Michael Guttin

Professional Leadership Experience

Funeral Service Operations:

• Supervise the operations of multiple funeral home locations, ensuring exceptional service delivery, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency.
• Provide leadership and mentorship to a team of eight full-time and fifteen part-time employees, managing all aspects of funeral home services, including reception centers, crematorium operations, facility maintenance, and fleet management.

Cemetery-Funeral Service Collaboration:

• Daily Strategic Collaboration: Work closely with cemetery departments, management, family counselors, funeral pre-planners, and grounds operations to ensure a seamless and high-quality service experience for client families.
• Feasibility Evaluation: Partner with home office to assess the viability of cemetery mausoleum and niche structure expansions, utilizing analytic data to inform strategic decisions.
• Quarterly Team Leadership: Lead cross-functional meetings between funeral home and cemetery teams to enhance coordination, improve communication, and uphold service excellence.

Human Resources Support:

• Oversee employee recruitment, onboarding, development, performance management, and evaluations.
• Work closely with HR on disciplinary matters, fostering a collaborative and growth-focused workplace culture.

Financial stewardship:

• Strategically prepare and manage annual operational and capital investment budgets.
• Oversee renovation projects, ensuring compliance with corporate, municipal, and provincial guidelines and requirements.

Leadership Development:

• Mentor aspiring management candidates as part of the National Management Training Program (NMTP).
• Assist in training and preparing Cemetery Counselors to transition into Funeral Preplanner roles, including obtaining licensure through the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO).

Training and Innovation:

• Develop and implement company-wide initiatives, including the 'Shopper's Retention Program' and co-creating a Learning Management System (LMS), which have become national standards for staff training across Canada.
• Created and implemented the "Nature Walk" program, a unique service offering for families selecting immediate cremation. Families to experience a meaningful and personalized service, providing a degree of ceremony and reverence comparable tothat of a traditional casketed earth burial.
• Pioneer the first successful licensing process through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), positioning our establishment as the first funeral home in Ontario to obtain an AGCO license. This milestone set a new benchmark, enabling multiple locations across the province to achieve licensing.

Presentations and Strategic Insights:

• Delivered presentations to the Central Ontario leadership team on key topics, including client service innovations and cremation market trends. Additional presentation topics included enhancements to Cemetery Graveside Services, now integrated into a company-wide initiative, building and property maintenance schedules and checklists, and strategies for engaging Funeral Director Assistants during times of employee shortages.
• Provide analytical support and insights to the VP of Funeral Services, Director of Finance, and Regional Director on new acquisitions, pilot projects, and other strategic initiatives, as requested.