It’s no secret that businesses that cater to interior design have a reputation for high employee turnover. Whether it is a design firm, manufacturer or furniture dealer, employee turnover is normal and expected. A comprehensive list of factors for this condition would be difficult to compile, but for many people in this industry, moving on to work for another company is inevitable. One of the many things that make Amy Bearss of Tobron Office Furniture unique is that she has chosen not to move on, but to move up through the ranks of the firm. Three years ago, she became president of the company. Tobron is the first and only company Ms. Bearss has worked for in the contract furniture industry, and it is the oldest continually operating Authorized Herman Miller dealership in New York. Thanks to her, it is also the only Certified Woman-Owned furniture dealership (WBE) that sells Herman Miller in New York – a critical distinction in these competitive times.
Starting out at Tobron as an eager sales representative with a lot to learn, Ms. Bearss was familiar with Herman Miller products due to growing up in Grand Rapids, MI, their corporate backyard. “Before I started at Tobron,” said Ms. Bearss, “My fear of getting into the corporate furniture world after being in high-end residential furniture sales was to be schlepping hundred-dollar chairs around the city. I set my sights on Tobron, largely due to my love and respect for the classic Herman Miller pieces I grew up with.” Citing a few early projects she worked on like showrooms for fashion designers Donna Karan, Joseph Abboud and Ellen Tracey, Ms. Bearss transitioned to explain a current project approach for one of the St. Barnabas Health Care System buildings in New Jersey. “We have an impact on a lot of different variables in the project process, from the selection of the color on the walls to the accommodating nature of their seating and patient areas. It is possible for us to really make an imprint on people’s wellbeing, and that gives me and this organization a tremendous amount of pride.”
To read the full article, please visit www.officeinsight.com