Mentor lets Rudolphs' owners take step back

Rudolphs' owners Caroline and Wayne Erceg are driving changes at their abrasive blasting and coating workshops. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Developing a succession plan was probably the best thing for Rudolphs' owners Wayne and Caroline Erceg to come out of their involvement with the Regional Business Partnership.

"When we signed up for the RBP with Northland Inc, it was initially about training and upskilling our existing staff and looking at what was available outside the industry to support that process."

The couple had been working horrendous hours for a long time, said Mrs Erceg, "we could not see the big picture".

"We were working 70-80 hours a week - I was doing emails at 2am ... we were eating, sleeping and dreaming the business.

"We couldn't keep operating like that," she said.

Mr Erceg started at Rudolphs 44 years ago, doing anything and everything within the business. He bought into the business in 1987 with three partners. The Ercegs bought out those partners in 2007.

They have been working with a business mentor for four to five years,

"Over the last three years we have implemented recommendations and appointed an advisory board which has been one of the key things we needed to do. It has helped give Wayne and I the confidence to know that we are making sound decisions that are right," Caroline said.

"I don't think we would have got through to where we are now without a mentor."

The more we went down that path the more we realised it was the right thing to do.

"We'd done a lot of health and safety and industry-specific training, both internally and externally, but it was trying to move some of our senior staff into thinking about the bigger picture as opposed to the day-to-day work that was the challenge," said Mrs Erceg.

They appointed a general manager just over a year ago and then appointed a business manager to take over Mrs Erceg's role.

"Appointing the GM was another key to making the business work for us," she said.

They previously operated with supervisors on the workshop floor - or the equivalent of foremen - but now have two operational managers and are looking to employ a third.

"It's all part of making Rudolphs a sustainable, long-term viable operation."

Another key to change and growth is delegating responsibility to staff.

"That allows them to grow and feel better about their role in the company as well - but it's still quite hard for me to let go at times," she said. "But it's all about empowering others."

She said what they had done had definitely improved the overall efficiency of the business.

"It also allows us to take more of a governance role with the business rather than being hands-on managers."

Mrs Erceg acknowledged that the money spent on mentoring and advice they received through the Regional Business Partnership (RBP) programme was a good investment and said they were looking at taking their first "decent" holiday since they took over the business in 2007.

She is also looking forward to spending some time in the garden and more family time.

"We've just become grandparents and that changes your perspective."

Rudolphs employs 31 staff over two sites, one in Ruakaka and the other in Lower Port Rd.