PuroClean - Lifetime Achievement Award - Consumer Services

Company: PuroClean
Entry Submitted By: Hemsworth Communications
Company Description: Known as the “Paramedics of Property Damage®,” PuroClean provides water damage remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, mold removal, and biohazard cleanup to commercial and residential customers.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Lifetime Achievement Award - Consumer Services Industries

Nomination Title: Chrissy VanderWyde

Chrissy’s introduction to the restoration and remediation industry started as a teenager in 1988 with PuroClean’s Home Office, following a job in bartending. She started her first desk job as a receptionist and was the first-ever employee hired by its founders.

Since then, Chrissy has worked in almost every facet of the company,becoming the point-person for customer service and bookkeeping and serving as a direct link to franchise owners.

In her quest to grow within the industry, Chrissy left the PuroClean home office and went to work with a PuroClean franchise office location for 2 years. There, she learned another aspect of the industry from the perspective of the franchisee.

Upon her return to PuroClean’s Home Office in 2014, Chrissy joined as a staff accountant, which evolved into a franchise relations role and later, customer service. In 2016, she became the liaison between franchise owners and the corporate office, earning the title of Director of Franchise Relations. In 2019, she became Vice President of Franchise Relations.

Although not officially certified in restoration, Chrissy is a huge value to the restoration community with an unparalleled can-do attitude. Never daunted by any challenge, Chrissy rose to the top by harnessing her personal drive and taking a keen interest in learning the nuances of the industry.

Chrissy was instrumental in the conceptualization and development of the PuroClean Academy, a training facility which includes a state-of-the-art, Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)-approved Applied Structural Drying (ASD) facility. This "Flood House" is a real-life practical instruction facility which:

-Was the 17th Flood House to be approved by the IICRC
-Is one of only 27 in the world
-Is a premier ASD facility that provides the very highest level of training available anywhere

Chrissy is also instrumental in the onboarding of all new franchise owners, which includes an immersion into the culture and hands-on training. With her involvement, the Academy has provided IICRC certification to more than 1,200 PuroClean associates and insurance professionals since it was established in 2011. The Online Academy also issued more than 7,600 online certificates in just over four years.

Although not officially in charge of training, Chrissy manages coordination of all staff and franchise team training and is a key player on decisions related to team member development. Chrissy was at one point the administrator for Home Office product sales and distribution, selling millions of dollars every year.

Chrissy facilitates communication with prospective franchise owners and the onboarding of new franchise owners. She sits on PuroClean’s Network Leadership Council, the voice of the franchise network charged with the improvement of the PuroClean brand.

An all-round incredible asset to PuroClean, Chrissy also handles all Human Resources and Office Management activities. Labeled the company’s “Google,” Chrissy, in her unofficial capacity as “psychologist,” maintains an open-door policy and is a welcoming ear to all members of the team. The manager of the PuroClean company culture, Chrissy, maintains that all jobs (both internal and external) need to be “done right, by doing what’s right for the customer.”

Over the years, Chrissy has managed 23 of the 25 annual PuroClean Conventions, the brand’s largest and most important event, hosting hundreds of people within the PuroClean franchise network each year in different cities across the USA and internationally. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the convention had to be canceled, and Chrissy was the lead planner of a phenomenally well-received and highly attended virtual Awards broadcast with approximately 150 teams in attendance, hosting viewing parties throughout North America and Canada.

Summary:
-In 2020, Chrissy was awarded the Servant Leadership Award for displaying “Bold Leadership from the Heart of a Servant.” There, she was described by our President and COO, Steve White, as “the person who goes above and beyond within the team and outside of the team; whatever it takes, to serve our franchise owners, to help them have great experiences, to make the right connections, to have the services that they need. The person who has this enormous heart for the team and for all of the franchise owners.
-In 2017, Chrissy was award PuroClean Favorite American of the Year by PuroClean Canada in recognition of her excellence in service and uncompromising commitment to PuroClean Canada’s success.
-Chrissy has coordinated every single event opportunity of the last 20 years from annual conventions to team meetings and everything in between.