Like its name, Alloy Architecture and Construction is an unusual combination of disciplines that give the company greater strength. “To actually have a licensed architect and contracting abilities is pretty unique,” says Zach Snider, the firm’s owner and construction manager. “Even insurance companies are like, ‘We don’t know what to do with you.’”
Fortunately, customers haven’t had that problem. Snider says much of the company’s growth is the result of Alloy’s approach to bidding jobs.
“We put an emphasis on our customer experience. We talk about budget early and often in our design process and try to weed out leads that emphasize price over value,” he says. Even when the first call comes in, customers are scored based on age of home, budget, and timeline. The company pursues the ones with higher scores first.
Having an architectural emphasis also means Alloy can provide a more complete—and accurate—bid. “We go through a rigid and well-defined design process that leads to a full set of drawings and spec list,” Snider says. Behind the scenes, software like CoConstruct and Harvest keeps communication flowing throughout the project and allows Alloy to track data and employee productivity. “It increases our bandwidth for doing more work than we otherwise could,” Snider says.
But Alloy’s real success comes down to the culture Snider and Zimmerman have created. The two put an emphasis on training, encouraging architects to get and keep licenses and contractors to get NARI certifications. Along with a standard benefit package the company gives “Swarms”—work parties that do things like build decks—to the the worker they hit performance targets. Now Alloy is experimenting with grippage, a kind of project-by-project profit-sharing program that is designed to combat slippage.
“We’re still working the kinks out,” Snider says. “But it looks promising.”
