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Southern California
Alaska
REGIONAL GENERAL MANAGER: GREG EVANS
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Home to beaches and amusement parks famous the world over, Southern California is also the site of one of the newer Colt Builders regional offices. As regional general manager, Greg Evans leads the charge in the area, and with several years in the industry and an in-depth knowledge of the local market, he’s helped cultivate an innovative approach to the projects he manages.
innOVatiOn in traininG
Like other places in the country, Southern California has a particular approach to job sites. In particular, the area relies on “piece work,” which usually means contractors and subcontractors are trained and paid to perform one particular task and then perform it repeatedly across a variety of projects that they work on. Greg attributes this preferred method to the volume of work in the area and the massive distance between projects, but Colt figured they could do things a little differently.
“Instead of moving people around when their job is finished, we like to keep the same people on the same job site,” says Greg. “And we try to grow their skills. There’s a point on every project where you no longer need guys to stand up walls—you’ll need someone to handle the joists instead. And our foremen try hard to recognize the talents of our guys and communicate our desire to have them try different things.”
This belief in training and advancement is at the core of Colt’s culture, and Greg sees the benefits.
“We try hard to find people who have been trained in one task and then teach them to do multiple,” he says. “And our people feel good about that because they now have a much broader scope in what they choose to do. We help give them the skills to follow a path that’s more suited to their goals.”
BuildinG a team
One of the region’s current projects includes a student housing development in Reno, Nevada, and Greg is optimistic about the changes for growth it will provide to his people. With a unique combination of traditional stick framing and engineered wall panels, he looks forward to cross-training workers on a lot of different tasks.
“It’s also a chance to expand my management, especially since this is such a good project that we can start to build a team around,” Greg says.
Greg is able to appreciate the importance of an expert-driven team more than most. For most of his career, he reports being the only “construction guy” on a project. But in his role at Colt, which he took on in 2019, he’s finally with “his people,” and he couldn’t be happier.
“Being surrounded by construction people and construction knowledge has been so rewarding,” Greg says. “It’s been an opportunity for personal growth to be around so much talent in management and design.”
Because of his unique understanding of what it takes to cultivate good culture, he takes his responsibilities to build out teams in his region very seriously.
“Building across Southern California can be difficult for a few reasons, but the geography is one of the big ones,” he explains. “It can take three hours to get across Los Angeles alone, and even more to get from L.A. to San Diego. That means that moving men and trying to keep crews localized is more important than ever.”
Like their Northern California counterparts, the SoCal region pays hourly rather than “piece work.” But because Colt’s vision for their people involves steady, predictable work, those hourly wages are amplified with additional benefits.
“When we pay at a good scale with good benefits, we create a culture that in turn provides different opportunities for a region that’s been stuck in its way for a long time,” Greg says. “And when we do that, people in turn are loyal to Colt.”
Loyalty will come in handy as the region continues to expand.
“Our market is looking sustainable,” says Greg. “And with three to four major projects each year, we’ll have lots of opportunities for growth.
Southern California: Hollywood
“Opportunity for what’s ahead of us as it relates to the California market, not just from a company growth perspective, is nothing short of amazing! But as with everything in life, with great opportunities comes great challenges! And if there’s one thing this company doesn’t shy away from, it is to take upon itself big challenges.“
