For an evening owl like Waste Administration CEO Jim Fish, waking up for 1 a.m. security briefings might make for a brutally lengthy day. However Fish did it as a result of his late father-in-law, a union pipefitter, informed him if he confirmed as much as these conferences—not simply as soon as, however commonly—he would study so much and construct a rapport with line staff.
Fish’s father-in-law hit the nail on the top.
“It was so precious to me when it comes to studying the enterprise and studying the folks,” Fish informed Fortune. “A part of what I realized—I used to be at all times a finance man—was that it’s not at all times simply {dollars} and cents.”
Waste Administration has named security as a cornerstone of the corporate’s operations and has set a objective to scale back its whole recordable harm fee (TRIR) by 3% yearly with a TRIR goal of two.0 by 2030. If the corporate hits the goal, meaning staff would have suffered two recordable accidents per 100 staff per yr or per 200,000 hours labored. Final yr, the corporate diminished total accidents by 5.8%, in accordance with its sustainability report, and lost-time accidents by 2.4%.
“You make investments in security or investments in folks they usually don’t essentially present up on the underside line—no less than not instantly,” Fish stated. “Security tends to point out up in longer phrases, and in case you do have a secure group, that can finally present up in your revenue assertion—nevertheless it takes some time.”
Waste Administration, with $22 billion in income in 2024, is the U.S. and Canada’s largest supplier of trash and recycling switch and disposal companies. With a market cap of about $90 billion, the Houston, Tex.-based firm counts greater than 60,000 staff. Fish, 63, has served as president and CEO since November 2016 however has been with the corporate for twenty years. Previous to taking the highest job, Fish held roles together with chief monetary officer, senior vp of the jap group, and space VP for Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Up till midway via his time as CFO, Fish would exit about each 4 to 6 weeks and haul trash with crews—usually about each time he went to a middle-of-the-night security assembly. Finally, the board informed him they weren’t loopy concerning the thought of him throwing trash, however he might nonetheless journey alongside within the vans with staff. Now, Fish stated he visits about 20 to 30 websites a yr, and takes about 5 to 10 journeys to journey together with drivers. He tells them any topic is truthful recreation, together with sports activities, politics, security, or pay, however they’ve to verify to talk as a result of Fish may go to sleep in any other case.
“Most drivers are a bit nervous after I get within the cab however after about 10 minutes they type of loosen up and inform me what they’re considering,” stated Fish.
That’s why, he stated, these early morning conferences had been so precious, and his learnings went far past harm stats and security briefings.
He picked up on why Boston’s productiveness plummeted throughout winter months, stated Fish. He couldn’t see why there could be such a distinction between winter and summer season however then going out in below-zero temperatures the place his fingers and toes had been freezing modified his thoughts fully, he stated. It’s the type of difficulty that may solely present up as a knowledge fluctuation in a company workplace however turns into clearer and extra significant after driving via icy routes coated with snow-engulfed trash and recycling cans.
“It makes an enormous distinction if there’s ice and snow on the street or if the can is iced in,” stated Fish. “And that sounds type of easy, nevertheless it wasn’t one thing that I actually, absolutely even understood sitting in a company workplace till I really went out into the sphere.”
One other key studying got here from witnessing the variety of Waste Administration’s workforce and making small tweaks to verify staff had been clearly knowledgeable.
Whereas visiting a district in Rhode Island the place about 95% of the drivers within the firm’s residential enterprise line had been both Puerto Rican or Dominican, Fish attended a 1 a.m. briefing. The protection leads to that line of enterprise had been fairly “horrible,” Fish admitted, and he wished to grasp why. He picked up on the truth that many of the staff spoke English however their first language was Spanish. The supervisor there didn’t converse any Spanish, so he used one other driver to translate for him whereas he delivered security info.
Fish determined to look into selling any person from the district who wished to be a supervisor—and who was bilingual. The corporate made the promotion to a driver.
“Magically, or in all probability not magically, their security outcomes rotated instantly,” stated Fish. “There was one thing being misplaced within the translation.”
The change additionally addressed an inadvertent sign that was being despatched to staff, which was that they may by no means have a chance to maneuver up within the firm as a result of they had been native Spanish audio system, he stated. The inadvertent message was that the managers there would probably at all times be “a white man like Jim,” stated Fish, who has additionally been working commonly on his Spanish.
Explicitly addressing that narrative improved security outcomes and empowered folks to use for positions they won’t have thought they had been certified for beforehand, he stated. The corporate additionally employed somebody on the website to show Spanish to different staff so they may turn into conversant.
“Their security outcomes completely rotated and I don’t assume that was a coincidence in any respect,” he stated. “Nothing was misplaced in translation anymore and the drivers couldn’t say, ‘Properly, I didn’t perceive what my supervisor was saying’ as a result of the supervisor was saying it in each English and Spanish.”
The bilingual supervisor Waste Administration employed on the website turned one of many firm’s greatest, stated Fish. He sadly handed away from a coronary heart assault, stated Fish, however he continued up the ladder from driver to route supervisor, district supervisor, after which senior district supervisor. He probably would have continued transferring up if he hadn’t tragically handed away. Fish famous the supervisor was additionally singled out to go on a visit for the highest 200 staff to the Ritz Carlton in Hawaii along with his spouse.
In the end, in Fish’s view, the core of the corporate and the place Waste Administration differentiates itself from opponents, is on the essential subject degree—not the C-suite. Higher understanding the workforce and the way it may be extra productive and environment friendly might greatest be gleaned by displaying as much as the grueling early mornings each month early in his government profession.
“I do know my title is essential, however I’m no more essential than anyone else at this firm,” stated Fish. “I’m not a greater worker or higher father… we simply have totally different degree positions.”
