Customer-first wins every time

Rick Heine, Chairman and CEO of Flightdocs, talks to Anthony Harrington about providing a one-stop software solution to flight departments

AH: Rick, let’s take it back to the beginning. When you first looked at the maintenance tracking space, around 2003, you would have seen that there was already a very well-established major player. What convinced you that this would be a good market to go into?

RH: It’s true. When I first looked at this market there was already a gorilla in the space. No question. However, when I started analysing the market it was clear there was a gap in both the technology and service available. That was very promising to me. My philosophy, in everything I had done to that point, and continuing on to today, is that if you provide a great product and back it up with great service, people will come!

Since day one, we have worked closely with customers to understand the key elements of their day-to-day business problems. We have continuously re-invested back into our architecture and platform to solve inefficiencies, duplication of data entry, paper-heavy processes, data lags, etc. It’s a continuous feedback loop that has been the formula for success over the last 17 years and continues to work today.

AH: Having the idea is one thing, turning it into a reality is something else again. What was the development process like, and what gave you confidence that you could bring a great product to market?

RH: Early in my career I had worked in the financial services sector, where I was first exposed to working with IT development teams. Within the group I managed, we identified several processes that were really inhibiting our ability to grow the business, and I worked closely with developers to create electronic workflows and automate traditionally manual, labor-intensive processes. This is where I first saw the dramatic impact technology and software could have on an organization and industry.

The experience I gained along my career set me up well for success at Flightdocs. Myself, I am not a developer, but I’ve always had a good, high level understanding of the technology, architecture and security behind the solution. Along the way, I also learned the basics of UI/UX design and agile project management.

Combining that knowledge with an understanding of the customer’s needs allowed me to create a blueprint of what the end product should look like. This served two purposes: First, I was able to get feedback from customers on the look, function and workflow of the product before we invested much in the actual developm   ent. Second, it gives the development team the baseline for what the end product needs to look like and how it needs to function.

While delivering the requirements and the vision to the development team is critical, giving the right amount of freedom to that team is equally as important. You absolutely want to unleash the development team’s creativity. One of the unique things about Flightdocs is that we have always done all of our development in-house, here in the United States. It allows our development team to stay close to our customers, our customer service and our sales team. It gives them a great perspective on our business and allows for out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to developing solutions.

At the same time, you must be vigilant that everything is moving along according to plan. We have seen too many instances, across multiple industries, of huge, multi-million-dollar projects that end up being not fit for purpose. As we have continued to scale our development team, we have also invested in software packages that allow us to manage new and ongoing development effectively.

AH: You have this massively demanding KPI in your operation, which states that every phone call by a customer should be answered in two rings. What’s the thinking there and how does your team do in meeting this stringent requirement?

RH: From my perspective, customer service is just as important as innovative technology. If you give customers a good experience, respect their time and assist them with their mission, they will do business with you again and again. You have to create that mutual respect factor.

Business Aviation is a 24/7, fast-paced industry. If a customer is picking up the phone, it means they need help and they need it now. That’s why we answer calls in two rings or less and why we don’t believe in answering services or voicemail. That reputation of top-notch, around-the-clock, US-based support has been a core component of our growth and has always worked for me in any business I have been in.

The service we provide goes beyond just being responsive on the front line. Moving from legacy platforms or spreadsheets, customers are not only adopting new technology to support their operation, they are implementing changes to their standard operating procedures, oftentimes replacing paper for an iPad. We have a team of aviation experts that assist our customers with these organizational changes. Former DOMs, DOAs, technicians, and pilots that can take a deeper look and assist where needed.

AH: How do you keep the high level of energy going, so that everyone’s delivering their A-game?

RH: First, we have an incredible team of talented, hard-working and dedicated individuals here at Flightdocs. We have a company culture that is demanding but very rewarding for team members that step up to the challenge. We have very aggressive goals for growth and rely on our team to work together, innovate, and move the ball forward.

For us, hierarchy and bureaucracy have been minimized as much as possible. This allows us to move quickly and course correct instantly if needed. When employees can see the impact and benefits they deliver to customers in real-time, it is extremely motivational.

We don’t believe in the “pay your dues” type mentality of bigger companies. If you deliver for us, opportunity is yours for the taking. Many of our senior level managers and executives joined Flightdocs at the ground floor and have moved up in the organization very quickly. Together these things have attracted a lot of great talent, and keep our team focused and delivering every day.

Read the full article here: https://online.anyflip.com/yosh/csqp/mobile/#p=10