MOLLY CAUFIELD
CORE TECHNOLOGY
Our company has utilized almost exclusively online tools to run and manage our business. We mainly utilize Google applications to create plans, evaluate employees, and keep track of funds. Some of the applications we use are Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Form and Gmail. Google Drive was also a great tool for organization. Each department had its own folder within our drive, so all PDFs, spreadsheets, and documents were easily accessible to each department and easy to find for other departments. Google Sheets was heavily used by our Accounting department to keep track of sales and make correct calculations. This was also used by our Sales department to maintain sales records and our marketing department when they made the product lists. Google Forms was used mainly for evaluating employee performance and allowing them to give self-evaluations. Additionally to see products, make deals with other companies, and participate in competitions, we use the VE international website (https://veinternational.org/). I also used the VE website to take employee attendance daily. Another program used constantly by our employees is Canva.com. This was used to create every official document by our company including The Employee Handbook, the Branding/Product Catalogs, The Marketing/Finance/Human Resources Plans, Newsletters, the Executive Summary and so much more. Using Canva has allowed all companies, not just Design, to improve their design skills. We also used the program Wix.com to create not only these digital portfolios, but also our company website. With the help of Wix, we were able to create an impressive and successful company website to help sell more products and reach a larger demographic. Experience with all of these digital tools allowed me to succeed within my VE class and our business. My newly learned skills and experience with all of these technology applications will greatly prepare me for my future career and in general just being a person will media literacy.
LEADERSHIP
I have been able to display leadership through my role at Fits4Fans, the Chief of Human Resources. Through this role, I have led all departments of our company to be successful and maintain a safe work environment. To be a leader you must inspire and direct the team, which has been my exact mission through my work at Fits4Fans. With the onboarding process, I helped to lead the new employees into our working environment as well as direct behavior and productivity. I have done this with my strong communication skills and ability to take in to consideration the concerns of all employees. Being a leader entails standing up for others when they cannot and taking responsibility in situations even when it may not be appealing. In Human Resources, my role is to look our for the employee's best interests. This is done through productivity checks, but also allowing self evaluations so employees are given an opportunity to represent themselves. Additionally to lead and distribute procedures, I created an employee handbook which all employees must sign. This ensures that all members of our company agree to the same terms and conditions so our workplace can be fair. I additionally help delegate any employee conflicts and created a plan of action for such cases, listed in the Conflict Resolution Policy. My leadership role in our company also includes taking accountability, providing guidance and inspiring my coworkers. A true leader leads with passion, and that is exactly what I try to do at Fits4Fans. I help our employees establish a "why", why they should be passionate. With this idea in mind, I help people learn why they should care and not just work for a paycheck. When our employees understand their "why", they develop more intrinsic motivation, not only increasing workplace morale but also workplace productivity. They also then begin to encourage their coworkers to follow their spirit. To accomplish all I have throughout the year, I have had to overcome obstacles and personal challenges. I had to greatly step out of my comfort zone especially in the task of public speaking. I accomplished this through not just presentations at the workplace but also within competitions. Participating in the business plan competition was a big step towards self-growth and my growth as a professional. Overall leadership is something that can always be improved. There is always something to learn to benefit yourself and those affected by your leadership, therefore constantly improving the world around you.
PROFESSIONALISM
How do I work with others?
My job at Fits4Fans is directly centered around working with others, and helping my coworkers do the same with each other. I do this by always encouraging open communication and practicing that myself. To go along with this, there also needs to be a basic level of trust within a company and its employees working together. I have implemented this through the Confidentiality Agreement, which all employees are required to sign. This not only protects our customers but our employees as well. My work with creating an employee handbook and our company's essential policies has not only helped create Fits4Fans a more welcoming and collaborative workplace, but it has caused me to work with others. Naturally when work is done in a team environment, conflict may arise. This is why I created the Conflict Resolution as well as a Formal Complaint Form. This helps myself and my coworkers be able to work together civilly in case of conflict. When I am working with others, I am sure to give clear instructions and help if needed, this helps my coworkers feel more secure in what they are doing and often time creating a better result. That is also important because I am in Human Resources, so I am the one evaluation their work, how would it be fair if I were to judge without giving clear expectations? I have made many efforts to make all work I do with others not just high quality but also an enjoyable process.
How does Fits4Fans embody Professionalism?
Fits4Fans maintains a consistent professional work environment and attitude towards our customers and business. This is reflected on first look into our company. When a customer is brought to our website they see a concise and presentable layout of our products. The same experience occurs when greeted by one of our employees at a tradeshow, where they are soon presented with our clean and easy to navigate Product Catalog. Professionalism is also shown through our company policies. Listed in our Employee Handbook and Agreement signed by all employees, are guidelines to prevent mistreatment of employees and customers and abuse to our company by our employees. These policies are also outlines to embrace diversity and accept criticisms from those affected by them. Other aspects of professionalism that we ensure are formal and uniform emails, professional guidance for international sales, and by maintaining a Company Calendar for employees to look to. By establishing this level of professionalism, we are able to promise mutual respect between employees and our company and its customers.
How do I exhibit Professionalism?
Professionalism is essential for a healthy and successful work environment. For me, this entails being collaborative, productive, and having good and formal communication. With my job in Human Resources, this is especially important. In order to maintain the goal of keeping our workplace safe and comfortable, I am always sure to be professional. I treat everyone I work with appropriately, this includes when I have to deliver negative information. By delivering potentially emotional information, my professionalism helps employees understand what they need to do. Also by acting composed and confident, I develop a sense of trust between my coworkers and me. To maintain this professionalism, I dedicate myself to my work and the assignment I am trying to complete. For example, when I needed to construct our Employee Handbook, when asking coworkers for help I approached them calmly and asked nicely. This prevented causing them any stress and helped me get what I needed from them faster. Also, when conducting Employee Evaluations, I made sure to treat everyone with respect so they didn’t fear that their results were being compromised. This allowed for accurate results as it kept those that work hard, working hard, and those that don’t to continue to not meet expectations and not suddenly increase productivity. If I did not act professionally in the workplace, there would be potential issues of employee retaliation. Overall, professionalism within the workplace comes in many forms. By upholding the principles of professionalism, I help Fits4Fans remain a good place to work as well as a place people want to work.
FUNCTIONAL
At Fits4Fans, our business strategy is one divided into 6 departments: Accounting, Human Resources, Marketing, Sales, Upper Management, and Design. Upper Management consists of the CEO and COO, who are helped by all department heads. Each department has a Chief Officer, except for sales, but they are to report to the CMO or Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Design. Each department has their own tasks that help our company function, but they do oftentimes have to work with one another. This approach of separating our team into departments allows for safety and productivity. In case of conflict, all employees know which Chief they are to report to so a resolution can be found. And it increases productivity by making sure employees don’t get distracted by other projects that do not apply to them.
In order to bring Fits4Fans to life, we received $200,000 in investment from our Angel Investors: Phil's Restaurant, United Rentals, K.A. Ciocia, and P.F. Flooring. This financial support was significant in helping us start our business. It allowed us to invest in our ideas and ultimately allowed us to break even.
To first get our business approved, Upper Management created our proposal and elevator pitch. Once this was approved, Marketing got started on creating projects and HR on creating company policies. While all of this was happening, Design created our logo and other branding strategies and our website designer created our website. Our Sales department worked very closely with marketing to sell the products they created online and in person. All departments worked together to create the product that is Fits4Fans. Luckily, all of these efforts were rewarded when we were successful presenting our Business Plan in January and when we broke even. The main reason our company found success was through our team's ability to function together and collaborate. This allowed Fits4Fans to go far in the VE world and beyond!