How Prestige Woodworks increased productivity by communicating more effectively with Marco Polo

Challenges

• Conveying onsite information adequately and concisely

• Too many texts, phone calls, and meetings that were slowing productivity

• Miscommunications via text-based tools

Prestige Woodworks specialize in high-end custom cabinetry for luxury homes in Utah. As craftsmen with a passion for wood, their team is always looking for ways to improve their final product and the processes it takes to get there. As owner and CEO Adam Allen says, “We are a bunch of lean manufacturing nerds. We’re on a journey to create a new standard, one that removes much of the time and waste that goes into modern cabinetry now.” 

The Team

Adam Allen, CEO and Owner

It was that same desire for time-saving and high-standards that led Adam to explore new and better ways to communicate with his hybrid team always on the go. Prestige Woodworks is a team of 16, plus owner Adam and a few rotating consultants. The team has an on-site store and they are there most days; however, they also travel to and from job sites and spend long periods on those job sites reviewing installations and more. While on site, they often need to share very complicated and very visual information with other members of the team.

Key to our success: Conveying information through just one video
One of the biggest challenges for Adam’s team and for construction over all is communicating enough information in an efficient way. A text, email, a photo–none can give the full picture or scope of a situation, especially a difficult situation or a problem with a product that could impact the project or overall timeline.

“You say a photo is worth a thousand words? Well a video is worth a million,” said Adam. “If you send me a photo and say something is wrong, I’m going to have a million follow-questions, which means calling you, texting you, emailing you back. But when we started sending Marco Polos and we could show what was wrong, it eliminated all the questions because I could see it and the sender could describe it. One and done.”

Prestige Woodworks team

A key to our success: An asynchronous option allowed the team to work, not meet
Not only did the Prestige Woodworks team see their productivity skyrocket because they were saving time by how long it took to convey information to each other, but they were talking to each other in-the-moment less as well, which meant more time to work.

Marco Polo still allows for in-the-moment communication for the sender but it gives the receiver the option to listen to the message when it works for them. They can stay heads down and finish a project and then listen to the message. 

“We got back periods of focus time that we really needed," said Adam.

A key to our success: Eliminating miscommunications
Construction is high stakes. Late delivery of a single product can set the timeline for the entire project behind schedule, plus any number of other things that can happen on a single busy day at work. It’s little wonder that a to-the-point-text could be read or misread under those circumstances. With Marco Polo, you get the same ease and efficiency of a text but you get context too.

“I can be very blunt and upfront because I don’t like wasting time or taking up too much of other people’s time, so if I send a text or an email, I often frustrate people and I don’t want to do that. With Marco Polo, I can still be just as straightforward and to the point, but I can do it with my smile and they know what I mean and where I'm coming from,” said Adam.

The result: A thriving team

Marco Polo has been an integral part of helping the Prestige Woodworks team streamline their communications and it has led to higher productivity. It’s led to strong bonds too!

“Like any business, we’re all very different people, but we’ve been able to really bond here. We actually have a saying that’s evolved on Marco Polo: ‘We sure do live in a purdy place.’ St. George is called Greater Zion for a reason. It’s at least once a week, if not more, that someone sends a Polo and shows a beautiful sunset or just the pretty mountains. It’s really fun,” said Adam.