Your ability to grow is constrained by the size of your field service staff. Most contractors have trouble recruiting and retaining field service personnel. Most. Not all. Here is part 2 of 12 practices used by contractors to overcome the recruiting and retention problems that plaque most air conditioning companies. Click here to read the first part of the article.
7. Periodically Host Fun Events
Several times a year, shut down for a couple of hours and do something fun with the entire company. Take everyone bowling. Go see a movie at a theater that serves lunch. Go to Top Golf.
These events are fun and help people bond together. This is especially important for field service personnel who typically work on their own, largely unsupervised. The events make them feel part of the company and they build relationships, making it harder for someone to quit.
8. Create Overlapping Bonuses
Create bonus opportunities for the team where one bonus period starts before the other one ends. Check with an HR professional for your state to determine how to structure it so the employee cannot leave before it is paid and claim that it’s compensation due him based in his personal performance. Typically, this involves group performance and bonus pools. By having overlapping bonus periods, the employee will always be faced with the consequences of leaving money on the table if he leaves.
9. Share Financial Performance
Become an open book company and let everyone know how the company is performing and where they can personally make an impact. Open book management does not mean you have to share details like individual salaries. It does mean you need prepared financial statements and are able to explain them.
People like to know how the company is performing. Sharing this information with them understand that you are not raking in the big bucks at their expense. It also shows your trust in your people.
10. Create Recruiting Collateral
Given the demand for skilled labor, it’s surprising how many contractors lack the most basic material for marketing the business to prospective employees. Create brochures that sell the company to a prospective hire (and resell it to existing employees). Create videos that reflect the atmosphere at your company. Use email to share technical tips with technicians, whether they work for you or someone else so that your company stays top-of-mind and you will have a ready pool of prospective employees familiar with your company when you are ready to hire.
11. Act Fast
When a poisonous person leaks through your screening and starts to infect your company, move quickly to correct the situation. Give the employee the opportunity to turn things around, but be ready for a fast termination if necessary. To the best of your ability, keep your company drama free.
12. Treat Everyone Like Volunteers
It is hard to show constant appreciation to employees, but for many, that’s the difference between a great place to work and a lousy one. Like managing volunteers, you need to thank them for their contribution and effort. You need to ask for their help rather than demanding their action. If you think of your employees as volunteers, it changes the way you approach and manage them.
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