Reinvesting Growth into Operational Efficiencies

Since 1995, Block by Block has grown from one Ambassador Program to more than 150 Ambassador Programs nationwide. Our very first customer, Louisville Downtown Partnership, is still our customer today. As we have found success throughout the years, we have always reinvested it into delivering better operational efficiencies to our teams in the field and to our customers.

In parts of the country like Los Angeles, California’s Bay Area, Boston and Louisville, we have a high-density of programs operating in close geographical proximity. Because of this, it generates many added cost and time-saving benefits for our customers and managers alike.

Within the city of Louisville, we have five local programs with five different types of customers to whom we provide a variety of services. While these programs do not share the same customer or customer type, we can apply Block by Block’s flexible operating model, share a variety of resources and generate added benefits and cost savings for all of them.

In the last year, the Louisville Downtown Partnership Ambassador Program has doubled in size, growing from 18 Ambassadors to 36, operating seven days a week, 7 a.m. to midnight. Also in the last year and a half, we have added two new programs in Louisville – LOUMED and Transit Authority of River City. With this rapid growth in the city, it was time to invest in a local General Manager who could provide support and ensure all five of these programs were operating at the same top-level Block by Block standard that we have come to be known for.

Creating Culture and Consistency

As part of our reinvestment in our company infrastructure, Block by Block’s own Jake White was promoted to General Manager of Louisville Operations, where he has already demonstrated his leadership skills and commitment to elevating operations. In his new role, Jake is focused on providing quality assurance for customers, supporting managers and ensuring all programs follow Block by Block’s Operating Guidelines.

Jake is also looking at how we can better serve our customers and make sure we are exceeding their wants, needs and goals. He believes there is always more that can be done to partner with our customers to improve our role and the way we serve, and he is eager to look for innovative solutions to further integrate our programs with them.

“I’m going to be looking for any opportunities we can find for us to serve our clients in creative ways,” he said.

With the addition of Jake in Louisville, local Operations Managers have the support needed to focus on big picture goals for operations. Jake says this allows them to begin thinking about their programs as small businesses and brainstorm ways to improve them. He is also helping them build culture within their teams, citing his time in the United States Marine Corps as a driving force behind his perspective on the subject.

“I believe that positive reinforcement is the most powerful tool that any manager can use,” he said. “That was actually taught to me in the Marines…I had this one officer…He built everybody up…I want to empower the managers to create a culture within their teams where good work is recognized regularly and it’s rewarded.”

Jake isn’t the only member of Team Block by Block who is focused on culture. Tish Hicks, Field Support Coordinator, makes it a point to bring the Block by Block Mission and Vision Statement into the training of all Block by Block newly hired Ambassadors at the Louisville Operations and Training Center.

“I think it’s important to teach [new Ambassadors] the Mission and Vision Statements because we as a company take pride in both,” Tish said. “Our Ambassadors hold the key to executing the Vision to the community and the people that we come across.”

The Louisville Operations and Training Center

The Training Center is one of the newest investments to reinforce company infrastructure and efficiencies at the local level. All newly hired Ambassadors from the Louisville area are sent to this facility for employee orientation, which includes equipment, company standards and hands-on, scenario-based training. Tish leads this training, ensuring all Ambassadors throughout Louisville are prepared to enter the field operating at the consistent, exceptional quality we promise to deliver to our customers.

Since the Training Center launched in late 2023, local teams are already seeing the benefit of this added resource.

“Managers are saying the quality [of new Ambassadors] is better than it’s ever been,” Jake said.

The Training Center doesn’t just generate great employees, but it also saves Operations Managers immense time and allows them to focus on delivering the best possible return on investment for our customers. Instead of training each Ambassador individually at each location, training is streamlined and standardized through Tish. This creates a fleet of Ambassadors with fluidity that can transfer, float or fill in from program to program if needed.

Block by Block has also developed similar training facilities in the Bay Area, Boston and other major program-dense cities. Jake believes these training centers are essential to retaining great employees.

“Ultimately, if you’ve got somebody [who] wants to build a career and they need to move to more responsibility, you keep them in the company by moving them to an open position,” Jake said. “It keeps the talent here; it gives them a path of upward mobility. Keeps them excited to come to work.”

Centralized training not only gives local Ambassadors more opportunity for upward mobility if, for instance, a leadership position opens at another program that they are qualified for, but it also enables us to be much more equipped locally to fill Ambassador vacancies if one team is ever short-staffed or if Ambassadors want to transfer.

While the Training Center helps generate excellent Ambassadors in the long term, sometimes situations require an immediate solution. For instances like this, we have found that having Ambassador Flex Support comes in handy.

Flex Support Ambassadors and Equipment Continuity

“Failing to plan is planning to fail,” as the saying goes.

So, we’ve invested in preparing for the worst. Flex Support Ambassadors, led by our Flex Manager David Guiterrez, is a highly adaptable team that can step in temporarily in the event of illness, employee absences, special events or even tragedies. Additionally, David can step in immediately as an interim manager to keep operations running and, most importantly, provide support during times of program management absence or transition.

Another way we stay prepared is through equipment sharing. Our Training Center has space to store a variety of extra equipment that can be used to fill in if something at a program goes down or is being repaired or if a program just needs a little extra capacity for special projects or spring cleaning initiatives. In most situations, we can have a replacement piece of equipment in the field on the same day. All of this is taken care of on the back end, so there is no lag in service or added stress for our customers.

Part of the overall support structure we’ve deployed in Louisville, and other program dense areas throughout the country, we also have trained maintenance techs to make minor repairs to vehicles, pressure washers and other large equipment that would otherwise have to be outsourced at an additional cost to the customer.

Reinvestment Never Stops

As you can see, Block by Block is constantly rethinking ways to improve operations to better serve our teams in the field and our customers. As we continue to grow, the opportunity to enhance the service delivery for our customers and Ambassador Teams will always be at the forefront of our operations.

Block by Block programs are built to drive customer outcomes, operate with flexibility and improve the places we serve, one block at a time. If you’re interested in discussing what options exist for your program, reach out to Derreck Hughes at dhughes@blockbyblock.com