“It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is powerful and so rare.” – Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable.
The power of teamwork was the central theme of the annual Break Time Managers Meeting, which was held on October 2-3 in Springfield, Mo. The meeting brought together store managers and area supervisors to learn why teams become dysfunctional and how Break Time employees can contribute to building a winning culture.
Curtis Chaney, senior vice president of retail, opened the meeting with his presentation “Our Team, Our Rules,” which discussed common pitfalls that can trip up teams and ways to overcome them. He said one of the keys to developing a high performing team is for Break Time managers to lead by example and set the tone for the associates they oversee.
Chaney also announced that Break Time is creating an advisory committee to give store managers more input into operational decision making. Meeting attendees voted to elect one store manager representative from each of Break Time’s eight areas and one area manager to join Chaney on the newly formed committee.
“We wanted to give our managers more of a say in what’s happening in the field,” Chaney said.
After Chaney’s presentation, a trade show was held with 40 vendors with a variety of products for the managers to sample.
Next, an awards ceremony was held recognize top performers and the first day wrapped up with a backyard bash at Mother’s Brewery that featured a corn hole tournament.
Day two consisted of the following breakout sessions:
- FaceTime with Fenner, a discussion with Mark Fenner, president and CEO.
- A walkthrough of employee benefit changes for 2019 with Janice Serpico, chief human resources officer.
- A team building exercise that asked groups to find their way out of a locked escape room in under an hour using clues.
Following are the recipients of the 2018 Break Time performance awards:
Top Stores
Total Gallons Sold & Foodservice Sales – Heather Settle, Store 3163, Moberly
Percent Increase in Gallons Sold – Gail Jobe, Store 3037, Higginsville
Store Sales & Hot/Cold Food Sales – Linda Young, Store 3125, Poplar Bluff
Percent Increase in Stores Sales – Shawna Salmons, Store 3042, Holt’s Summit
Lowest Loss Percentage – Cinda Lavery, Store 3091, Tipton
Loss Improvement by Percentage – Peggy Harshbarger, Store 3162, Rolla
Lowest Turnover Percentage – Dave Roberts, Store 3123, Springfield
Percent Decrease in Turnover – Ashley Woods, Store 3160, Columbia (Grindstone)
Food Service Sales Percent Increase – Melissa Spangle, Store 3158, Taos
Increase in Percent Hot/Cold Food Sales – Angie Wiebusch, Store 3161, Lee’s Summit
Most Improved – Linda Young, Store 3125, Poplar Bluff
Highest Day Score – Debbie Tapia, Store 3072, Owensville
Excellence Awards – Top Five
Linda Young, Store 3125, Poplar Bluff
Alysha Ellison, Store 3054, Lexington
Dave Roberts, Store 31213, Springfield
Cinda Lavery, Store 3091, Tipton
Jennifer Templeton, Store 3084, Sedalia
Top Area Managers
1st Place – Jessica Dedeke
2nd Place – Robecca Proctor