# Keeping good employees



## roofny (Mar 18, 2010)

I'm always worried I'm going to lose good employees to the union or a large company. My hourly pay is just as good but there just isn't enough money to offer all the overtime and benefits. I'd be in the hole on every job.

I can find good employees, what I am asking is what are some things you do to KEEP good employees?

What I try to do:
-Offer bonuses
-Work around their desired schedule (home nights/weekends, time off for familiy occasions)
-Maintain a low stress work atmosphere.
-Gas or take home vehicle when/where applicable.


----------



## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Guys generally don't like to go job hunting.

Those are nice percs you offer.

But keep in mind straight up NO BS communication with your guys will go a long ways also. Let them know if a short week is coming or a break between jobs. It will give them a chance to schedule their family stuff or rebuilding Aunt Flo's deck.

Also keep them apprised of scheduled work so they know there is a future with you.


----------



## CScalf (Dec 18, 2008)

Pay like clockwork, usually makes them come back next week:thumbsup:


----------



## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

I offer a Christmas bonus to my Jewish employee :laughing:

It's ok cause you'd never know he was Jewish :thumbsup:

That and I usually buy lunch...and an endless supply of Dew


----------



## brickhook (May 8, 2012)

My wife accuses me of being better to my employees then I am to her!  Just think how you want to be treated....and treat them better! If you ever had bad employees, you'll do what you need to, to keep the good ones! :thumbsup:


----------



## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

I was an employee. For many years. I know what it's like to work for aholes. I want a stress free work enviroment. I want an enjoyable, open honest enviroment with jokes, lafter and have a good time. After all painting sucks! I hate painting. So gotta make the job enjoyable. Therefore, I try to be enjoyable.

With that said, I have also learned that mistakes happen. Vetting all pissed off over it won't change anything, nor will it make anyone feel better about it. We take great pride in our work so when bad things happen it affects us all. No point in yelling at someone over it...

Cause then it stresses me out, and I get angry. Screw that crappy approach...

Though I have been known to call people a fing idiot at times....

Or if it was legal to hire monkeys you wouldn't have a job!

But then I buy lunch so all is cool...:laughing:


----------



## QCCI (Jan 28, 2013)

Concrete guys and ironworkers like lots of beer! Lol


----------



## cabinetsnj (Jun 10, 2012)

griz said:


> Guys generally don't like to go job hunting.
> 
> Those are nice percs you offer.
> 
> ...


Just being straight forward and letting everyone know what you are up to is an excellent start.


----------



## edson group inc (Feb 3, 2010)

griz said:


> Guys generally don't like to go job hunting.
> 
> Those are nice percs you offer.
> 
> ...


I agree with Griz alway communicate, keep the work coming in and give them the praise they deserve when a job is done well. Offer opportunities to train through seminars through suppliers or third party organzations. Recently we have added benifits for our employees and they are happier than ever.

In the past we have tried to offer performance bonuses but that can backfire by adding more pressure/stress to your employees.


----------



## roofny (Mar 18, 2010)

I like the reiteration on communication. Brickhook, you're right. An employee with lots of baggage and needs maintenance everyday is not worth it, that's why I try to take care of the good ones. 

Edson group, one informal thing I have done in lieu of a performance bonus is if I have a small job and I only send a couple guys, I will say to them "I know you guys can do this in 4 hours, I'll give you 8 so just get it done." It works on the small ones where I'm not trying to make much of a profit, just trying to please a certain customer. Also it does not seem to work with many guys (5+) on the same job. They get whiney about it and lose track of the nice gesture.


----------



## cabinetsnj (Jun 10, 2012)

If you are a good boss, then good employees will naturally stay. If you are losing employees, you might want to reflect on what you are doing as a boss.


----------



## harrymontana (Dec 27, 2012)

cabinetsnj said:


> If you are a good boss, then good employees will naturally stay. If you are losing employees, you might want to reflect on what you are doing as a boss.


yes and what exactly is a good boss. What you need to do is meet their needs, for one this is money, other time flexibility, other nice mates, other freedom in their way of doing, this is also called internal marketing look it up on google. It is not just money that makes people happy (or go away)


----------



## I Mester (Aug 21, 2011)

I seem to have a lot of turnover. for some reason I've been chosen as a trainer. guys come. work. learn. then leave and go off on their own. either that or I get the total lazy bums who refuse to learn.
I asked my helper to get the angle grinder from the truck.
in a matter of 15 minutes. he brought me back an angle drill, an angle finder, a speed square, a framing square a right angle cordless drill, and a hole hawg. needless to say, I was not happy.
as much as I hate yelling at people. this one deserved a beating. not a yelling!


----------



## harrymontana (Dec 27, 2012)

maybe you'ld better speak in the Spanish language to this guy


----------



## cabinetsnj (Jun 10, 2012)

I Mester said:


> I seem to have a lot of turnover. for some reason I've been chosen as a trainer. guys come. work. learn. then leave and go off on their own. either that or I get the total lazy bums who refuse to learn.
> I asked my helper to get the angle grinder from the truck.
> in a matter of 15 minutes. he brought me back an angle drill, an angle finder, a speed square, a framing square a right angle cordless drill, and a hole hawg. needless to say, I was not happy.
> as much as I hate yelling at people. this one deserved a beating. not a yelling!


Some areas just don't have good employees. Well at least many of them.


----------



## TxElectrician (May 21, 2008)

CScalf said:


> Pay like clockwork, usually makes them come back next week:thumbsup:


If you're an employer, paying on payday is your duty, not an incentive.


----------



## I Mester (Aug 21, 2011)

wouldn't have it any other way. pay day is pay day. and even if the money's not there. you find it and pay your employees.


----------



## Nick1001 (Nov 4, 2012)

Treat them with respect and realize what they do for you. That's the reason I'm leaving my job. It gets old getting walked all over.


----------



## cabinetsnj (Jun 10, 2012)

I Mester said:


> wouldn't have it any other way. pay day is pay day. and even if the money's not there. you find it and pay your employees.


If you don't, you won't have employees very long.


----------



## Spike7 (May 18, 2012)

cabinetsnj said:


> Some areas just don't have good employees. Well at least many of them.


I`m having a tough time keeping employees these days
I`m a small company the last couple year, me and maybe one oor 2 carpenters , and maybe one helper.

I do treat guys with respect
I work right next to them , help clean up at the end of the day , sit a eat lunch with them, let them use my tools if need be. never yell or blow up at them.never cuss at them,pay on time

I`m not busy enough to keep everyone on 40 hours, so some have to leave for more hours

the ones who answer ads or I get from referrals always have issues.
allot of guys ask for jobs with no vehicle!no tools

I just fired a guy yesterday.( this was his third day with me)
he didn`t have a car , so I picked him up , he got in said "hi" and proceeded to fall asleep within 2 minutes, he was visibly either still high or drunk from last night, or just didn`t sleep at all.
he slept for the hour and a half it took to go pick up materials , gas , and get to the job .
I pulled into the metro station ( our subway system)
woke him up with the pay I owed him in my hand 
I said calmly " hey , wake up , heres your pay , theres the metro station get out , I don`t need you"
he looked totally shocked.
what? im going to show up in an office building with a guy stumbling around , and looking like he just woke up??

employees have to treat us good also


----------



## Stephen H (Feb 18, 2011)

Warren said:


> We switched to a PEO in 2008. They take care of payroll, tax reporting, WC, and unemployment. I can enter payroll hours via my smart phone. They also have a human resource department that put together our employee handbooks at no charge. Definitely something to look into. I have been very happy.


 Is this better than simply using a payroll service?-if so, you wanna tell me who you are using?
Stephen ( thanks)


----------



## Warren (Feb 19, 2005)

Stephen H said:


> Is this better than simply using a payroll service?-if so, you wanna tell me who you are using?
> Stephen ( thanks)


It is simpler for me. I get a better WC rate also. All in all it does cost a little more than Paychex, whom I used to use. I use Group Management Services. They are located in Richfield.


----------



## Stephen H (Feb 18, 2011)

Warren said:


> It is simpler for me. I get a better WC rate also. All in all it does cost a little more than Paychex, whom I used to use. I use Group Management Services. They are located in Richfield.


 thank you- I think I will look into it.

I get a better WC rating than I used to because my payroll service hooked me up with membership in the Farm Bureau- but it is certainley worth looking into,
Thanks again

Stephen


----------



## RobertCDF (Aug 18, 2005)

BamBamm5144 said:


> Why would you need to do that?


Because otherwise they aren't subs from the IRS definition.


----------



## BamBamm5144 (Jul 12, 2008)

Well maybe it's just my line of work but I have a price sheet for my subs labor. I measure the job, add in material costs, labor costs and how much I want to make and sell the job.

I then ask the subs a week before what their schedule looks like. If its open, I send over work orders for the week.

They keep me informed if they are on schedule or not and call me when they're done.


----------



## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

BamBamm5144 said:


> Well maybe it's just my line of work but I have a price sheet for my subs labor. I measure the job, add in material costs, labor costs and how much I want to make and sell the job.
> 
> I then ask the subs a week before what their schedule looks like. If its open, I send over work orders for the week.
> 
> They keep me informed if they are on schedule or not and call me when they're done.


I do the same. I estimate projects using pricing sheets from my subs, then if the estimate is within expectation of the client, I have the sub bid it. 

I have seen a lot of contractors who dont self perform and dont have any employees, rather they sub everything. I am not fond of that model for myself. How embarrassing would it be to sub a single window install? Or a front door replacement? Or a few peices of facia? Tile repair? A garden box or shed? :no:

I hate painting, but when my painter was on vacation I painted a wall that we had some patches on and some trim, because I wasnt interested in wasting my painting contractors time with $200 worth of labor. :no:

I do however have to call an electrician if I need to add two plugs to the same circuit because of state law :blink:


----------



## roofny (Mar 18, 2010)

You are correct in that I did not want to make this a sub/employee argument. Just some ideas on keeping the good guys(or gals) around. I appreciate the ideas.


However, I considered our business top of the line. People that hire us know that. That being said I don't work for anyone who sells a job and wants to sub it to us (other than a few remodelers on houses they are working on). If someone hires a sub that is as good as you would be, why are they a sub to you? Why aren't they doing it on their own? The money you tack on is money they are losing out on. Why did the customer hire you? Good salesman, but in reality another company did all the work.


----------



## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

If you tripled your size, would you be able to pay better? Are you working mostly for One General with out bidding the work? keep doing extras for nothing but an atta-boy and a slap on the back?

Those union workers, managers, and their employers are making the money that pays higher wages and still providing the owner with a profit. You aren't, time to figure what is going wrong.

I'd spend some off time studying your competition for their secret sauce/ business model that is kicking your fundament.

Roofing and siding have very low barriers to entry, two or three months pay saved up and couple of grand in tools, Fly-by-Night roofing is under bidding you with his 1099 help and polluting the insurance pools...
I'd try to move to jobs the johnny-come-latelys can't do without some equipment you have/rent.


----------



## pcplumber (Oct 12, 2008)

*How to keep employees*

The most important thing you need to do to keep employees is:

Employees won't work for a boss who is all screwed up in the head. They don't want to work in an environment where the boss lies, doesn't have enough work, doesn't pay when he is supposed to, doesn't pay the amount he promises, doesn't do what he tells his employees, and is more ignorant than his employees.

Employees will never stay longer because they receive bonuses, perks, free lunch nor will they stay because they get paid triple the industry standard. Money and perks have nothing to do with employee satisfaction and regardless of how much money you pay employees they only think they are entitled to that amount.

Forty years ago, I gave my employees a $1500 to $2500 bonus at Christmas time. I used to buy their lunches, buy all their tools, and gave several small bonuses throughout the year. Every year between Christmas and New Years I would fire almost my entire shop for various reasons. Since I stopped paying the bonuses and stopped buying their tools I have virtually never had an employee quit working for me for more than 30 years.

Employees don't work for you for the money. They work because they need money, but they work for you because they like you. My employees stay with me because I give them more work than they can handle, I pay like a bank, never cheated an employee out of one penny, because I am reliable, and because they can depend on having a job with my company for many more years.

As the owner of my business I don't think about working for my company and I don't think about the profits I will personally earn. I think about getting work for my employees, making my employees the most money possible, and then my profits come naturally.

At the same time, I also pay my employees as little money as possible because, as stated above, regardless of the amount you pay employees they think they deserve the money, anyway. So, you need to always leave room for pay increases and you can offset pay increases by giving your employees more work with better equipment and skills that allow the employee to earn more money with a lower rate of pay. Put another way, your employees earn more money by your giving them more work, with better efficiency and not with a higher rate of pay.

Never ask a friend, relative, or neighbor if they want to work for you because they virtually never stick around for long. The reasons may be because they are available because they are not looking for work and because they think they are only doing you a favor and they don't take the job seriously. Only hire workers who are actively looking for a job and they always stay longer.


----------



## Zendik (Sep 18, 2005)

Everyone here was trained in their perspective trades then at some point some of you become supervisors or owners/businessmen and completely miss being trained in supervision.
I suggest taking these classes:
http://www.agc.org/cs/career_development/supervisory

If a company has problems with turnover it is 100% the fault of supervision of lack thereof. You have to be able to identify "wants and needs" and provide them as necessary. 

Funny thing, the 1st class in the STP program is Leadership and Motivation which I think is for a reason. I took these classes with a bunch of union superintendents for big national companies and when we used these methods we seen production go through the roof.

Best method I used to keep good hands is this.
Figure out a production rate and if they hit it let them go with 8 for the day.


----------



## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

I have quit good jobs for 5% pay raise,liking the boss and or the owner is nice, but I'd rather get PAID what I'm worth then loose ten grand a year buying a "buddy"
The same with "free" hand tools, pay me a fair wage and I'll buy anything to keep me ahead of my coworkers, The star athletes have plenty of $ for their own game shoes....
"I gave Xmass bonuses....Every year I laid off @ Xmass and New Years I'd fire everyone...." Split personality? Didn't the State Unemployement rates punish that behavior?
There are some hard working fools out there, but they are only a small fraction of today's labor supply.
Yes, many companies promote to the "Peter Principle".
PCplumber, I hope none of your employees happen to read your promise to never lay them off... That is one huge check waiting to get cashed next time you fire/lay off a worker.
Paying the in the top 25% of wages allows you to cherry pick employees, full and part-time...the overhead on a dud is the same as a supersstar, rank and yank!


----------



## Uncle-chicken (Jul 22, 2013)

I consider myself to be a good employee - more importantly, so does my boss (99% of the time, anyway...) Here are some of the things that I appreciate about my situation that motivate me to stick around and work to see the company grow and succeed. It's not a comprehensive list (good pay and benefits are obvious.)

1. Communication. A good employee is going to be motivated; we aren't just there for a paycheck, we want to feel like we are important and are adding value to each project we are on. Communicating your goals and vision for projects and the company will help your employees buy into what you are doing and will help them feel invested in the company. This is really big for me. If your expectations are clear, they know if they are succeeding or what they can do to improve.

2. Don't be a jerk. My boss never flips out at me if I make a mistake, and doesn't shift blame when he makes a mistake. We all makes mistakes, and nothing will cause resentment to grow if you have a double standard. 

3. Look out for their interests. I see my boss take poorly paying jobs to keep me busy in slow periods; He works with me so that I can fit seminary classes into my schedule. I know he goes out of his way to make sure I'm taken care of - I know this and thus I don't think twice about going out of my way to help him succeed. 

4. Be affirming. It's weird, because I'm a pretty confident guy, but being told I've done a good job or having my work admired is very motivating to me. I appreciate it when my boss says, "Wow! I'm glad I hired you because I wouldn't have any idea how to do that!" A lot of guys I worked for could criticize the tiniest, stupidest things but never, ever could bring themselves to affirm or admire my work, and its demoralizing.

Anyway, that's my 2-cents.


----------



## SamM (Dec 13, 2009)

I Mester said:


> wouldn't have it any other way. pay day is pay day. and even if the money's not there. you find it and pay your employees.


I had one boss who told us he didn't know if he'd make payday because he'd have to go into overdraft to make the payment....

I had another boss who remortgaged his house to make payroll on time.

Guess which one I worked for longer.


----------



## huggytree (Nov 3, 2013)

if you do well on a job id give them $100 or some kind of bonus


I don't have any employees, but I hire my friend as a sub on commercial jobs

I did real well on one and bought him a new Springfield .45 XD since I couldn't have don't the job w/o him

another one I gave him a couple hundred

every time I have a question he answers the phone right away.....

what im saying is be greedy, but not to greedy.....when you do well share some of it with the guys


----------



## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Provide major equipment and power tools.

Provide a work vehicle. 

If you call the employee on his phone, pay him for it or buy him a phone.

Paycheck every other Friday morning at 7 30.

Be respectful, and expect to earn your respect. 

When you expect them to step it up, be a leader, not a boss. 

Know what the fvck your doing.


----------



## buildergirl (May 10, 2017)

*How do you find quality help?*

Our biggest problem is finding quality help. What methods and sources do you use to find quality carpenters to work for you? We offer a lot of the same perks you do to maintain our guys but we have recently gotten much busier and have hit a deadend as far as finding quality, reliable help. 

Suggestions of what has worked for you would be great.


----------

