The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association recently wrapped up its first Regional meeting of the year and by all accounts it was a “great success.”
“We had a very good regional meeting thanks to a strong western kitchen cabinet community,” said CKCA’s Executive Director Sandra Woods.
“We’ve had more than 80 members in attendance and we enjoyed great plant tours at Sunrise Kitchens, Sofos Kitchens, Van Arbour Design and West Coast Reductions, as well as a tour of Merit Kitchen’s award winning showroom in Langley, B.C.
The event also offered two full days of learning and networking for participants.
It all started with a packed Manufacturer’s Roundtable discussion that offered a chance for manufacturing members to discuss issues and solutions facing their shops and the industry in general.
Later, presenters from CFIB, Sunrise Kitchens and Van Arbour Design gave delegates insights into navigating business in the current economy, making the best use of their business time and building healthy cultures within their organization. All of them important topics that many kitchen manufacturers wrestle with on a daily basis.
But as always, the main attraction was the networking and relationship building that always rates highest at these meetings.
This was a great event with a good vibe and as one member said, “it helped me get my mojo back,” Woods said.
“Thanks for the warm welcome B.C., we’ll see you again real soon.”
Assessment tool
CKCA has also been working with Amrita Bhogal, who is responsible for People and Culture at Sunrise Kitchens in Surrey, B.C. and Chris Leonard, Kaizen Institute, Vancouver B.C. to develop an organizational health assessment tool.
“While still in the testing phase, the new tool will be made available free to CKCA members soon,” Woods says.
“CKCA recognizes that in a competitive age where trade labour shortages are talked about on a daily basis, companies need a starting point to make changes to ensure their employees are motivated, engaged and aligned with the company goals and objectives.
“Taking that first step can be tough and we hope this tool will be helpful, because at Sunrise Kitchens they are already reaping the benefits of the time they’ve invested in people and culture and are seeing greater retention levels overall,” Woods said.
“Given the company is also expanding operations, they aren’t just investing in machinery and a new building, they started by investing in their people.”