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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Safety First For FedEx Contractor

A Burbank business owner has won an Entrepreneur of the Year award from FedEx Ground, one of three trucking companies in the nation to receive the honor. Roberto Secord, owner of Secord Enterprises Inc., gives credit to a company culture that emphasizes safety and treating employees like family. “It’s having every aspect of the business pretty much close to perfect,” Secord said. FedEx Ground is a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. that ships small packages in one to five days to the U.S. and Canada. Secord Enterprises is an independent contractor that Secord started in 2001 at age 23. He had been working for another delivery company when the opportunity was presented to him to become a FedEx Ground contractor. “Sixteen years later we are running 15 trucks and have 18 employees,” Secord said. A manager at the company nominated Secord for the Entrepreneur of the Year award. Criteria for the winners included a top-notch safety record and customer service as well as volunteer activities. Secord Enterprises’ culture is centered around safety and giving constant training and support to the drivers, Secord said. “It’s making sure they are not going out overwhelmed and stressed out,” he added. New drivers are taught to drive defensively and handle packages efficiently, receive instructions on Department of Transportation requirements and the importance of pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Secord and business contact/manager Norberto Sanchez give daily safety messages to the drivers, who attend weekly meetings. Managers ride with the drivers to observe their technique and provide feedback. Reward and recognition initiatives motivate drivers to achieve service and safety milestones. On the community service front, the company sponsors a less fortunate family during the holiday season, providing wish-list items. Secord himself volunteers as a coach and referee for a local soccer organization, as a coach for little league baseball and as a mentor with an area chapter of The Arc, a national nonprofit advocating for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. What other small businesses can learn from Secord and how he operates his company is to treat employees well. One of his managers has been with him for 13 years, he said, adding that communication with the drivers is also a key to success as a small business. “It’s about communicating with your employees and showing them that as much as I am the boss and the owner I still get my hands dirty if they need help and get on the truck with them if I have to,” Secord said. – Mark R. Madler

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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