FASTSIGNS and its CEO, Catherine Monson, will be featured on the CBS reality television show, Undercover Boss, this Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of the show, a company’s owner/CEO is disguised and goes to work as a regular employee. Their experience is captured, edited and condensed to one hour of dramatic and comedic highlights.
According to FASTSIGNS, when Monson became CEO of the 25-year-old company in 2009, one of the biggest issues the company was facing was a lack of communication between the corporate office and its franchise partners, as well as sales declines coinciding with the recession.
Monson embarked on a tour around the country to visit franchise partners and put a plan in place to turn the company around, including creating a sales incentive program. She initiated monthly conference calls with the franchise system to provide updates and answer questions and concerns.
To further develop and motivate the corporate staff, she began holding monthly company meetings to share financial updates and other company news, and to publicly praise team members on their projects and efforts.
Through her Undercover Boss experience, FASTSIGNS says, Monson gained valuable insight into key areas of the business that she will continue to fine-tune and improve in the coming months.
“This was an eye opening experience that not only impacted my professional life, but my personal life as well,” said Monson. “I have realized that I need to take more time for myself and get back to the things that I really love in order to become a better leader and CEO.”
Check back here at the LexJet Blog for a follow-up post with more inside information about how reality television really works based on Monson’s experience on Undercover Boss. Here’s a preview of Friday’s show…
