride ourselves on our technical knowledge. No matter how complex the job, Feyen Zylstra can rise to the challenge of finding the solution. But technical expertise is not enough if we are to maintain our position as an industry leader. To knowledge, training and expertise, we must add integrity.
As a company, we complete each project with integrity. To accomplish this, every employee must exhibit this core value. It only takes one person’s bad decision to ruin the image of the whole team. And that is why integrity is one of Feyen Zylstra’s core values. A lack of knowledge is something that can be changed with training. A lack of integrity is a character trait that is not easily reversed. Therefore, it is a requirement that every Feyen Zylstra employee act with integrity. It is not a goal, but an absolute necessity that will not be compromised under any circumstances.
Responsiveness
Everybody is responsive to new sales opportunities. It’s long after the project is secured that responsiveness is truly a virtue. And it’s not just the immediacy of the response that’s important. It’s the quality of the response. It must be rendered as though it is a privilege, not an unwelcomed intrusion.
Responsiveness is a multifaceted concept. A key aspect of responsiveness is letting the customer know you have heard their request (or complaint) and that a response is forthcoming. Often, a customer’s comfort level can be restored simply when they know someone is working on the problem.
Another part of responsiveness is accurately defining the problem. At Feyen Zylstra, we make sure we understand the request before we respond.
Finally, responsiveness is an obligation and an opportunity. The old axiom that "Your best prospect is your current customer," is true because when you diligently set out to provide customers with timely and appropriate solutions, it often results in the need for additional products and services. This, in itself, is ample reason to provide customers with a comprehensive responsiveness that exceeds their most lofty expectations.
Efficiency
Thanks to many years of experience, Feyen Zylstra knows how to compute costs. We know that we must make a profit sufficient to finance growth, motivate employees, and invest in our future. We also know that we can never overcome low margins by "making it up with volume." However, we don’t expect our customers to finance cost overruns that are caused by poor planning, insufficient supervision, or unprofessional implementation.
Our approach is to come at every job in as efficient a manner as possible. Here our experience plays an important role in that we have the ability to analyze and design a job from a comprehensive, strategic perspective rather than from a limited, tactical perspective.
Result is that we can provide clients with solutions that exceed their expectations and help them accommodate the future, even though their future needs may still be sketchy. We also can offer solutions that eliminate wasted motion, avoid costly duplication and re-work. We can find solutions that compress deadlines and minimize or eliminate the loss of production time. We also offer solutions that materialize because the specified equipment and supplies are on hand when needed, and because the right workers are efficiently deployed to bring it all together.
We are equipped to provide problem-solving solutions. And we can produce all of our work in such a way as to win our customers’ confidence, understanding and loyalty.
