Build a stronger workforce by changing your approach to how you recruit, train, and compensate your employees.
With a surge in demand for home improvements, it’s crucial you have enough qualified workers so that you don’t have to turn down projects or sacrifice quality to keep up. And while there’s no magic wand you can wave to fix a shortage in skilled labor, there are steps your business can take to easily find and retain experienced contractors.
Finding Great Talent and Ensuring They Stick Around
Skilled contractors are out there – you just need to know where to look for them and ensure your work environment is one they feel valued in. If your home improvement company is having trouble hiring and retaining skilled labor, consider the following:
1. Leverage Your Current Workforce
When it comes to finding skilled labor, you don’t have to go very far – in fact, your existing employees may prove to be a great resource for acquiring new talent. Unless they’ve always been with your company, members of your team likely worked with other contractors in the past and may be able to refer suitable candidates to your business. Someone almost always knows someone who knows somebody in need of a job, so tell your staff to keep their eyes and ears open for contractors looking for work! Doing so may just end up being your best bet for finding quality labor.
2. Don’t Skimp on Training
Regardless of their skill level, you should be giving any new hires thorough and complete training if you want maximize employee retention. Processes and expectations vary from company to company, and by providing your workforce with the resources they need to do their job, you can show that you value them and want to see them succeed. The last thing you want is to lose a quality employee because you failed to give them the tools necessary for performing their duties effectively.
3. Offer Valuable Benefits
Upping starting salaries is one way to attract new hires, but if you don’t offer valuable benefits, you risk losing your workforce to someone that does. On top of the biggies (time off, 401k plans, and health, dental, and vision insurance), offering these benefits can help you keep employees around for the long term:
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- Wellness Programs
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Home improvement work often requires long hours and a lot of physical labor. By incentivizing your workforce with gym reimbursements, stress management programs, or smoking cessation classes, you can show them you value their health (and even reduce future medical costs!)
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- Career Development Opportunities
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Giving your workforce the chance to expand their skill set is a win for them and for you! Something as simple as a mentorship program where you pair senior and junior staff together can show employees that their professional growth matters to you.
4. Fill Gaps with Technology
Technology can handle a lot of the mindless administrative tasks that your project managers or installers may not want to deal with, like keeping track of everyone’s schedules, sending out reminders for upcoming project installations, or managing job-related documents. For example, MarketSharp’s industry-specific CRM offers contractors several project management tools designed to help teams work smarter, not harder. With abilities to upload images of the jobsite (while at the jobsite), reduce daily travel time, and seamlessly assign work crews to projects, a system like MarketSharp can take on some of the admin duties that your production staff don’t care for. As a result, you’ll alleviate employee stress and encourage retention by allowing your team to focus on the work they do best.
The desire for home improvements isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon, and the tips outlined above can help you find talent that stays and grows with your business. And while you obviously need a strong workforce to execute quality, on-time projects, using a CRM system like MarketSharp can help your home improvement company execute a more productive production process and improve customer satisfaction.
To learn more about how MarketSharp can help you streamline project management, schedule a demo with one of our team members today!