What does it take to be a successful contractor? I get that question thrown at me a lot, especially around “NPE” time. It’s a question that every Pavement Maintenance Contractor should ask of themselves, of their company, several times a year.
In a recent survey sponsored by the Center for Construction Innovation & Development (CCID) some interesting indicators surfaced as to what a contractor has to do to be successful. While the list numbered more than 20 “signs,” here are the Top 10.
1. Have a Vision for the Company
No mystery here. The number one answer given was the need to have a vision for the company and the future of that company. It’s critical that the owner have some clarity about what sort of construction company they want to be and where they see their position in the market.
2. Have a Vision for Their Leadership
A close runner-up was the vision contractors must have for their own leadership. Literally, how do they want to lead? How do they want to be respected? What sort of work culture do they want to create?
3. Provide On-going Education & Training for Workers
“On-going” suggests a continuous effort to train whenever they can. For the seasonal contractor this might mean bringing their workers in a few days to a few weeks earlier than “opening day” and taking them through a series of training topics. Every contractor should be ready for those rainy days when grabbing an extra few hours on some education would benefit the crews.
4. Cross-Train to Build “Bench Strength”
The greater diversity that your workers can handle the easier time of scheduling you will experience. Having more than one worker who can competently handle a paver, sealcoat machine, roller or backhoe, for example, the better chance your productivity will stay strong and profitable.
5. Communicate Daily the Direction & Goals
There is simply no excuse for not holding daily meetings with your crews. Call them “crew huddles” or “tailgate meetings” but do them…daily! And set goals for the project, the day, or the week -- whatever makes the most sense for your company and workers -- but setting targets always comes back to inspire and refocus your workers.
6. Create a Work Culture that Enjoys & Laughs
Sound crazy? Trust me, the most successful contractors, of any size, that I’ve witnessed up close and personal were all construction companies that enjoyed people, celebrated successes and laughed a lot. The people at these organizations, from the owner to the lowest-paid laborer, were just plain fun to hang out with. You could see the good-natured ribbing the workers would dish out to their foreman and especially to the owner. You can keep people a long time with you if they enjoy you, the company culture, and are allowed to laugh a little.
7. Develop Strong and Wise Field Leaders
As a contractor grows in size they realize that they can’t be all things to all people or be everywhere they need to be at the same time. Therefore, having the best field leaders leading the daily charge in the field is crucial for a successful contractor. The sooner a contractor realizes that “it’s not about them anymore” and develops good field leaders the sooner they’ll begin to see greater sales, performance and profits.
8. Create a Sense of Urgency…Not Emergency
Emergency-based contractors wear out and lose employees. Having a sense of urgency in your company actually inspires and energizes workers. Creating a sense of urgency begins with the owner communicating what their expectations are, sharing the highs and lows of the company with their workers, and informing workers as to what their customers want and expect from their performance.
9. Institute a Meaningful Incentive Plan
OK, we finally see money showing up. Sure money is important and the contractor who can creatively reward performance with good pay and some form of bonus money will keep better workers around longer. There are a multitude of incentive-based compensation approaches and they can be overly simple to more complicated. Whatever path you follow, just be sure that your workers understand what it takes to make that extra dollar. I have always favored performance bonus for “gains” made above what was set as a goal.
10. Encourage Participation in Planning and Execution
This last sign leans a bit to the culture you have. Once employees understand their roles and what is expected from them, and have the technical skills to operate equipment or handle tools, their input to actually fulfilling work can be invaluable. If we have trained and educated our workers on how we want to accomplish work, why wouldn’t we engage them more on how to accomplish future work? You can’t grow your business if you’re holding too tight to the reins…you’ve got to let your thoroughbreds run!
I hope you’ll learn what we did about the reasons behind many successful contractors. Obviously not all contractors rated “A+” on all 10 signs but they did see the Top 10 signs presented here as crucial to running a successful construction company. Commit today to bring the 10 signs shared here into your company…and have fun steering your company to greater success!
Brad Humphrey is president of Pinnacle Development Group, a consulting firm specializing in the construction industry. For more information about PDG, go to www.pinnacledg.com. Also, check out www.pinnacledgccid.com for more information about industry trends.
