Do You Really Know Your Company?

In today’s competitive landscape, printing companies often focus so heavily on sales, production, deadlines, and client demands that they sometimes overlook the most important question. However, understanding a company goes much deeper than listing capabilities and applications. It involves self-awareness, alignment, honesty, and clarity of purpose.

As a consultant focused on the printing industry, I work directly with CEOs, presidents, and senior leadership to foster meaningful organizational change. My role includes listening carefully to leadership and staff, assessing current processes and culture, and developing and executing strategies to create a healthier, more motivated workplace. OK…that’s the quick version.

Improving morale improves nosiness. In this article, I want to explore how you can improve that morale—among both employees and clients.

#1: Do You Really Know How Your Employees Feel?

I was interviewing a new client, and our discussion led me to ask a sensitive question: “How do your employees feel about you and perceive you as a leader?” While maintaining eye contact, no words were spoken, but the body language said everything. I asked, “Is this an uncomfortable question for you?” The response was, “I have no clue how they feel about me, and, frankly, I don’t want to know.”

Often, we tell ourselves that not knowing is better than knowing…because then we don’t have to face feelings of inadequacy, guilt, shame, or regret. Essentially, we try to protect ourselves from emotional pain. While we may be protecting ourselves, we aren’t safeguarding our businesses, employees, or customers. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, the truth remains.

Next steps:

I suggested completing a con?dential Leadership Scorecard with all the employees (which I have conducted for many companies). I drafted various questions by boxing (for example, Fair and Open-Minded). If the employee agreed, they checked the box; if they didn’t agree, they left it blank.

There were 21 questions in total. The read here is that I see the answers as a mirror and a map showing the leader(s) how they can be the kind of leader they need to be. Is it easy? Absolutely not! Should it be? Absolutely not!

The goal:

I focus on allowing employees to measure their owners’ and supervisors’ leadership and personal skills. Employees are measured daily on when and how they show up, their critical thinking skills, loyalty, collaboration, teamwork, and perception of quality. So getting feedback is just as valuable for owners and leadership as it is for employees. It sets the tone that learning goes both ways, and when people see their leaders open to being reviewed, it creates respect and honesty across the entire company. It’s not about criticism but understanding how leadership decisions and communication are received so everyone can do better as a company.

So it begins:

I set a time to meet with each employee privately. Accommodating their available time between projects is key to preventing stress from affecting their job performance. My goal is always to make the employees feel comfortable and not terrified that they are losing their jobs.

I spend several minutes with them discussing their job description and getting to know them personally. I ask about their families and hobbies, what they like or dislike about their job, and where they see themselves within the company in 2-3 years. Lastly, I ask them if they could change just one thing about their company, what would that be?

I introduced the Leadership Scorecard, explaining its purpose and how it should be used. I clari?ed that the completed cards would remain con?dential and only I would review them. The information would then be summarized to provide ownership and leadership with an overall percentage score based on the 21 questions.

Note: I wish I had better news, but 75% of the employees I talk to say they have never had personal conversations with their bosses or owners.

See your people:

Companies that ignore this human connection often have disengaged employees, high turnover, and a cold and merely transactional culture. In contrast, in printing companies where leaders take a genuine interest in their employees, morale improves, team collaboration increases, and employees go the extra mile because they feel they truly matter.

Face the truth honestly:

The first step is acceptance, which is difficult. You should resist the urge to justify or explain the low-scoring areas. The goal isn’t to protect pride but to see what employees see.

Hold a private leadership meeting to review the scorecard honestly.

Identify the patterns—where are the most significant gaps between leadership’s perception and employee reality? (This one might surprise you.)

Prioritize a few focus areas. For example:

Communication clarity and follow-through
Recognition and appreciation
Leadership visibility and approachability
Accountability and consistency
Most importantly, create an Action Plan with Employee Involvement
Hold monthly or quarterly meetings to score yourself on the progress made.

Your employees must know that their input matters and that leadership takes it seriously. So, share the results transparently.

Summarize the results in a clear, respectful way for the teams.
Avoid blame; frame the findings as an opportunity for growth.
Thank employees for their honesty and encourage continued feedback.
This step builds trust to begin the new foundation for company-wide improvement.

Remember: it’s not about whether you believe you’re a good leader; it’s about whether your employees think you are.

#2: Do You Really Know How Your Customers Feel?

Just because clients don’t complain doesn’t mean they are satisfied; they might not feel comfortable enough to discuss issues with you because they don’t experience a close relationship with you and your company.

Are You Seeing a Drop in Orders?

That’s not just a coincidence—it’s a flashing red alert. Your client might be testing another vendor. It could be a sign they’re losing confidence in your reliability, pricing, or communication. Or maybe this one stings a little—they no longer see you as the trusted, go-to printing partner you once were.

And the worst part? You didn’t even see it coming. Seriously.

Ask yourself—could any of these be the reason:

The client didn’t receive a call back after leaving a voicemail or email.
It takes forever to receive an estimate…with no explanation.
There was no collaboration on a large or complex project.
The client wasn’t notified in advance about a production delay.
A substrate change was made without their approval.
Print quality has been inconsistent.
Proofs took too long to deliver, leaving no room for production time.
Account reps aren’t confident or knowledgeable about your print processes.
Invoices are delayed or frequently incorrect.
When something goes wrong, the client feels blamed instead of supported.

Every business, consciously or not, ranks customers by priority—and employees usually know who’s who. But be careful: that perception can work against you. Today’s Tier 3 client could easily become tomorrow’s Tier 1.

Advising your employees to treat all customers equally is the perfect strategy for a long-term relationship and the future of your business.

The fix:

Regaining a client’s confidence isn’t about discounts or damage control; it’s about rebuilding reliability, communication, and care. Start by acknowledging what went wrong, then show them that working with you now feels easier, faster, and more dependable than ever.

#3: Do You Really Know How to Stay Ahead of the Competition?

Based on the issues, here are a few ways to stay ahead strategically and technologically:

If you haven’t already, invest in digital print equipment and workflows that support short-run, variable-data jobs.
Automate and streamline scheduling, prepress, and finishing to reduce time and costs.
Develop niche or value-added services (e.g., personalization, customization, embellishments, packaging, specialty substrates, installations, fulfillment, purchase braille equipment, label printing, store portals, storage, design services, management services, franchise contracts), rather than commodity print.
Improve supply-chain resilience by diversifying suppliers, holding key raw material stock, or negotiating better terms.
Improve workforce training, recruiting, and retaining specialists who can work in complex environments.
Enhance customer service with care and responsiveness (faster turnaround, clear communication, and transparent pricing)…offering contract pricing when appropriate.
Hire consultants, thought leaders, and subject matter experts to stay on top of best practices and markets to infiltrate.

In Closing

Stay positive because printing opportunities are still endless. The opportunities flooded the aisles at the PRINTING United Expo. I am happy that I was able to attend this year because I needed to see for myself that we are far from done. Heck, in reality, we are just getting started! There is so much to see and so much to do.

Remember that innovation doesn’t always mean buying new equipment; it can mean creating new products with your in-house equipment or rethinking your end-to-end processes.

Most importantly, embrace change as a competitive advantage. A positive mindset lets you experiment, learn, and move faster than your competitors. The future of print will belong to companies that are flexible, collaborative, and willing to reinvent how they serve customers.

I have often heard that we should build people, not just processes. When morale drops, productivity follows. Keep your teams inspired by recognizing their work, encouraging their new ideas, and showing them the purpose behind what they do. A positive, empowered team can overcome almost any challenge, and customers can feel that energy.

Take time to get to know your company and remember why you started the business. Sometimes, going home is home!

Debbie Nicholson is the owner of Think-to-Ink! She is a wide-format printing consultant, columnist, keynote speaker, and masterclass educator. She has been in the print industry for 28+ years. Debbie is passionate and committed to helping printing companies elevate their untapped potential. As the previous owner of a printing company, she understands what it takes to continually navigate change and the strength it takes to endure challenges.