Victoria Downing, President, Remodelers Advantage Inc., co-author of Mastering the Business of Remodeling. Home of Remodelers Advantage Roundtables with over 200 members nationwide.
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As market conditions soften, communication from remodelers who need business has dramatically increased at our organization.
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Scott Truberg, financial manager of Creative Design Construction and Remodeling, Northvale, N.J., realized that poor communication between field and office staff was eating into company profits.
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You may find that the people who were perfect for your company when you started often aren't the right people today.
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Although a company's field staff has a huge influence on a customer's ultimate satisfaction, few companies provide customer service training to this critical group of employees. For David Merrill, president of Merrill Contracting, Arlington, Va., customer service is one of the most important...
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After having tried many incentive programs over the years, Bob Fleming, president of Classic Remodeling & Construction, Charleston, S.C., says his company's new program “is the first one that is designed to address problem areas and distribute the bonus money fairly.”
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Menno S. Martin Contractor Ltd. in St. Jacobs, Ontario, had a profit-sharing plan for years. In 2004, when president Laverne Brubacher went into semi-retirement, he came up with a formula to scale back his salary and distribute more profits among his 17 staff members. The plan paid off for the...
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When it came time to hire an office manager, Trish Schroeder, co-owner of Schroeder Design/Build, Fairfax, Va., was dismayed. After being part owner of a successful remodeling company for years, she knew that the process of hiring a management-level employee was extensive and that the time needed...
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Hiring the right people is a tough job. Every prospective employee works hard to present a fantastic first impression. Someone who doesn't frequently hire can be fooled into hiring the wrong person. It's important to use every tool to dig beneath the enthusiastic veneer to get to the real person...
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You can limit the amount of authority you're giving until you get used to delegating and are comfortable with the quality and consistency of an employee's work. The more experienced and reliable the employee, the more freedom you can give. The more critical the task, the more cautious you need to...
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Before delegating tasks, you need to choose the best person for each job.