| In another article titled How Contractors Get Rich, I | | | | your expectations. Repeat these conversations as |
| introduced you to the six systems that control the fate | | | | many times as necessary. |
| of your construction business. To refresh your | | | | Keep an eye on performance. When performance |
| memory, they were: | | | | slips, remind your employee of his job responsibilities |
| 1. Marketing | | | | your performance expectations. |
| 2. Sales | | | | 5. Monitoring the Market's Wage Rate |
| 3. Staffing | | | | You are in competition for good workers. You |
| 4. Planning | | | | compete on many different fronts, the two primary |
| 5. Tracking | | | | ones being wage rate and work hours. You need to |
| 6. Financial Control | | | | keep a close eye on what the market is paying for |
| In this article, I am going to expand on the nine | | | | people of like skill. Paying below that rate is risky and |
| components that form your staffing system. | | | | will most likely leave you with an under-motivated or |
| Do you remember that the objective of a staffing | | | | under-skilled staff. You can't afford either in the |
| system is to recruit and retain a team of highly | | | | construction industry. |
| motivated and skilled employees? The popular analogy | | | | 6. Dismissing Non-Performers |
| is getting the right people on the bus and putting them | | | | One of the biggest challenges employers face is |
| in the right seats. To do that, you need systems for: | | | | terminating non-performers. The fear of the unknown |
| 1. Advertising Job Openings | | | | makes owners hesitate to pull the trigger. They usually |
| When it's time to add staff, you need to roll out a | | | | figure that the devil they know is better than the one |
| recruiting system that will generate a large pool of | | | | they don't. They figure a firing, no matter how |
| good candidates. You need the recruiting system to | | | | justifiable, will hurt morale. T |
| work quickly. You need it to pre-qualify the candidates | | | | Here's the rub: good workers can't stand working |
| so that you don't spend a lot of time sorting through | | | | along side bad workers. |
| unqualified resumes and interviews. | | | | It's your responsibility to fire a poor worker, not theirs. |
| Write help wanted advertisements that sound like | | | | It's your company and they expect you to staff it |
| sales pitches for your company. Don't let your help | | | | properly. |
| wanted ad sound like you are doing the candidate a | | | | If one of your workers is falling short of performance |
| favor. Make it sound like the candidate is doing you a | | | | expectations and you think letting him go might be the |
| favor by joining your firm. | | | | right course of action, go talk to the people he works |
| Know which help wanted advertising outlets work best | | | | with before you make your final decision. They'll give |
| for the types of workers you need. In some markets, | | | | you an honest answer and more often than not it will |
| neighborhood papers work well, in others works best, | | | | be: get rid of him. |
| and for professional positions often excels. | | | | 7. Developing Employee Skills |
| List both the minimum skill set the ideal skill set you are | | | | When you implement systems that help employees |
| looking for. Don't go crazy with the required | | | | develop their skills you benefit in three ways: |
| experience. If you have created skill development | | | | 1.They work faster. |
| systems, look for candidates with the right raw | | | | 2.Their loyalty to your company increases greatly. |
| materials (abilities and attitude) then mold them into | | | | 3.You increase the pool of potential employees your |
| superperformers. | | | | company can hire. |
| Have template for writing different types of help | | | | You need a system for evaluating skills, setting skill |
| wanted advertisements: shorts ads for newspapers, | | | | development goals, and creating learning opportunities. |
| long ads for the internet, work fairs, and community | | | | Raising the skills of your existing staff is the surest |
| bulletin boards (churches, civic centers, etc.) | | | | way to improve your competitive position and bottom |
| 2. Interviewing | | | | line. |
| Interviewing is difficult. Despite what hundreds of | | | | 8. Rewarding Superior Performance |
| human resource professionals claim, there is virtually no | | | | Something often forgotten by business owners: the |
| fool-proof way to interview. Individuals with superior | | | | company isn't just theirs - it is everyone's who works |
| people skills are the ones universally selected. | | | | there. |
| Of course, superior people skills are only essential in | | | | What that means is when the company succeeds, the |
| sales and leadership positions. Decision making skills, | | | | success should be shared with the employees who |
| problem solving skills, and time management skills are | | | | made it happen. When success isn't shared, |
| often far more important in most construction positions. | | | | dissatisfaction and jealousy start spreading like a wild |
| That said, there are certain interviewing techniques that | | | | fire. |
| will help you make better hiring decisions. The primary | | | | You need a system for legitimately identifying and |
| one is asking open-ended questions. Ask the candidate | | | | rewarding superior performance. The systems needs |
| how he would handle a problem that might arise in the | | | | to be simple explain and easy to understand. |
| position. Ask him to explain how he dealt wit a similar | | | | It takes more than skills to be a high performer. It takes |
| problem in the past and what he would have done | | | | a solid work ethic, a sense of duty, and focus on the |
| differently the next time. | | | | job at hand. |
| Know which questions to ask, know how to ask them, | | | | Those characteristics are somewhat rare and need to |
| and then stay silent until the candidate answers. | | | | be rewarded. By rewarding them, you make the |
| Always check references and listen closely to what | | | | employee feel valued and you help set an example for |
| they say. Their feedback is often the most revealing | | | | their co-workers. |
| and predictive information you'll get. Negative | | | | When you fail to reward superior performance, you |
| comments will be stated very subtly. Learn how to | | | | send the message that all performance is equal. That's |
| read between the lines. | | | | a bad message to send. It de-motivates the better |
| If you are hiring a manager, ask for references from | | | | workers and emboldens the poorer ones. |
| at least two of his or her former subordinates. Direct | | | | 9. Promoting the Right People |
| reports know whether a manager knows how to lead | | | | Selecting the right person for promotion is tricky. Here's |
| or not. Rarely does the manager's boss. | | | | why: the skill set demanded by the higher position is |
| If possible, have the candidate meet with multiple staff | | | | often far different than the skill set needed at the |
| members. | | | | lower position. Often, people who excel at the lower |
| 3. Creating and Updating Job Descriptions | | | | position are wired to fail at the higher one. |
| When workers clearly understand their role and their | | | | The opposite is also true. Great leaders and managers |
| relationship to their co-workers, they are more | | | | often make horrible front-line workers. Selection is not |
| productive, make better decisions, and tend to work | | | | as easy as "This guy is my best worker so he's the |
| harder. When workers don't understand their role, | | | | one I should promote." Your system for choosing |
| quality, productivity, and job satisfaction suffer. | | | | someone for promotion should be as thorough as your |
| Job descriptions are the tool used to establish clear | | | | system for selecting someone to join your company. |
| roles and responsibilities. A job description should be | | | | You need a system that helps you accurately |
| written for each position and it should list the major | | | | determine an employee's real skill set. Then you need |
| tasks to be performed, the standards the tasks should | | | | to compare the skills of your employees against the |
| be performed at, and identify the tasks of highest | | | | demands of the position. The best match is the one |
| importance. | | | | who should be promoted. |
| All tasks that need to be performed in order for the | | | | To review, here are the nine staffing systems you |
| company to be successful must be documented on at | | | | need to build a great team and grow you company |
| least one of the job descriptions. If the task isn't on a | | | | profitably: |
| job description, odds are the task will not be done. | | | | 1. Advertising Job Openings |
| 4. Communicating Performance Expectations | | | | 2. Interviewing |
| Job descriptions are not enough. Performance | | | | 3. Creating and Updating Job Descriptions |
| expectations must be explained. That requires | | | | 4. Communicating Performance Expectations |
| face-to-face discussion. | | | | 5. Monitoring the Market's Wage Rate |
| Verify your employee understands your expectations. | | | | 6. Dismissing Non-Performers |
| Have him repeat them back to you in his own words. | | | | 7. Developing Employee Skills |
| If he is catching on to what you're trying to | | | | 8. Rewarding Superior Performance |
| communicate, he should have questions. When he | | | | 9. Promoting the Right People |
| doesn't have questions, assume he doesn't understand | | | | Until next time, good luck with your business. |