Sunshine uses a meticulous process to start a new job

Once the Sunshine team is awarded a contract, the hard work of onboarding in a professional and timely manner begins immediately. Putting that process in place, in accordance with all agreed upon responsibilities outlined in the contract, calls on the skills of careful planning and strong project management, as well as coordinating dozens of tasks aimed at ensuring a smooth transition with zero interruptions.

Throughout the 46-year history of Sunshine, the company has launched hundreds of new accounts. According to one of Sunshine’s most tenured employees, Randy Kierce, Chief Operating Officer, the company’s foundational experience makes all the difference.

“Through experience, we’ve developed efficient models to engineer any startup and transition,” he said. “To the customer, these steps appear seamless and stress free, which results in a satisfied customer – our ultimate goal, of course.”

Preparation for a new account can take up to several weeks, even months, depending on the size and type of the company and the projected start date. A regional airport, for example, could involve hundreds of employees and a couple of months of preparation. A small office building, on the other hand, may involve only a dozen employees and be ramped up in 30 days or less.

A Gantt chart along with computer software are among the essential tools used to plan new jobs. The project planning kicks off with a visual display of the entire project, complete with tasks, timelines, project phases, and activity relationships. In most situations, a startup team is formed of local and regional managers, as well as representatives from human resources, accounting, operations, safety and training. Each member of the team helps to populate the necessary tasks leading up to the day one start. Among the multitude of details carefully incorporated and scheduled into the planning matrix are:

• procuring equipment,
• hiring managers and line personnel,
• conducting employee background checks and setting up benefits enrollment,
• beginning initial training
• setting up accounting, billing, and payroll procedures,
• purchasing uniforms,
• furnishing offices, and
• issuing security badges, just to list a few of the necessary tasks

Additional responsibilities of the start-up team include handling the logistics of moving in large scale equipment, setting up computer systems, establishing communications systems, and installing time clock stations. Local labor laws and regulations are carefully studied and reviewed to ensure compliance and the security protocols of the specific facility are learned. Any particulars of each new account are covered, incorporated and implemented as requested by the client.

The level of accommodation varies from facility to facility, but at one account, the Sunshine team was required to complete hiring paperwork, distribute uniforms, and process high level security badges within a 24-hour period for 260 employees. That challenge was accomplished successfully thanks to our

routine practice of building solid relationships from the outset with the facility’s staff members. When the Sunshine customer team members trust our team, the learning curve becomes shorter, and the anxiety levels of all stakeholders lessens.

We are proud to announce that during the coming months (some start in summer) of 2022, we will be implementing start-up plans for three new jobs. In total those new customers encompass 18 locations in Miami, 35 locations in Fort Lauderdale, and specialty services at Jacksonville International Airport.

Of course, the unexpected often disrupts the best start-up plans, but the decades-long experience of the Sunshine leaders always proves to be invaluable in meeting key goals. Kierce recalls with a sense of humor one unexpected wrinkle that caused his team to tackle an extra, unexpected task.

“On time, under budget, and fully operational would be one way to describe a past start up at a multi campus college a day before the official start,” he recalled. “That is until our site managers were handed more than 70 unlabeled keys thoughtlessly arranged in a gallon Ziplock bag. The next eight hours turned into a game show of trial and error to find the 70 matching doors among 20 different buildings.”

“There is a saying in the business,” he quipped. “A good startup is never noticed, a bad startup is never forgotten.

“We work diligently behind the scenes to put forth a well-managed team armed with the tools, equipment, and proper training to serve the customer on day one. We liken the process to a duck calmly gliding across the surface of the pond. Under the surface and unnoticed, those webbed feet are frantically paddling. We excel at calmly gliding into a facility fully prepared to take on a new and very important responsibility.”