The following transcript is provided by YouTube. Mistakes are present. To hear the podcast episode, click HERE.
TRACE: Happy Friday, October 5th, the last day of Industrial Water Week. Folks, this has been an incredible week. We have celebrated an entire week’s worth devoted just to us, the industrial water treaters. And I hope you have enjoyed all of the installments of Scaling UP! And today the reason that we are industrial water treaters is because people pay us to do that job. I haven’t found anybody including myself who will do this for free. I love this job and unfortunately I choose to live indoors and eat food and those thing cost money and thank goodness there are people out there that will pay us money to do industrial water treatment. So today we’re gonna start out with the question from no other but James MacDonald.
JAMES: Happy Careers Friday of Industrial water Week. My question for today is why should someone choose a career in Industrial Water Treatment?
TRACE: Well James, thank you for that question. And James, thank you for creating Industrial Water Week. I know I’ve been talking about you all week about I just think it’s so awesome that we can all come together one week out of a year to my hope we can do that a lot more often than that but we have a holiday now and forever for us. Industrial Water Week that we can think about these things and we can celebrate with our water treatment brothers and sisters together. So thank you so much for that James.
Now your question is why should someone be a water treater? Well, I’m gonna change that around and say why shouldn’t somebody be a water treater? So I’m gonna go ahead and answer this one myself. I may not tell you I did not start out when I left school being a water treater. I think I told this story on one of my first episodes. Being one of my first episodes I probably told it very poorly so here it is again. When I got out of school I was a stock broker. And I hated that job. I didn’t consider water treatment a real career. And my father saw how unhappy that I was and he of course knew that I can do the water treatment job because I had been helping him with that job in some form or another ever since I can remember. I got a memory of myself burning my hand on his hot plate when I was 5 years old. By the way Scaling UP! H2O does not condone taking 5 year old children into mechanical rooms. So now that that’s out of the way, I do remember that and I always enjoyed it.
It was always fun. I enjoyed having a problem and trying to solve what that problem was and I truly enjoyed working with my father in that capacity. So he came to me and he said “Well, why are you doing the stock broker thing? You love water treatment, why don’t you do that?” and I told my dad, I really did make this comment. I said “Well dad that’s not a real job. That’s just something I help you out with.” And then he explained to me that the fact that all the food that I was eating as I was growing up, the house that we lived in, all of the things that I of course have as I was growing up came from his job as a water treater. So I then started working with my father. I was then a full blown water treater. And forks, my worst day as a water treater is better than my best day as a stockbroker.
And true, I wasn’t a very good stock broker. It just wasn’t the right job for me and I know there are a lot of people out there that do a great job of that, I just was not one of those. But I am one of those people that do an exceptional job as a water treater. And I got to think of all the cool things that I’ve been able to do in my life because I became a water treater. Just the fact that we’re able to go into plants and see how things are made is awesome to me. It’s like our own private how-it-is-made show. I’ve seen just about you-name it how it’s made. Peanut butter jars, PVC, LEDs, oh gee! there’s so much stuff out there. But I have seen so many things made out there that I would have never been able have I not been in water treatment. And i was getting paid as people were giving me tours of this stuff. And 9 times out of 10 I was there because there was an issue that these people that were running these equipment could not solve and they brought me in to solve this issue and I did it and they thought I was a hero. And I guess in their mind I was but because we trained ourselves to look at things in a certain way, that we use water as a heat transfer medium and we know how it should be use and what all the thing that could come in between water and that heat transfer surface and when we put that mindset together, we’re trying to do that, we’re able to do some magic. So the awesome thing is these people will pay you very well to solve their problems.
So James, I don’t know if I’m completely answered your question but I could not think a better job out there to have. I’ve never been bored, I’ve never stopped learning, I have met so many people that I consider my friends both as fellow water treaters and also as customers. I would not have had that opportunity had I not got in to industrial water treatment. So James thanks for asking that question. I wish I could answer it better but I will answer it that it’s the best job in the world and everybody should doing it but I’m very fortunate that they’re not.
Scaling UP! Nation, I think it’s important for us to talk with somebody who’s responsible for not only hiring new water treaters but also evaluating new water treaters. So a lot of people in the Scaling UP! Nation are new to water treatment. We have all sorts of water treater in the nation. We have people that just started yesterday to people that had been in the industry for thirty plus years. So those people that had just started recently, how do you gauge where you are? And more importantly, how do you gauge how your employer feels where you are? So my next guest is Thomas Hardy of Tower Water. And he is responsible in making sure the water treaters in his company 1. He brings on the right people and then he makes sure that these right people are doing the things that they need to do in order to continue doing it with their company. SO folks, here’s my good friend, Thomas Hardy.
My lab partner today is Thomas Hardy of Tower Water. Thomas how are you doing on this amazing October 5th, Friday, celebration the last day of Industrial Water Week?
THOMAS: I’m doing wonderful. I’m glad that you’re here and the heat is over.
TRACE: Exactly. Well Thomas, I’m so glad you came to join us here on Scaling UP! podcast because I know that you’re an incredible manager. You got some are great people that work with here and I know that that just doesn’t happen. And I know that you’ve identify some key qualities that you want to train people to, that you expect them to train themselves to, and then you want them to be able to be rewarded if they exceed that. So I was hoping we can have a conversation around that.
THOMAS: I’ll be happy to.
TRACE: Well, let’s just get right into it. So, you’re looking for brand new water treater, so now what are some of the qualities that you look for?
THOMAS: It’s a good question. In our organization at this point we’ve kind of built a structure about not only running a company but also how we’re hiring people. That being said, we found that one tried people that are new to the industry are the easiest because they’re of clean slate to train. I’ve also hired people that have been in the industry for while. I say the biggest thing that comes along is I’m looking for people that really besides normal stuff that they know how to do their job and can learn the skills that are needed. That they really fit into the culture that we built here in Tower Water.
TRACE: So Thomas, I’m curious, how do you look for new people when you have a gap and you got to fill something?
THOMAS: Well, first of all, we’ve built a structure to really kind of predict when we’re gonna need somebody because we’ve kind of grow past the need to hire somebody at the last minute. So once we can predict it and we can see that hey in six months from now we’re gonna need someone, we start putting out the resumes out there and we start at people that are just graduating college with degrees similar to the field that we’re work in. I also put out stuff out there into the industry; Facebook, LinkedIn, everything out there and start interviewing that. We do a solemn screening. And then I actually sit them we’d like to get them out to field for day to really witness the job and observe what it is that they may be doing if they’re interested because it’s just as much interview for then than it is for us.
TRACE: You know that’s a great point. There’s so many people out there that don’t know what it is that we do. That’s the whole point of premise in which I started this show so they can look it up on the internet and they can ask you questions, you can tell them what it is that we do day to day. But until they experience they really have no idea. I love that idea that you’re taking them out so they can experience it for themselves. Let me ask you. Do you ever have people that say “Now that I know what this is, I want no part of it.”?
THOMAS: Most definitely, Most especially it happens I say easily 50% of the time that people expect that they’re gonna be doing lab work and you know when they get out in the field they will really see what it takes to do to treat water and what it takes to go to the sites and it’s not for them so… But you know, they’ve definitely been exposed to something that they may not be exposed to otherwise.
TRACE: I love doing that. That’s great advice for everybody out there in the Scaling UP! Nation because we are such a nitch industry. Thomas, I wanna as. You mentioned that you tried to match up degrees with water treatment, which degrees have you found matched up the best based on your experiences.
THOMAS: For the most people that have been successful here, it seems like two that have really stood out are Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Science seem to be the two strongest. I would like also to add upon another note that as far as degrees beyond one thing I’ve found as I said before a culture within the organization. All my water treatment professionals also have kind of seem to have a similar desire to work on their cars which I didn’t really realize until after, you know, we’ve started staff of one more people and we sit down talk and they’ve kind of said of each other and one may have just you know played around with his radio while pointing out—-does more work by the experience he has. So they all have to seem to have that common desire and knowledge that they build up.
TRACE: Now let me ask. You’ve hired somebody and they are brand new. They’ve been with us for one month, they’ve been with us for two months, three months, one year, two year, what do you expect to see in those different time frames if that person is performing how you want them to perform?
THOMAS: Trace, I think that’s a great question. I think it’s important for a company to have full transparency in the growth of their employees. We’ve outdone years, we’ve outlined a road map for new hires. So, upon day one hire they kind of get to see a map of where they’re expected to be at certain different periods throughout their career. We have a six-months training program and they’ll know every step of the way where they’re gonna be, at the end of the six months they’ll take a test. See if they’ve learned everything, improved everything. And then they’ll know the next year, two years, three years, four years and we give them the tools and the knowledge to grow beyond that and test one away to calibrate where they are.
TRACE: I love the idea of they know where they’re supposed to be without “Okay, I’m here, tell me what to do next.”, “Okay, I made it to this point, tell me what to do next.” You’ve taken it from now it’s not your responsibility to train them anymore. You’ve empowered them so they know where they need to be any point in time. That’s awesome. How did you develop something like that?
THOMAS: Well, it was actually both myself and the owner of the company sat down and we kind of figure out the mile that we’re at wasn’t gonna grow with the company. As we continue to grow we need to figure a way to really promote growth within the company. As you said that they can empower themselves. So it’s been, it’s been a, it took a couple of years to get where we are today but I think we’re in a good place and now we’re at a point where we’re constantly adjusting things and changing things but the base and the foundation has been created.
TRACE: So Thomas, all of your employees know where they’re supposed to be at a particular date in time. So let’s say that that’s the bear minimum, at six months you got to do these 20 things or whatever it is, what does an employee have to do in order to exceed that to really, you know, get the attention of you, your owner, everybody in Tower Water?
THOMAS: Great question. So I would say that the best way to exceed or sure to exceed is they got into a certain level in a quicker time frame than we expected them to get there. And a lot of that again is on them because they put the extra effort there. To whether it’s study harder or gain more experience or knowledge outside of time that we have allotted for them. And then I have a couple of my guys that have done that. You know, within six months they’ve achieved a year’s worth of knowledge and we’re able to pass the test to prove it. So, I think that’s the important part of giving them the direction, the map of having to get there and then they can follow that road at their own pace.
TRACE: Thomas, what are some of the tools that you use, or more importantly, what are some of the tools that the people out in the Scaling UP! Nation can use based on what you’re using so they can get more water treatment knowledge?
THOMAS: Well, number one is AWT. We are involved in as wealth of resource and knowledge and then any other organization that’s out there and that’s available to them is great. We enter of libraries, the internet as we know. Number one is the people, you peers in the industry. Speak to them. They are the best source of knowledge because you can bounce questions of them that’s where I would go the most.
TRACE: I know first hand that you guys invest a lot of resources into training you people. You’ve actually hired to me come up in to do some training with you. And by the way you guys have some great people working for you. I love coming up there and doing that. So, it’s not just one way, so, definitely you guys are providing the platform so everybody in your company can learn but you’ve also got the people that are there that are taking what you’re giving and using it and going further. So let me ask this question. What would you have to see to say this is not a right person? They can’t be on our team anymore. Simply put, what are some of the things that you would see in a water treatment professional that they would get fired over?
THOMAS: Very good question and the right person as it turn out that we use in our organization based on EOS operating system. My model that we’ve imparted and over the years. But you know we have a set of values that we’ve created that basically encompasses what the culture of Tower Water is and people are hired on those values and people are, to your question, are let go on those values. And sometimes, you know, we let people go because they’re just not meeting the values anymore. Most often if somebody’s gonna leave us they feel that the values aren’t for them. That’s happening more often than the other. So we sit down on routine basis with people. Kind of review are they meeting the values or they feel that they’re still part of the Tower Water culture and if not, we work together over 90 days and try to get them to the front where they feel they are or they’re not. It’s not just throw somebody away. I mean there are the obvious, you know, reasons to let somebody go, the only you know, just the appropriate behavior but beyond those, we’re not just ready to fire somebody right of the bag. You know, we hire somebody for a reason. Let’s figure out what’s going on and try work with them to improve them if not, it’s time to part ways.
TRACE: So Thomas, now we have somebody that has joined in this interview at this very moment in time. They haven’t heard anything else. What’s the one thing that you want our listeners from this conversation?
THOMAS: I would say no matter what, never think that you know everything. Always be willing to go out there and seek more knowledge and it’s only gonna help you more and help you grow.
TRACE: Well Thomas, I wanna thank you for coming on Scaling UP! And what do you gonna do, Friday night, tonight, to celebrate the last day of Industrial Water Week?
THOMAS: I’m gonna basically sit in my room and relax and do nothing. I’m just kidding.(Laughing). I’m gonna get out and get to talk to a few more people and enjoy myself.
TRACE: Well, there you go. I wanna let you know I went to Hallmark. I tried to buy an Industrial Water Week card to send you, they don’t have them yet. So just know that thought was there.
THOMAS: I appreciate the thoughts what counts. Maybe next year.
TRACE: Thanks for coming on, Thomas.
THOMAS: No problem. Thank you.
TRACE: Nation, as I said I had met so many people in the Water Treatment industry that I call friends. That was another one right there, Thomas Hardy. Of course, you know Rusell Baskin, his boss, the owner of Tower Water because he’s been with the show. We were at the AWT together. He did a fantastic presentation on how his company totally transformed because he works in New York and they had this mandates put upon them about Legionella. Hopefully you saw that at the Association of Water Technologies but I know these people because I got into the Water Treatment industry. And more importantly, I started doing something to better more people than myself in the Water Treatment industry and that was joining the Association of Water Technologies.
And then of course, throughout my experiences, through the Association of Water Technologies I decided I wanted to do even more and that’s why I started this podcast. So I hope that you have just gotten of plethora of reasons if you are thinking about joining the Industrial Water World. There’re so many reasons to do it. You should go ahead and go for it providing you’re gonna do it seriously and you’re going to make it your career. Now folks, there are bunch of us out there that are not taking it seriously and are not treating it as a career and the only thing you’re doing is making the industry worse and you are not happy. Life is too short to not be happy. Find something that you enjoyed doing and let somebody who will do your job the best that the job can be done take your spot. I’m not trying to be hard on you but, really, find something that you love doing and you will never work another day of your life. And that’s how I feel about water treatment.
Folks, it is the last day of Industrial Water Week. We have brought you five special holiday episodes, one for each and every day of Industrial Water Week. Next Week you’re not gonna have an episode each and every day. And I know what you’re saying. You’re saying “Trace, you got us hooked on this Scaling UP! H2O podcast coming out every single day. What are we supposed to do?” Well here’s a surprise for you and this is my gift to you for Industrial Water Week. Scaling UP! Nation, we are no longer going to produce a show every other week. I am now committed to the Scaling UP! Nation that we will produce a show each and every week. You’ve asked for it. You’ve said “Trace, we need more Scaling UP! H2O.” And folks, I’ve heard you. We’re doing it. So next Friday we’ll start out with our first weekly edition podcast. I sure am glad that you guys are letting me know that you enjoy the show. You’re letting me know what items you want me to talk about and keep in mind I’m now doing twice as many shows so I need those ideas now more than ever.
Folks, Happy Industrial Water Week! Please take this opportunity to make the most out of the career that you’ve chosen to be in and I can’t wait to talk to you next week on Scaling UP!