Budd and Partners Blaze a Trail for Women in a Male-dominated Industry Customers, Employees, Companies…Everybody Wins
Male-dominated industries and occupations are particularly vulnerable to reinforcing harmful stereotypes and creating unfavorable environments that make it even more difficult for women to excel, according to recently released research out of Catalyst, a global nonprofit that helps build workplaces that work for women.
According to Catalyst, women comprise 22.99% of jobs in the transportation and warehousing industry in 2019. Maybe not, though. At Budd and some of its partners in the industry, women shoulder almost 50% of the load.
The company’s myriad women employees absolutely contribute to serving Budd’s corporate and COD customers well…from Budd’s husband-and-wife driver teams to its coordinators to the leadership team, says Gary Grund, Budd senior vice president.
“Today and in the future, women in our industry will continue to make a huge difference in the caliber of service we provide to our customers.”
Here are some points of view from women on the ground at Budd and in one of its partner companies.
Arlene Yanogacio Allen – Chief Financial Officer
Quality Work Earns Respect
Is there a “boys club” I have to put that in air quotes, Arlene says. I had to individually get to know all my senior male counterparts and relate to them so that I could be part of that male dominated “club.” Again, the air quotes.
“But my work spoke for itself. Once they realized that I contributed with ideas and work that represented quality, they didn’t see or think of me as a woman but instead as a colleague who brought a good idea to the table. Many of those ideas have come to fruition in the business.”
Why wouldn’t they? That’s almost her unspoken question because Budd has a very forward-thinking culture.
Challenges exist, but they’re more of a personal nature, she says. Work-life balance. Family. Parenting. My kids have had to get used to me doing work and family simultaneously. “It’s what I had to do—what we had to do—for me to hold the professional responsibilities I do.”
Arlene says that her past experiences like anyone’s shape the perspective they bring to a situation. “I know I can and will bring a different perspective than my male counterparts—than any counterpart really—because of what I’ve experienced.” It’s about bringing your uniqueness and individuality to a situation.
True, gender issues do exist in the industry, and in other companies and other industries, she
says, but you must always strive to contribute with substance. “Sure, people have told me that I can’t do something because I’m a woman. I’ve heard that many times. You know, I just I brush it off.
“if you want to be seen you have to come with substance…be smarter, better as much compared to yourself as to others. That’s a mantra I live by: to do better today than I did yesterday. You always have to meet that challenge.
“I’m very goal driven. That’s the only way you can succeed. If you stay stagnant, you’re not going to.”
Eileen Rau – Director of Business Development
Earn Respect. Have a Voice. Personally, Professionally Accomplish Great Things.
A French chef by training, Eileen Rau started out working nights and weekends in the moving industry. “It was a great gig for a woman who had kids.” That was 20 years ago. She’s been at Budd for 11 of those 20 and started out part-time in residential sales.
Now, Eileen scores big, new corporate accounts in the real estate and relocation industries and helps Budd provide topnotch service as she focuses on understanding specific client needs. It’s kind of a 50-50 split between client operations and new business development…part sales, part relationship development, part coddling, she says. The combination has produced results. Not only is Budd’s reputation strong. In 2020, Budd picked up 23% in bookings when compared with 2019.
She’s sold to women and to men and is basically gender blind when it comes to business. Perhaps that’s because at Budd, Eileen says, there’s no boy’s club, no shouting and misbehaving, no roadblocks to advancement. And just for the record and blasting any stereotypes that women are overemotional, she’s quick to report she’s not a cryer. In fact, she has the confidence and stick-to-it-tive-ness to hold the line, when necessary, on any matter that crops up.
Eileen says she has always felt respected, comfortable, and encouraged to voice her opinion—so much so that she loves to connect people. In fact, she hosts mobility roundtables across the country and the response has been wonderful.
And with one last word about Budd: she looks forward to continued growth in her territory. Eileen puts in long hours to make that happen…and is happy to do so. “When it comes to the possibilities, they’re unlimited!”
Adrianne Sims – Assistant Director of Sales Administration
All About Service Excellence and the Best Person to Deliver That
As Budd’s Director of Sales Administration, Adrianne Sims describes herself as the go to person supporting the sales team with pretty much all the client information they need to represent and uphold Budd’s solid reputation in the marketplace.
Last summer, she passed her 10-year anniversary at the company, a 10 years in which she says she learned a lot. There’s so much involved with providing moving services which involves ensuring that clients are not only well taken care of but calmed. “[When you move], you’re really taking your entire life and putting it in someone else’s hands.” she says.
Women on the team can help with that and make a world of difference. That’s the kind of service we’re known for at Budd. Our reviews prove that.”
That’s not about what Adrianne calls the stigma of women being called “emotional creatures.” In fact, she says that women are adept at diffusing stressful situations, and this adds “a softer, necessary touch” to the industry. Budd’s culture reflects that understanding and focuses on employing the best people to deliver the quality of service our customers need.
What’s more, she adds, “It’s gratifying to work in a company where what you say counts”
Sue Torpey – CFO at MSS, Inc. (Movers Specialty Service Inc.)
Relationships. Performance Excellence. Empathy. Make Service Great.
“We’ve grown from big and beefy to a corporate services provider,” says Sue Torpey, CFO at MSS, Inc. (Movers Specialty Service Inc.), “and women are a big part of that. We’ve taken relationships, which have always been what makes our business great, beyond those old boy kind of relationships…to relationships formed on consistent performance that makes the customer experience great.”
MSS, a third-party provider of specialty relocation, crating, and installation services, is 200 employees strong. Like at Budd, about half of those employees are women. Sue believes that the way women can fully understand and respond to the inevitable stress involved with a move enables corporate transferees and military personnel to go through the experience more confidently.
Moving is stressful, says Sue. It’s not just about packing and hauling furniture and boxes. Yes, they must get to their new home securely. But it’s more about the stress of feeling settled in a new town, a new house, or a new school. “It’s about all those emotional details,” says Sue, “and in many ways, women address those details better [than their male counterparts].”
Women tend to have the empathy that humanizes the process.
Sue says the need for empathy and compassion is attracting more women to the supply chain and moving industries. These days on her end of the business, it may be more about caring for Pelotons, flat screen TV’s, and motorcycles than it is the baby grands, the antique grandfather clocks, and the gardenia-covered World War II bowl. But what hasn’t changed is the trust—trust that’s created by humanized, personalized interactions between transferees and the companies who move them.