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Rottinghaus says two employees have been with the contractor six years with the remainder of the staff having been with them either two or three years. In 2008 all the contractor's 2007 employees returned so crews were up and running full bore right from the start.

"And it appears it will be the same this year," Rottinghaus says. "Everyone's coming back and that makes it so much easier when people know where everything is, how everything needs to be done, and how it all works."

Whitney says that reducing what had been a high turnover rate has improved productivity, job quality, and even made scheduling easier. "It takes time to train people and that slows down work, especially at the start of the season," Whitney says. "It takes a good one to two years to learn everything and to understand it all and understand what's going on and how to go about making adjustments. There's a lot to remember and with so much turnover it was very difficult to be as productive and efficient as we wanted to be."

Impact of crew size
Arrow Striping usually starts the season running three or four crews, eventually working up to six crews. Typically each crew will work its own job, enabling Arrow to handle six jobs simultaneously. Whitney credits a switch to three-person crews from two-person crews with making the company as flexible and productive as it is.

"The previous owner operated only with two-man crews but that just wasn't efficient," Whitney says. "Two people were needed for layout but when the layout was done one person was just standing around. Now with three people on a crew two can do the layout and one person can paint while the layout is being done, and once the layout is finished the painting is almost done. It cuts down on the time it takes to do each job, and when as much as 40% of the work is out of town the less time you spend on a job the less hotel and per diem you have to pay."