Banking & Finance
More than just a name
How knowing a little about his employees helped ease the transition for Martin Uhle in his new job at Vantage Financial Group Inc.
By Mark Scott
Smart Business Cleveland | June 2007
On the surface, it may not seem as important as being familiar with the company’s balance sheet or with last month’s sales figure, but Martin Uhle says a new CEO can score lots of points with his or her new employees simply by knowing their names.
“There’s nothing worse than everyone knows you’re in there and knows what your role is, and a week, three weeks, a month later, you still don’t know their name,” Uhle says. “I concentrated really hard on that when I first started.”
In addition to simply making employees feel appreciated, spending a little time to get to know their names can be a valuable first step in becoming more familiar with the inner workings of the company. Vantage has about 85 employees.
“It builds backwards from the organizational chart,” Uhle says. “You learn people’s names, and then you start plugging in their role in the company and then start learning about their personal history with the firm and their salary history. All of that takes many, many months. But it all starts with being able to say hi in the lunch room or hi in the parking lot by name.”
Uhle was named CEO at Vantage Financial Group Inc. in January, replacing the financial service company’s founder, George G. Szeretvai. Uhle believes the best thing for all concerned when embarking on a leadership transition is to move slowly.
If you have ideas for significant changes that you want to make, Uhle says to put them on a list.
“If it’s something that you truly believe is going to impact positively a large part of the staff, then get busy on it,” Uhle says. “But stay away from the compensation and the cash flow until you really understand the details. You can make a misstep pretty fast.”
Uhle recalled a move he made 15 years ago at a firm where he had just taken over as president.
“I changed the frequency of the payroll and really did not understand what that impact was on various levels of staff, from clerical up through your senior management team,” Uhle says. “If you affect somebody’s compensation, you’ve dug yourself a hole.”
Getting to know a company’s financials is not always easy, Uhle says.
“Get the details, revenue and expenses, even cyclical events that are going to come along and affect cash flow,” Uhle says. “You should understand at a medium level before you take on the role. But then get right after it, and don’t assume that the numbers are being watched.”
“I have found prior management who intuitively know the cycles and the cash flow. It may not be as obvious because they just know where to look and expect that when the checking account balances X, we had a good month. That makes it harder for new management to get the financial details.”
While you’re learning the numbers, you also need to be building relationships with company clients, attorneys, bankers and other key personnel as quickly as possible.
And once you know their names, it’s also critical to build a rapport with your employees, the people who are out dealing with clients and customers on a daily basis.
“You cannot assume that they are comfortable or have the answers they want unless you talk to them,” Uhle says. “You need to build personal relationships,” and the best way to build these relationships is through one-on-one communication rather than through staff meetings.
HOW TO REACH: Vantage Financial Group Inc., (216) 642-7878 or www.vanfin.com
Put your ego aside
When a new CEO takes over and the former CEO keeps an active role in the company, it is critical to be clear about who is in charge, says George Szeretvai.
“You’ve got to put your ego aside and give him an opportunity and stay in the background,” Szeretvai says. “It’s very hard, because people build businesses based on their egos. You just have to stay in the background and offer quiet support.”
Szeretvai stepped aside in January as CEO at Vantage Financial Group Inc., a company he founded in 1969. He was replaced by Martin Uhle, but Szeretvai remains with the company as chairman of the board.
The smallest of details can cause big problems between the former CEO and the new one.
“They usually agree on global issues, but the devil is in the details,” Szeretvai says. “Sometimes it’s as small as a parking spot. People laugh about this, but what you literally don’t want is the new CEO or the old CEO slamming the door and muttering to themselves.”
Support for the new leader means standing behind his or her decisions and trying to make the new boss look as good as possible.
“I cannot be supporting him one way and then behind closed doors, saying, ‘I would have done it this way or that way,’” Szeretvai says. “Then you’re undermining him. He and everybody else in the firm have to know I’m shoulder to shoulder with him.”
HOW TO REACH: Vantage Financial Group Inc., (216) 642-7878 or www.vanfin.com
