Condo Media - September 2016 - 72

Ask a Busy Person
How did you get into
the cleaning business?
I didn't have a clue what I wanted to
do when I graduated from college, so I
sent resumes all over and stumbled on a
position as an area manager at a cleaning
company. The vice president there took
me under his wing and became a mentor.
I moved with him to two other cleaning
companies. When he moved again, I got
his job as vice president and stayed with
that company for 15 years.
What do you like about
what you do now?
Every day is different. Some days I'm
in the office all day, other days I'm in the
field. Some days we're working on a sophisticated medical research facility, other
days we're in manufacturing space or a
residential building. Every day is busy, but
in a different way, and I really love that.
Did you ever consider
any other careers?
I wasn't one of those people who knew
when they were in grammar school what
they wanted to do. I never saw myself as a
policeman or a fireman. But I always saw
myself as a manager, working with people.
What does it take to
be a successful manager?
You have to be able to put yourself
in someone else's shoes-whether it's a
boss looking to improve efficiency, or a
new hire trying to find where he fits in
the company. You have to understand
where they're coming from.
How did you get involved in CAI-NE?
This goes back more than 16 years. The
company for which I worked at the time
was a business partner member, and one of
my colleagues suggested it would be good
for the company if I joined the organization
too. It was good for me as well. I've served
on several committees, served one term as
president, and I've gotten to know some
wonderful people. Many of the people I
met when I joined are still members today.
They are an unbelievably close-knit group
of professionals who are committed to

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helping each other. They're a wonderful
resource and an amazing support group.

ERIK SIMARD
Vice President,
Pierce Property Services, Inc.
Most people see window washers dangling from the 50th floor of
a high rise and wonder why anyone
would want to do that. Erik Simard
can hardly wait to try. "When I see
guys all geared up, rappelling down
the side of a building, I want to do it
myself." He's training now to do just
that, not only because "it looks like
fun," but also because he thinks "it
will give me more understanding of
the guys who work for me if I go down
the side of a building too."
As vice president of operations for
Pierce Property Services, a full-service building envelope maintenance
company, Simard works with a cadre
of window washers he describes as
"highly skilled, highly trained professionals. It's not as if just anyone can
do that job." Among other things, he
notes, "You have to be ambidextrous
and you have to be thorough. You
can't leave any water behind on the
glass." It also helps not to be afraid of
heights, he agrees. "And I'm not."
He joined Pierce about a year ago
after 15 years with a large cleaning
company, and has settled in comfortably and quickly. "I feel as if I'm
working with people who are in the
trenches with me, and that creates a
great support structure."

How do condominiums differ
from your other clients?
When you work for a condominium
association, you have a lot of bosses. It's
not like an apartment building, where
people are just paying rent or an office
building, where they are just coming
to work. Condominium owners have
a vested interest in the quality of the
work we do, and they aren't always on
the same page as the property manager
who hired us. But I've found that if the
association is managed by a competent,
professional company, for the most
part, things go very smoothly.

Is there a professional achievement
of which you are particularly proud?
After only a short time at Pierce, I've
been able to penetrate the culture of the
workforce. Because I came from another
field with no experience in window
cleaning, the old-timers here were
understandably skeptical. But I've been
able to apply my business and operations
experience to show them different ways
to work, and they've been able to teach
me about their highly specialized craft.
What would it surprise
people to know about you?
I'm pretty much an open book, but I
have one hidden talent. If you say a word
to me, and it's not weird, I can recite it to
you backwards in a few seconds.
Does this have any practical
application to your work?
None at all.
Condo Media - September 2016

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