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good," he says. "We do one week after the frst year, two weeks after fve years and three weeks after 10 years. If they don't use it by the end of the year, we reimburse the employee for whatever they didn't use and then start clean the next year." MANY D/R Services Unlimited employees have earned their share of vacation, as Cowgill puts it, considering the longevity of many. However, those years of experience are the exact thing that concerns him as he looks to the future. More specifcally he wonders who is the future? "Most of our guys are over 40 years old — we have two people that are under. Guys that just can't do the work anymore, they don't want to do it anymore or they are getting ready to retire are some of the things com- ing. So what does that do to your workforce?" Cowgill says, "If any- thing, that's the problem we're seeing: the age of the people we're getting. Kids in their 20s don't want to do this and don't have the skills for it, so [in terms of hiring] there is nothing coming in underneath it to fll in the gaps. "People complain we're too expensive now; wait until then. Tere's going to be very few who are truly experienced and know what they're doing, and that's just going to drive the price up," he observes. "But maybe the promise of at least a good paycheck is what it will take to bring the younger generation into remodeling." | the parts that maybe they're weak in and bring them up to speed," Cowgill says. "Once we fnd out where their weaknesses are, we can compensate with training, other people, sub- contractors and stuf like that. It takes eight months to really get all of our systems and get exposed to everything." ON-THE-JOB TRAINING is the frst step within D/R Services Unlimited, but "fne-tun- ing" in the form of NARI Certifcation Courses, like Certifed Remodeling Project Manager (CRPM), comes after an employee has been around for a while. Cowgill fnds that reinvesting in his employees with things like the certifcation courses, company trucks, company paid cell phones and splitting the cost of health insurance is just smart business. "You try and treat the people you want to keep as best you can, and they stay." While Cowgill de- scribes his employees and "learning together" when it came to certain mana- gerial styles and practic- es, he is a proponent of paid time of and it be- ing an incentive for em- ployees to stick around. "Very few remodelers do paid time of, and I think that's one important thing that you need to do. Let employees go spend time with their families, go fshing or whatever they need to do. Even if you're paying fair median wage for your area, people are usually working paycheck to paycheck and can't aford to take time of, so being able to give someone a couple days of or a week is uch like the remodeling indus- try as a whole has gone through changes throughout the years, so has the hiring process. Newspaper ads, Craigslist posts, LinkedIn and much more have made it difcult for employers to know what to expect from applicants or, as Ron Cowgill, MCR, CKBR, GCP, UDCP, president of D/R Services Unlimited, Inc., in Glenview, Ill., puts it, "It's all just a crapshoot." Tat said, Cowgill readily admits his compa- ny's experience with hiring in recent years has mostly been comprised of people coming in to apply based on referrals. "IN THE past fve years, I haven't really actively pursued trying to fnd anybody. [Applicants] have just walked in the door because somebody else working here brought them in," he explains. With a number of long- term employees — Cowgill cites several in the 10- to 15-year range and a few in the 20- year range — by his side, he shared that his employees are often the determining factor of whether a newcomer will work out or not. "It's not me who makes the decision as to whether a guy will stay or not; that's generally the guys. I'm not out there working on the jobs with them, so if somebody is annoying and doesn't really shower that doesn't afect me too much, but it afects them every day because they have to deal with each other," he says. So while showering does appear on Cowgill's list of preferred qualifcations, he seeks employees who show up on time, have a good work ethic and have personalities that will mesh with his existing crew. He is of the opinion that most other things can be taught. "Usually somebody comes in with basic car- pentry skills, and then we'll expose them to Hiring, training and keeping employees One remodeler shares what works for his Glenview, Ill.-based company, comprised of mostly long-term employees By Kacey Larsen M Very few remodelers do paid time of, and I think that's one important thing that you need to do. 18 May 2015 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com | ForResidentialPros.com PROFITS: NARI Recertification QR has teamed up with NARI to create a convenient way to earn credits toward your recertification. After reading this issue's article, take the test for CEUs at ForResidentialPros.com/ narirecertification.