Employee Highlight: Meet Operations Manager Jon Trevillyan

Published August 21, 2013

Where did you grow up and go to school?

I grew up in Modesto, California and went to Stanislaus State. I majored in business with a minor in productions operations management.

What other jobs have you had before Bethany Associates?

I’ve worked in construction both in California and here in New Jersey. I’ve also worked for a yacht company as a carpenter for a couple of years, at first doing finished carpentry for the master state rooms. Eventually I wanted to put my business degree to work so I became a cost accountant for the same company and started doing performance measurements and cost analyses.

What skills have you learned from previous employment?

When I became a cost accountant I learned how to work with all the supervisors of the company-about eighteen of them. At first I asked them to do a lot of recording that they weren’t very eager to do. But once I got the information I needed, I was able to hand it back to them in a format that helped them interpret what was going on in their department. Soon, the supervisors were so eager for the feedback, they were asking for the reports even before they were ready. It was a great experience of learning how to work considerately with other employees while not compromising the quality of the product I was working on.

How long have you been employed with Bethany Associates?

I’ve been employed at Bethany Associates for thirteen years.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Presently I am the operations manager which involves scheduling our routes, assigning man power and vehicles, monitoring our handbook for new policy changes, taking care of our HR and helping our employees gain new skills and knowledge.

I have a lot of variety in my job! Some days I might be out on the field with the employees window washing or power washing. Some mornings I’m massaging our schedule to make room for a customer that has a wedding coming up and needs to be serviced sooner rather than later. Still other days I could be working on a project like updating our inventory or calculating our expenses. Of course this doesn’t include the multiplicity of issues that need addressing and are bound to come up during the day.

What needs and challenges are you able to meet for people?

Part of what I like about my position is finding new ways to serve our customers and helping our employees safely and efficiently do their work. Once you’ve implemented a new system, it’s like having another employee because that system does the work for you. For example, recently we purchased a new purified water system that allows us to clean windows more safely, quickly, and with better results for our customers. To me, this a win, win.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

One of the rewarding parts of my job is meeting our customer’s needs even during our busiest seasons when our schedule is the tightest. Whether we’re doing someone’s house right before a special event or cleaning a restaurant before its grand opening, it’s always rewarding being able to be there to get the job done.

I would also say the customers are a favorite aspect of my job. We have a lot of residential customers that keep calling year after year. Some of them we’ve been servicing for ten years. Each year I’ve gotten to know them better, even learning the names of their dogs and cats. When they call for an appointment and I ask about their pet or how their vacation went, I know that I’m doing more than just servicing their windows. I’m getting to know our customers and learning how to best serve them.

Tell us about your family and what you did for vacation this year.

I’ve been married for sixteen years and have two girls, 13 and 10. Both my wife and I are originally from California so this year we visited our families. Some of the fun things we did with my extended family included swimming at Pinecrest Lake, seeing the Big Basin Redwoods, and exploring the beaches at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz. I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and spending time with my family.