Undercover Boss Season 3 Episode 12
Undercover Boss
Season 3

Ep 12. Fastsigns International

  • TVPG
  • May 4, 2012
  • 43 min
  • 6.7  (29)

Undercover Boss is a popular reality show where business executives disguised as ordinary employees infiltrate their own companies to identify efficiency problems and specific situations. In season 3 episode 12, "Fastsigns International," Catherine Monson, CEO, goes undercover and attempts to understand the challenges of the world of signage, learning about the lives of her staff, and discovering the nuances of her company's role in the competitive world market.

Catherine Monson begins her self-disguised undercover journey at a FastSigns International franchise, tasked with doing entry-level jobs. The first role she takes on is that of an intern, where she cleans the shop's shelves and prepares materials for signs. She then works at a local construction site as a sign installer. Catherine begins to find out the reality of her company's franchisees' obstacles as they will have to deal with such things as battling the improper installation of signs by other contractors, weeding through a challenging web of legal jargon to ensure compliance, and finding new customers constantly.

At the next location, Monson takes a corporate role in marketing. She works with a team of designers, creating and proposing sketches for potential clients. Here, Monson encounters the challenge of competition, where each company has to fight fiercely for every single contract. Later, she takes on the role of a sign sales representative. Catherine meets an outside sales representative, A.J., who helps her understand the ins and outs of field sales and the competitive nature of the industry.

In the final stage of her undercover experience, Monson goes back to the franchise, FastSigns of San Antonio, where she once worked and eventually rose to a management role. When she returns, she finds the whole environment has transformed. Gone is the outdated interior, and in its place is a new office designed to impress and a retail floor showered with retail-centric signage. The staff is much younger, and with a completely revamped outlook, they now cater to a diverse range of customers. Monson is impressed by the progress but sees gaps between the old and new employees and the transition it took to get where they are today.

Throughout the journey, Monson has a chance to create valuable relationships with her staff. She learns about the personal struggles of each employee and finds out what motivates them and keeps them driven to do their work. She listens to their suggestions, takes it all on board and implements the necessary changes once her true identity is revealed. By the time Monson removes her disguise and admits who she is, her staff is shocked yet relieved to know their CEO genuinely cares for them and their working conditions. Monson's experience revealed some key issues that, if fixed, would help improve working conditions, company culture, and increase profits.

This episode of Undercover Boss serves to highlight how mutually beneficial open communication between leaders and employees can serve to improve not only the individuals but also the company as a whole. The issues that Monson discovers while in disguise include a lack of communication between employees and managers, difficulty in using software to produce high-quality signs, lack of training for new employees, and difficulty in acquiring newer sign-making machinery. Each of these challenges paves the way for the changes Monson implements once her true identity is revealed, and her knowledge, awareness, participation, and communication fosters a brighter future for Fastsigns International.

Description
Watch Undercover Boss - Fastsigns International (s3 e12) Online - Watch online anytime: Stream, Download, Buy, Rent
Undercover Boss, Season 3 Episode 12, is available to watch free on Pluto TV and stream on CBS. You can also stream, download, buy, rent Undercover Boss on demand at Amazon Prime online.
  • First Aired
    May 4, 2012
  • Content Rating
    TVPG
  • Runtime
    43 min
  • Language
    English
  • IMDB Rating
    6.7  (29)