I am no expert at hiring people and I, too, have had my share of failures, but I watch contractors repeatedly do a poor job in this area. So, I wanted to offer some tips that you may find helpful.
I wish I had a magic formula or system for developing foremen, but there is no magic bullet. However, as a company we have trained thousands of foremen in basic supervisory skills and have helped numerous companies develop their organizations. Hopefully, the following insights will prove helpful in developing your field leadership.
Managing people is always a challenge, and most business owners and middle managers learn by trial and error. Unfortunately, this is not always the most efficient method of learning new skills. I am confident you may see yourself when reviewing the following list of common mistakes mangers make.
Many business owners think they will sell their business and use those proceeds to retire. Such thoughts can be driven by a desire to escape the stress of managing a business, the hassle of dealing with employees or just getting bored with the whole process. Or maybe you just want to obtain something out of those years of toil you have put in building your business. Possibly you dream of simply playing golf, going fishing and enjoying the good life. But is your business really saleable?
Managing people has always been a challenging issue, and many believe young people today are spoiled and don’t want to work. This is not a new opinion, and the following quote sheds some light on how others have felt:
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
It has been awhile since I broached the subject of per square pricing and the perils it presents for roofing contractors. It is such an important topic that I would like to revisit it and once again caution roofers as to why per square pricing does not work. We will start this discussion with a tale of two roofs being bid by the same contractor who uses per square pricing methods.
The longer you have been in the business, the less theft and other employee issues surprise you. It all boils down to the law of averages - the more people you hire and are in contact with, the more likely you are to run across someone who may steal from you.
When done right, few things are more rewarding than running a successful family business. However, family businesses can include sticky family issues that can become heart-wrenching traps for family members.
Life passes through stages and goals change. When we were 10 years old, many of us wanted to be a fireman; at 16, a rock star. Somehow we ended up becoming a contractor.
Entrepreneurs tend to be sales-oriented people who operate with the idea that the next job will provide the financial success they are seeking. Sometimes a strategy of saving costs can be more productive than increasing sales.
