CONTRACTING
Words Tim Poskin and Jenean Merkel Perelstein
W
e often hear ads, read articles, and receive emails from companies reminding us that “in these unprecedented times” all we need to do to stay relevant is simply remain calm and adapt to the new normal – whatever normal is for that specific day. That’s all well and good except that no one offers any real advice for exactly how we’re supposed to adapt in a constantly changing world. Serious business owners and operators don’t have the bandwidth to sort through jargon when they’re navigating change daily. They need tried-and-true methodologies to help them serve their customers during a pandemic. To do that, they need to ensure that their workforce is present, engaged, and attentive to detail more than ever. Below are our top three strategies to help building service contractors (BSCs) engage their workforce during times of continuous change.
1
INTEGRATE SYSTEMS
The first strategy for ensuring an engaged workforce involves managing expectations. To do this, you need to create integrated systems. In the pre-COVID-19 world, we saw many BSCs running solid businesses from a reactionary perspective. That is, they would address what needed to be done when an issue or problem arose. For instance, when job openings occurred, they would hire; when business got slow, they would market; when supplies ran out, they would order; and so on. You may be thinking there’s nothing wrong with running a business like that – and in a strong economy you could make that argument. But it is important to highlight the inefficiencies in reactionary operations that slow the business down and frustrate employees. In reactionary operations problems, rather than systems, prompt an action. Things get done only when they are urgent. The daily task list is about putting out fires instead of tending to activities anticipated as part of a system.
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