Meet Adriana Osorio, COO of Osorio Metals Supply, Inc.

Get to know Adriana, a new member of the EFBC.

Osorio Metals Supply, Inc.
Founded: 1999
Location: Chicago, IL

Tell us about your career leading up to where you are now:

My family started the business in 1992, so it has pretty much been my career from the beginning. I graduated from DePaul in 2015 where I studied business management with a concentration in entrepreneurship and have been here for the past 6 years now. It’s a family-owned business, with a total of 17 employees. I share a wall with my sister, and work with both my parents and my brother.

When I came to work here [Osorio Metals] I did not have an official role. It was just jumping in and let’s fix what we have. A lot of our processes were outdated, for example we were still using carbon copies to take orders down for customers. Remember those? The three-part ones; with the pink, yellow, and white sheets. For orders, you would do this long list of items that a customer needed, and you would put the totals and then times the quantity and then if they said “Oh no, I don’t want five, I want four” we would grab the white out, and white out everything and start over. It was just a mess. In addition, there was no inventory system, and our website was lacking. So, what I did was I rebranded the business first. I installed the point-of-sale system. And then I started building a relationship with a good accounting firm. I also worked on building a relationship with our banker so that we can continue to build capital for us to continue to grow. I don’t take credit for everything, because the hardest part was establishing the business, gathering a steady customer base, which I didn’t do. That was already done when I got here. I just focused on getting us into the 21st century. Technically, I still don’t have an official role, on paper COO, but basically, I would say I’m really into business development more than anything.

What do you like most about what you do?

I like that it’s not not monotonous. I wear a lot of hats, so I may, on one given day, touch on finance, on accounting, on sales, or even on purchasing. I find mills in Mexico and in Texas for us to get better pricing for our customers, so I’m building that relationship with these vendors. I’m currently installing another point-of-sale system because we’ve already outgrown our current system, that we set up six years ago, and I’m working on a new website. It’s always ever changing. I’m always working on another project, I’m always asking “What else the business need?” or “What else do we need to do to grow?” I am not in a role that constantly does the same work every day. Give me a project. Give me something hard. I just love being involved in a lot of things and then it’s always ever changing. Things that are challenging are what excite me.

How did you hear about the EFBC?

A good friend of ours, who’s also a vendor, Dave Westerman. He’d been telling us about this organization for years. When we would meet with him once a year for lunch, and year after year he would talk up the EFBC, and we would just say ‘yeah, okay, thanks, Dave.’ Well then recently, we attended a program, the 10,000 Small Business by Goldman Sach’s and I ran into another friend, Randy Kravitz, and I disclosed that I was looking for some help and he said ‘I am going to put you in contact with the EFBC’ so it’s kind of come full circle.

Why did you join, and what do you hope to gain from your membership?

So, when I reached out to Randy, I had a pain point. My pain point was a lot of family issues, a lot of organizational issues here at work and I said I need help. I was tired and was done trying to fix it myself. I needed outside help. I hope to gain knowledge. And what I meant by that is any sort of insight into how I can improve the business from fellow entrepreneurs who are in the same boat as I am. I’m like a sponge, I try to extract as much information I can and just soak it up. But I also hope to contribute in any which way I can. I sometimes feel like I don’t have enough experience. I’m young, I wonder “What am I going to say that’s really going to be like oh wow I learned something from her today?”, but I hope that maybe there will be something I say that will shed some light to someone. Lastly, I always love to surround myself with people that are like minded so even just making connections and building a wider network of quality individuals, of leaders, especially in family businesses, and I am excited to be a part of the EFBC!

Join us in welcoming Adriana to the EFBC community.

Dear Younger Self

Dear Younger Self,

Where do I even begin? You are about to embark on what may be the most challenging years of your life. I know the thought of our family business transitioning to the second generation – YOU! – fills you with equal parts excitement and dread. The thought of it might already be keeping you up at night. I know you are ready for dad to step back and terrified for him to do it, all at the same time. So know this – you will get through it all. You will be the one in three who makes it through this transition to the second generation with our family and our business intact. But I won’t lie, it won’t be easy and you’re going to make a lot of mistakes along the way. It’s okay, everyone does! Here’s what I wish I knew when I was you.

Listen. Really Listen.

Listen to dad, to mom, to the attorneys and the accountants. Listen to not only what is said, but what isn’t being said. Don’t listen to respond or to prepare to go on the defensive. Listen to understand, to empathize as best you can. Listen even when dad is being dad or you don’t agree with what the advisors are saying. Then, above all, listen to yourself. Listen to what you really need and want, not what you think you are supposed to want.

Jack of all Trades, Master of None….For Now

Buyer. Employee. Boss. Coworker. Spouse. Business Partner. And, most acutely, Child of a business owner. At any moment during this transition, you will wear every one of those hats – and usually all of them at the same time. Always be aware of the hat you are wearing, especially when the conversations get heated or the emotions run high (punctuated with a slammed door…or two). And don’t be afraid to take off a hat or two when you need to. Some days you will need to pause and simply be dad’s Child, no one else. That doesn’t make you any less of a Business Partner or a Buyer. It makes you ready for the complexities of being the Owner of our family business. This entire experience will make you more of a critical thinker, a stronger maker, and a better leader for our team.

Get Outta Here

Find a place outside of our family and away from our biz that supports you and energizes you. Look for people who give you the space to be vulnerable. Grow the circle of people you can rely on to include those who understand what it is like to live this crazy jumble of family interwoven with business but who don’t share our last name. I joined the Entrepreneur and Family Business Council at DePaul to have a better understanding of what owning a family business really means for all aspects of my life. I only wish I had joined sooner.

Stop Walking in His Footsteps

What dad built has obviously worked. We have a great company and lots to be proud of. But it’s okay to take risks and remake the company in your image, with dad as your trusty sidekick. Growing up, he would always say how much he enjoyed you working with him. Now you get to be the one driving and feel that same joy as he is along for your journey.

That entrepreneur spirit that pushed him to take this leap, is in your blood too. He felt the same nervous excitement that comes with knowing you’re responsible for your own success. You’ve watched and grown over the years to develop the critical thinking skills to face new challenges head on. You’re ready.

Know that we will all benefit from trying new things that you, not dad, create. And most of all, know that we’ll continue to grow together, as a business and as a family.

All my love,

Your Older Self

President’s Letter: EFBC >25 Gala

Hey, everyone!

In preparation for our upcoming GALA event on May 7th, I am flooded with memories from our last Gala, where we celebrated our 20th anniversary back in 2014! And we had a blast! The Liautaud’s founder, of the then CFBC, Jim, was celebrated and presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Council. The year was 2014, Bob Carmody was President, my TAU forum mate Gina Krusinski was the current first VP and former TAU member Jeff Connor was the 2nd VP. During the event, Gina Krusinski, as the first VP, gave a moving speech. These are just a couple individuals amongst a group of great friends that have provided me with the knowledge and courage to take the President position myself. I was young, but it left an imprint and inspired my future leadership within the organization. Libations flowed, we were downtown, everyone danced to live music; by all accounts it was a heck of a bash!

But, wow, does that last gala seem like a distant memory…one that we are going to do our best to repeat this year. This year we’re calling it “Greater than 25”. The math dictates that we should have had the party 2 years ago, but an event in May of 2020 at this caliber was not in the cards So now we have a chance to make up for lost time. There will be dancing, tasty food and drinks, a toast to those that we appreciate, and more. This year is the time to get back together, mingle, do the things we’ve all been missing. I am excited to have time with some fun people and a little normalcy. This gala is a black-tie event where we celebrate you; our members, strategic partners, Gala sponsors and staff in one spectacular event. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing people that I haven’t seen, some in nearly two years and to meeting new people and dancing the night away with my wife, Annette.

I hope to see you all there! Bring your significant others, family, friends, and employees to celebrate. Anyone that wants to get out there and enjoy themselves with a solid group that knows how to have a good time is welcome. The more the merrier!

Cheers,

Neil O’Donnell

EFBC President ‘21/’22

Meet Kornel Grygo, CEO of Tasty Catering

Get to know Kornel, a new member of the EFBC.

Tasty Catering
Founded: 1989
Location: Elk Grove Village, IL

Tell us about your career leading up to where you are now:

I started at Tasty in 2007, and officially became CEO January of 2019.

I graduated high school in ‘04. I took a little break from school and worked some different jobs. And I quickly figured out that not getting an education is not the best route for my future. So in 2007 I decided to go back to school and attended UIC, where I studied Business Management. At the time, I was looking for something that’s really flexible with my schedule. And my girlfriend at the time, is a niece of the Walter brothers, who own Tasty Catering. I started off at Tasty as a delivery driver. At the time I was in school full time and working full time. Tasty is a 24-hour, 7 day a week operation, so I was able to easily work full time.

I remained in that role until I graduated, which was 2012. At that point, I was promoted to Director of Logistics, in charge of our delivery staff, fleet maintenance, and part of the leadership team. Throughout the years, I fell in love with the company. They always took care of the people, were always culture focused. I actually approached Tom Walter, who was the CEO at the time, and is the current owner and said “hey, I want your job, what do we have to do?”. We then worked together to create a timeline and metrics I had to achieve to in order to prepare myself for that position. I have held almost every position at tasty, so I understand the whole operation and a lot of the staff here have been together for a long time.

What do you like most about what you do?

I really like the daily challenges. It’s always something. And obviously we’re in a food business, so the pandemic had a huge impact on our business. It’s easy, a lot of times, to focus on the negatives, but there are also a lot of positives in our business that allowed us all to get closer and work through the challenges we faced in 2020 and to this day. It helped us focus and really live our culture and ‘walk the talk’. It allowed us to focus on the core values and the principles we always preach about. Everybody says, ‘we take care of people’. When your business drops 85% overnight and you know that you are not making a lot of layoffs, you focus your efforts on investing in the team. It was hard, especially not knowing what’s going to happen day-to-day, week-to-week, hour by hour is just kind of made us all closer. We follow those core values, and we follow our mission, and we all care about each other and it’s just, well, that’s kind of been the biggest story for us. We’re always looking through the lens of ‘hey, this is a challenge and how can we learn from it and make our company better as a result’.

How did you hear about the EFBC?

I believe Tasty has been involved with EFBC since the beginning, back when EFBC was at UIC, and was the Chicago Family Business Council. Tom Walter has always been associated with it. Tasty has always been a family-owned company, so I think that’s what drew the Walter brothers to the organization originally. Once I stepped into some of these leadership roles after college that’s when I got involved with EFBC. I was in charge of the sales team, so that was my first introduction to some of the educational programming. I was able to participate in the sales roundtables.

Why did you join, and what do you hope to gain from your membership?

In the past few years, as I have taken on this leadership role, I appreciate being able to understand and talk to other business leaders, and to have that support and that shared experience, which is critical because you know sometimes leaders feel alone. You have a lot of pressure because at the end of the day, I’m responsible for everything that happens under this roof, every employee and all their family members. I can lean on the members of EFBC, other leaders, without judgement. I appreciate the most the shared experience piece. There is no advice or how you should do things, rather there is the opportunity to listen to what works in other organizations so that our team can then take that back to our company and determine what would work best for us. Every organization is different, so just hearing those stories is invaluable.

I just try to continue to grow and to become a better leader and person. That is what I continue to look forward to in my membership. Educational programming really forces you to think. What can I take from this? How can I use this in our organization? Will this work for us? The community is also great. You have so many members. At any time, I can just pick up a phone and pick someone’s brain about something I am struggling with and it’s far less isolating, it’s that relationship piece that I highly value. I can surround myself with people that can help me, can hold me accountable.

Join us in welcoming Kornel to the EFBC community.

Looking for Qualified Candidates? Our EFBC Members Share Their Best Tips for Recruitment

Recruiting and hiring qualified candidates, that fit the culture of your organization, can be challenging. Whether your organization is experiencing turnover, potentially from retirements, or experiencing growth, being able to find the right people for the job takes a successful recruitment strategy in order for your business to succeed.

If there is one thing that all EFBC members have in common, it is brilliant minds. And whether it’s through forums, roundtable events, or one-on-one conversations, the beauty of EFBC is that our individual experiences are shared with other business owners and team members. Utilizing our community, we reached out and gathered the best tips, shared by members, on strategies, tips, or tricks, they have found successful over the past year. The following is what they had to say:

• Alex Argianas, Argianas & Associates – Putting homework in the job posting. It has weeded out everyone who doesn’t follow directions. In our job postings, we will include a simple direction for them to follow such as sending an email to us with their favorite Chicago building and asking them to identify some grammatical errors in the posting. So far, I’ve had one person who successfully completed it, everyone else has not. To be honest, I’ll never go back to not having that in my postings, no one reads! And if no one is reading, then you know for sure that they’re not taking it as seriously as you may, and/or, they’re not really wanting the job that bad.

• Rachel Bossard, Burke, Warren, MacKay, & Serritella, P.C. – We do our best to convey what sets our firm apart from the rest. When candidates hear a common theme from several people, it really resonates.

• Kim Schrader, Vaxcel International Co.,Ltd. – Our strategy is to have multiple resources to recruit candidates. This could be agencies, employee referral programs, postings on Indeed, LinkedIn, other sites, and looking internally. Also, know the characteristics and skills you are looking for and hire a candidate that fits both. We have found that both culture and skills are important, and we take our time to find the right candidate.

• Sara Curry, Interra Global – Hands down our greatest success rate has been from employee referrals. Our team knows best what type of individuals and skillsets can thrive and likewise help our company grow. We tell our employees not to think about any position we may or may not be recruiting for. Instead, explore their network and focus on a potential candidate as a good culture fit. If they are a good fit and we like them, we will find the position. We have an employee referral program, but more importantly, we continually encourage everyone to take ownership in helping grow our team.

• George Karavattuveetil, Psyched! – Be very intentional and clear in communicating your organization’s values in recruitment efforts. These are the “must-haves” and not the “nice to have.” They provide the critical foundation for job descriptions and role success, integrated into every aspect of the organization. If it’s RESPECT, how does it show up on a daily basis? If it’s ACCOUNTABILITY, how will it be recognized? The potential candidates who have or want a culture driven by the identified values will be attracted and excited. While the ones who don’t will increasingly be repulsed. It’s your choice what you present to the world!

• Amanda Baker, Performance Plus – Each candidate is there to sell themselves as the “best candidate” however, if you don’t have someone who can “talk shop” with them, we may be wasting time and money on training the wrong candidate. We are usually experts in people, not their skills. Additionally, the first interview will be the “best” you will ever see them so, if you ask them back for a second interview (maybe to talk shop with the manager) you will see how they present themselves. If it is the same, you may have a good fit, if they have become more relaxed in the presentation of themselves, take that into consideration.

• Tracy Olsen, Nova Fire Protection – This past year we have tried to involve more stakeholders in the interview process. Previously, a new hire was onboarded and only one person outside of HR was involved. Involving others has allowed roles to be more clearly defined and expectations are set across the board. The collaborative and transparent approach is definitely a game-changer for us.

The Importance of Having Critical Conversations with Employees Regarding Workplace Performance

No one enjoys engaging in difficult conversations with employees regarding workplace performance. However, putting it off or avoiding it altogether can have serious ramifications and even lead to legal liability. Too often, clients come to me with a desire to make a termination decision when they have failed to properly set the stage. When clients inquire about the potential for discharging an employee, I always ask whether the employee has been placed on notice of the performance issues. Were there any warnings issued or any progressive discipline? What does the last performance evaluation show? In many instances, the answer I receive is that there is no documentation to support such a decision. 

Illinois is an at-will employment state, meaning that an employee can be discharged for any reason or no reason, as long as it is not against the law. In my experience, when an employee is discharged with no notice of performance problems, the employee frequently jumps to the conclusion that reason must be an unlawful one. The universe of protected classes under the law that gives employees a basis to claim discrimination continues to expand. In addition, there are a number of attorneys willing to take disgruntled former employee cases when the personnel file contains no evidence to support the termination decision. This can be avoided if employers stay ahead of the game and think about what the personnel file of a discharged employee should look like. This is just one of the reasons that engaging in critical conversations with employees and documenting those conversations is so important.  

Failing to have those critical conversations about workplace performance can also send a damaging message to other employees. When one employee is allowed to arrive to work late or their performance is not up to par, it can cause morale problems. If an employee is allowed to behave badly, it can be perceived as bullying or even unlawful harassment, which can lead to liability.  Imagine a situation where an employee is allowed to violate the dress code or has poor hygiene, causing other employees to gossip about it. By avoiding these uncomfortable conversations with employees, the issue can morph into an even bigger problem. For these reasons, and many others, it is important for employers to face these situations. The following are some tips for preparing and engaging in these difficult situations.   

Prepare 

Preparation is key. The more prepared you are, the less uncomfortable you are likely to feel. Prior to meeting with the employee, make sure that you have outlined the workplace performance issues and any policies that are applicable to the situation. Be specific. Generalized negative feedback is not very helpful. Draft bullet points of the matters that need to be discussed in the meeting. Set clear expectations of what the next steps are. It can never hurt to practice what you plan to say, especially if you are dealing with a sensitive topic or sensitive employee.  

Be Positive 

No one likes to be told that they are not doing a good job. These meetings can be very emotional. If you act like this is the end of the world, your employee will feel like it is as well. Think of the meeting as a coaching and counseling session, not a doomsday experience. It often helps to also provide positive feedback on areas where the employee is succeeding. The employee should leave the meeting empowered with the knowledge of what it takes to succeed and feeling as though they have the ability to do so.  

Listen Actively 

After you explain to the employee the issues that need to be addressed, make sure to take great care to listen. Remember, it is your job to help the employee succeed. There could be a reason for the performance issues that may need to be addressed. The employee may be the subject of harassment from another employee or customer or client, or the employee could be experiencing a medical or family issue that requires time off or a reasonable accommodation. Each of these issues can have serious legal implications if not properly addressed.  

Consistency is Key 

All employees should be held to the same performance standards and employment policies. When one employee falls behind or fails to abide by the rules, it is necessary to intervene for the sake of all employees. This is true whether the issue is attendance, performance, or failing to dress professionally. Allowing one employee to fail can have the effect of bringing down the entire team and can also lead to claims of discrimination. 

Have a Witness 

You should never make the mistake of having a critical conversation with an employee one on one. While these meeting are confidential and can be emotional, it is important that there is a witness to what was discussed. That witness will be very important if the matter ever leads to a legal claim. The witness can also be helpful in keeping emotions in check. Employees may react more rationally and stay more composed if there is a third person in the room. 

Document, Document, Document 

In serious situations, a written or final warning should be presented to the employee and the employee should be asked to sign acknowledging that the employee has been advised of the deficiencies and that failure to improve will lead to termination of employment. However, not every critical conversation warrants that type of documentation. Early counseling sessions can be just as critical, but do not require the same documentation. Rather, you can simply type up a memorandum summarizing what was discussed and place it in the employee’s personnel file. That document will be very important if the performance does not improve and the conversations escalate.   

Follow Up 

Make sure to set a time to meet with the employee again, whether it is to advise them that you have witnessed improvement and the employee is on the right track or to advise them that additional improvement is needed. Giving positive feedback keeps the lines of communication open, is good for the company culture, and may in fact help the employee to succeed. If additional improvement is needed, continue to follow these steps. By doing so, you will be placing the employee on notice that their job may be in jeopardy and you will be generating the necessary evidence to support further action, including a termination decision. 

Having critical conversations with employees regarding workplace performance is never easy. However, if you follow these steps and are prepared and consistent, you will find the conversations to be less difficult and your efforts will serve to better protect the company from legal liability.  

Rachel E. Bossard, a partner at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C., chairs the Firm’s Labor and Employment law practice group. She represents employers in all aspects of the law including client counseling, training, litigation and benefits. She can be reached at 312-840-7029 or rbossard@burkelaw.com