F E AT U RE FF: Where do you see the biggest opportunities for growth? JS: We firmly believe the biggest opportunities for growth will always come from listening to customers and coming up with solutions. These solutions quickly become best practices. Client concerns with global carbon footprints have led Able to understand and implement relocations that use intermodal transportation concepts more fully. Opportunities come from understanding problems better. Washington DC is the seventh largest region in the country, and government industry and wealthy zip codes make it one of the busiest for the moving industry READY AND ABLE Since brothers Joe and Jim Singleton founded Able Moving & Storage in Washington DC in 1987, they have developed the company but kept true to their original family values. CEO Joe Singleton explains JOE SINGLETON, CEO OF ABLE MOVING & STORAGE FF: What are the characteristics of your local market? Joe Singleton (JS): The Washington DC region is the most robust economy in the country, and we are fortunate to service many different bodies that interact with our government. The diversity of these interests vary and include the Department of Defense, presence at some level from all Fortune 500 companies, and nationwide political representation and the influencers associated with these politicians and causes. Democratic term limits ensure that these interests are constantly changing, which provide the moving industry with a steady supply of customers arriving and departing to destinations all over the world. Housing many of the countrys wealthiest zip codes, along with its status as the seventh-largest regional area in the country, make the region ideal for the moving industry. FF: How has your countrys moving industry evolved over the past 10 years? JS: Economic recession in the last decade that caused many mergers and acquisitions in the moving industry served to create larger interests, and the companies that have used this influence to expand into new markets and new services have grown significantly. Outsourcing a platform of services to vertically include anything related to relocation has resulted in rapid growth comparable with even high-technology companies. 88 FF293 OctNov19 pp88-89 New Affiliate 1.indd 88 FF: How would you describe your business ethos? JS: We believe that everything and everyone matters. We believe that by creating a positive work environment that allows our employees to focus on this core concept, we will be able to provide the best possible services for our customers. Industry-leading wages and benefits, wellbeing programmes, employee diversity, and appealing career path possibilities are just some of the factors that continually breed a workforce of professionals at Able that lead the industry in delivery of customer satisfaction. FF: What are your main strengths as an organisation? JS: We are a 32-year-old, family-owned company that has maintained its family values at the same time as being the fastest growing moving company in the mid-Atlantic United States. These values have been protected by a leadership team that meets regularly to ensure we are taking care of our employees and customers. Our biggest strength is our listening skill. FF: Why did you decide to join FIDI? JS: Based on our reputation, one of the largest organisations in Washington DC asked us to become an Affiliate of FIDI so we could do business with them. This was an incredible honour for our company and, as we learned more about FIDI benefits, it became apparent that it was the next right thing to do for our company. The qualification has already shown its value in allowing us to compete for and win business where the designation is a requirement. FF: How did you find the FAIM process? JS: It was extremely educational for us because it allowed us to compare, evaluate, and adjust our international moving processes against the industry gold standard. FF: Are you looking forward to playing an active role in the FIDI association? JS: We have been looking forward to this partnership with FIDI for a long time and want to bring as much value as we can. Whether that value takes the form of leadership, attendance, philanthropy, or communication, Able can be counted on to carry its weight and then some. FF: What are the future challenges for your business? JS: Finding employees who subscribe to family values in a growing economy that has a low unemployment rate can be challenging, so we are very grateful to the employees we have that maintain our solid reputation. It is our family of employees that will help us to overcome any challenges that the industry may face, because it is the manner in which they take care of our customers that will allow us to continue to flourish. If we do not take care of our customers, then someone else will. WWW. F I D I . OR G 18/09/2019 13:18