General Managers’ Virtual Roundtable

Members: Free | Non-Members: $45

What Takes GM Time and Whether It’s Right

Benefit from a variety of perspectives on how general members set personal priorities as they bear ultimate responsibility for all activity in linen, uniform and facility services plants they oversee. This discussion will reveal how, in deciding what tasks to perform personally and what to delegate, GMs ensure all the bases are covered.

To fuel the discussion, GMs received a survey about five functions in which they are likely to be involved:

• Staff Hiring/Onboarding
• Staff Retention
• Other Workforce Issues
• Customer Relations
• Government/Standards Compliance

Reacting to the survey results, participants will comment on the amount of personal attention they pay to these. They’ll roughly quantify how much time they need for each (little, moderate, significant or maxed-out) and how much they would prefer to spend on each( less, same, more).

Given how tasks pile, GMs need to delegate, to free them to undertake other tasks. These also pile and a steady state of exhaustion can ensue. By facilitating GMs’ experience-sharing regarding this circularity, the roundtable will support their efforts to be flexible with their time as they oversee sales, service, laundry production and administration operations of laundry facilities.

Benefit from industry colleagues’ observations of the skills and knowledge that individuals need to bring—and develop—to succeed in these jobs. Be prepared to share a little of your experience in this respect to keep the dialog flowing to encourage others on this Zoom to do the same, so you receive a wide variety of ideas about how to best guide your middle management team.

About TRSA’s Virtual Roundtables

TRSA virtual roundtables are collaborative sessions. Through Zoom they simulate the networking of a small TRSA face-to-face meeting, sitting at a round or hollow square table, seeing everybody in the room. Attendees share experience as TRSA provides advocacy, certification, research, and linen, uniform and facility services industry data to foster idea exchange. Conversation also guides TRSA in developing programs to meet members’ emerging needs.

These discussions are especially valuable to owner/operators, CEOs, presidents, VPs and staff directors as well as general managers.

Issues to be discussed are selected for their likelihood of affecting your operation’s near- and long-term future—such as examining how today’s techniques are evolving into tomorrow’s systems and solutions.

Flexible agendas strike the needed balance between enabling all participants enough time to fully explore a topic and moving on to other subjects when the group has provided a suitable variety of perspectives on it. This ensures the most crucial and tangible issues of the current economic and social climate are properly vetted. Industry operators’ common pain points are covered. You compare and contrast your practices to those of others in the roundtable so your team can later evaluate alternative approaches. Plus you take advantage of this strong TRSA networking activity to develop/maintain contacts with industry colleagues for future private collaboration.

Roundtables differ from presentations and seminar because there is no single instructor. You benefit from hearing from a variety of peers, not just one individual. Members and other subject matter experts facilitate roundtables, asking simple questions of participants related to the agenda topics that everyone on the Zoom can answer, keeping conversations going. This allows attendees to complete their thoughts and ask questions of each other to maximize the value of participation.

When you register, you receive a Zoom link for your calendar and agenda updates. Roundtables are not recorded.

Comments from 2022 roundtable participants:

• “We get needed information without having to take very much time away from our day.”
• “It was my first time so I did not know a lot of other members other than those from my company but I was able to meet new members.”
• “I enjoy the opportunity to talk openly and receive feedback and valuable input.”
• “Informative with the ability to ask written questions or speak.”
• “I was reminded of resources that already exist when I am working to assist customers.”
• “We get needed information without having to take very much time away from our day.”
• “This was helpful to keep on top of the critical issues facing our Industry.”
• “Everyone gets a chance to discuss agenda and off-agenda items and get a good feel for what folks are thinking.”
• “Keep giving us updates on the governmental actions!”

TRSA Virtual Meeting Code of Conduct

TRSA is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and TRSA staff. Please review and abide by this Virtual Meetings Code of Conduct.