National Pavement Expo’s conference program touches on virtually all aspects of running a profitable and successful paving and pavement maintenance business. But a number of this year’s sessions deal directly with concerns contractors will likely face in 2018.
So here’s a hand-picked list of just a few of the sessions that might help contractors thrive this year:
Employees
What’s the most-common concern of today’s contractor’s? Arguably labor. Where can I find more good workers and how can I keep them once I find them.Tom Eosso, Eosso Brothers Paving, and Tyler Spano, Intercounty Paving Co., will explain what has worked for them in Improve Your Company Culture to Attract, Grow and Retain the Best Workers. These two contractors “will discuss how they have worked together to improve their cultures and how they have developed a path for employee growth and retention that starts with the hiring process. Contractors will learn how to implement a skills test for new hires and develop a ‘skills pyramid’ that lays out a clear path for employees to develop and progress at their own pace. Plus, they’ll outline new approaches to training (because the old ways no longer work)!”
And once you’ve hired them, how do you get them to buy-in to your mission and produce as a team? Brad Humphrey, Pinnacle Development Group, will cover that in two sessions: How to Make “Quality” Your Employees’ #1 Obsession and 5 Secrets of Effective Teamwork – For Contractors. In the “Quality” session he’ll explain what quality really means and the true “cost of quality.” Then he’ll outline specific steps to take that will make a pavement maintenance company more “quality based,” including steps on enlisting employees to “buy in” to producing quality. In his “Effective Teamwork” session Humphrey will “cut to the chase” and outline the five secrets that make the difference between “good” and “great” construction crews: Familiarity, Laser Focus, C&C, “ESP” Communication, and “Foxhole” Conversions – and how to incorporate them into your operation.
For another take on teamwork, Giselle Chapman, Chapman Business Solutions, will conduct a three-hour workshop, Team-building for Contractors: How to avoid the “Silo Syndrome.” Her approach, in what Chapman terms a “team-integration” session, suggests that not only must team members work together for the team to be successful but teams themselves – sales, field, office, management etc. -- must work with other company teams for the company to be successful. If any individual team works only in its own “silo” they block the coordination of all teams and the company can’t achieve the job quality, customer satisfaction – and profit – every contractor pursues. Her goal in the session is to help each of your teams reach their production potential, and she’ll discuss the best ways for teams throughout the company to work with each other.
The Law
But working with employees isn’t the only aspect of labor to influence your company. Labor law plays a daily role and Martin B. Heller, Fisher & Phillips LLP, will cover that in “Trumped Up” Terminations – A Labor and Employment Year in Review, and What to expect for 2018. Heller will outline the impact the current administration has had on labor and employment law. He’ll review key cases and regulatory changes from 2017 – and explain how those cases will impact your operation – in the areas of wage and hour law under the Fair Labor Standards Act; harassment and discrimination law under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Possibly the most impactful session for contractors will be Risk Management and Error Recovery Tools to Protect Your Company, presented by Joshua G. Ferguson, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP. That’s because in this litigious environment there are few contractors who haven’t been dragged into a lawsuit for no reason other than they worked on property. Ferguson will present steps you can take to manage your risk to deter litigation, recover from mistakes, and to better defend your company should litigation occur. As a litigation and general counsel attorney, Ferguson is perfectly placed to outline the processes and procedures to protect your company before an event occurs, and efforts to recover from errors after they occur.
Impact of Technology
There’s little question that technology changes faster than most people can keep up with it, but those changes are going to affect your business. So NPE will offer three sessions covering three different technology-related issues.
Guy Gruenberg, Grow Consulting, will take an overview of technology and actually demonstrate how contractors can better utilize today’s technology to manage and grow their business. In How to Use Today’s Technologies to Manage Your Contracting Business Gruenberg will demonstrate new and different ways contractors are deploying technology to win contracts, reduce costs, and generate more profit. Technologies covered will include lead generation through online research, customer tracking with CRM, job costing with integrated spread sheets, data collection and analysis, aerial measuring, and how to create compelling proposals.
And (somewhat) related to proposals, Jeff Stokes, Next Level Contractor System, and Brandon Stanton, 405 Media Group, will update contractors on how technology is influencing contractors on Marketing Pavement Maintenance Services in a Digital Age. In this tag-team session they’ll discuss how the role of marketing must continue to be one of developing your brand and brand promises that show your differentiation and capacity. They’ll cover the key components to successful marketing, the role of the Internet in connection with your customers’ buying habits, the importance of differentiating your business from your competition, and how to integrate marketing and sales for a cohesive brand and message.
And Marvin Joles III, Wis-Coat, will drill down a little deeper and focus on How to Make Facebook, YouTube and Other Social Media Work for You. Joles is a pavement maintenance contractor who has a social media success story he’ll share while explaining how to make social media an essential part of your marketing and sales efforts. You’ll learn how to implement Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, including specific steps to make each medium effective for you. You’ll learn how to make various social media work together to compound their impact. Plus you’ll learn shortcuts that can make using these options even easier for you.
For details on National Pavement Expo, Feb. 7-10 in Cleveland, visit www.nationalpavementexpo.com.
