Qualified Remodeler Magazine

APR 2016

Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.

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a healthcare plan and, like most companies today, we do not pay for all of it. When you're hiring this is going to be the second question that serious job candidates will ask about your company (right after compensation). We also have a 401(k) with matching. In addition, we give someone who starts at our company 120 hours of paid time of the frst year. That could be sick days, personal days or vacation. We ofer paid holidays. All this is now part of the hiring conversation. WHERE THEY WORK The best new employees will be drawn to your company by its culture. That's defned in large measure by what it's like to actually work there. You and I know that when em- ployees leave the ofce for the bar, they're talking about work. And if they're saying that it's an awesome place, fun, that they like coming in every day, then whoever else is in on that conversation will wonder: Is that company a good ft for me? You want your people talking-up your com- pany. That's how you're going to get your best new employees. Current employees are the most credible information source on the subject. If I tell a job candidate we have a great company, what else would they expect me to say? A fnal point. You can only ofer top com- pensation, excellent benefts and a great place to work if you can pay for it. And you can't pay for it if you don't charge enough. All this is one big circle. n Scott Siegal is owner of Maggio Roofng in Washington, D.C., and also owns the Certifed Contractors Network. You can learn more about CCN by going to the website contractors.net. anyone else is like saying you have the best warranty or use the best materials. It's a giv- en. You can't hang your hat on that. OFFER THE INTANGIBLES What appeals to people is the part of the job that's less visible. Take fexibility, for example. This will vary from department to department (there's not a lot of fexibility available in production). Allowing people to adjust their work hours around the demands of their personal lives has great appeal. We even ofer telecommuting on a limited basis. And we're starting to toy with the idea of a four- (vs. fve-) day workweek with longer days but one fewer of them. People would much rather work 10 hours a day, four days a week and have almost half the week to do other things. For people under 30, this is a big one. You need young people willing to get into the business. They are the future of your company. And they look at things diferently. Then, here at Maggio Roofng, there's train- ing. And with training there is the prospect of travel. Our people like having the opportunity to go to Certifed Contractor Network's confer- ences around the country, enhance their skills and meet other similar people. They know — and let me know that they know — we invest in them. For instance, a new salesperson we hired in his 20s, with a background in civil en- gineering, saw our ad and took the job because we have a training program BENEFITS ARE BACK We left our benefts intact during the re- cession. Among contractors, we may have been in the minority. Scrambling to lower overhead, many contracting companies cut benefts, including health insurance. I under- stand why — benefts are expensive. We have HERE'S the problem. People are in demand but, depending on the market, there are fewer and fewer people available. In the Washington, D.C. area, for instance, we have low unemployment, and everyone wants to work for the federal gov- ernment. When it comes to personnel, every contractor is our competition. With so few in the labor pool, we're all scrambling. And you have to not only add people, you have to fgure out a way to keep the ones who've been with you satisfed and happy. START EARLY One way to fnd people is to change the recruit- ing mind-set. Instead of waiting until we need- ed a person immediately, our company began posting ads for positions we would eventually need to fll. The problem at many companies is that it's April and if you think you're going to need salespeople or installers in May, you look in June. The time to look is now. If you look in June, you may get lucky and fnd someone. But how good is your luck going to be when every company is looking at the same time? Putting a process in place will yield pre- dictable results. Put some feelers out. We look especially for people who are dissatis- fed with their current job situation and want to make a change. But you can assume, if they're experienced people who are looking, that yours is not the only company they will contact. They have choices. And if you're paying as well or better than anyone else in the area, that doesn't auto- matically make you the company they want to work for. A good compensation plan is important — you won't be taken seriously without it — but it's just one piece. Building your appeal around it, our company learned, is not productive. Saying you pay better than The Big Circle Suddenly, every contracting company is looking for salespeople and installers. Ask yourself: Why would they work for you? By Scott Siegal 70 SPECIAL SECTION: HOME IMPROVEMENT PRO | April 2016 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com

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