Get to know IPF: Josh Sego
Anthony Yuhasz
February 13, 2020
Nurturing things is what Josh Sego is all about.
Whether it be the hundreds of Custodial Services staff members he trains and develops or the plants that creep through every nook of his office; he is all about fostering growth.
“It’s my job to help people succeed, and I love it,” Sego said.
Starting as an on-call custodian in 2004, he worked his way up through the ranks of supervision and has recently taken on the role of training and staffing coordinator.
The staffing portion of Sego’s job has him hiring and managing on-call, student, temporary and full-time staff positions.
“We’ve created an employee database that is displayed on a large monitor in the office,” he said. “With it, we can keep up to date on staffing levels and help our supervisors keep buildings adequately covered, which helps improve employee morale.”
The training portion of his job has him in charge of the coaching of the over 400 custodians in the department, performing new employee orientations, holding monthly “Baker’s Dozen” development sessions, managing annual safety training, supervisor training and much more.
“I helped develop an online certification system that our supervisors use to keep up to date, which is not only being expanded to our crew leaders but is also now being utilized by others in the cleaning industry.”
It is for this work that Sego was named “Trainer of the Year” by the Simon Institute, a leader in the cleaning industry, and an innovator in modern training methods.
Sego was also one of the largest recipients of Employee Engagement Survey recognitions by his peers.
“All of this validates what we're trying to do to continue to be successful,” he said.
In his off hours, Sego enjoys spending time with his family of four children and four grandchildren.
“I don’t do much that doesn’t involve family, except for hiking,” he said. “I’m spending some time this summer hiking the Porcupine Mountains.” He added, “I’m also an avid reader – especially the fantasy genre.”
Sego’s advice to others what he practices each day.
“Stay positive…stay motivated…stay dedicated,” he said. “Focus on the solution, not the problem – we all make mistakes; let’s work together to fix them.”