FAIN elevators

On Monday May 23^rd, we visited FAIN, which is a well-known elevator company in Spain. At FAIN, we met with Gema, who is the owner, and Rafael, who is the CEO. Rafael spoke with us about how he thinks a company should be ran, how FAIN stands out from other companies, and how he has positively impacted the company in the two years he has been there. Rafael explained that the company goes by three absolutes: make FAIN the best place to work and recognize their own employees, be the best service company in Spain, and grow. He explained in great detail how much employees matter to him and how they are the reason a company can sink or grow. Rafael told us about their strategy for being one of the best national companies. Number 1: Employ positive people and do not work with pessimists. Number 2: Always smile. Number 3: Train people. Number 4: Boss needs to set an example. He stressed over and over about having good employees and creating a good work environment.

Another really interesting thing to me was the open floor plan of the office. Everyone sits in this open space which creates this feeling of equality. I actually had a chance to talk with Gema with a few other students and we asked her where her office was and she pointed out into the open with all the other employees. I thought this was really different for a major company because normally owners have their own office that sets them apart from their employees.

Gema and Raphael’s business concept really hit home with me because my family owns a local service company and we have a similar business structure and goals. We asked Raphael how he can still maintain the employee satisfaction and one-on-one feel if he grows to be the best elevator company and he won me over with his respond. He said, “To be the best you don’t need to be the biggest”. Employers all over the world could really learn from Raphael. I'd say this field trip was well worth the 45 minute walk.