Testing is just for school, right? Not for Mike Gitt. To help keep his employees sharp, Gitt gives them quarterly tests.
“We go over them all together,” Gitt says. “It’s to educate them so they can advance in their current positions and skills.” Gitt uses quizzes from REMODELING’s sister publication The Journal of Light Construction. The tests cover different phases of remodeling and skills associated with those phases, such as trimwork and framing. Gitt says the tests help to keep his employees up to speed on new codes.
“It gets [my staff] in the mindset for what they will be working on that day,” he says. Gitt adds that the quizzes help his staff with soft as well as hard skills and better equip workers to communicate with homeowners about how their space will look following the remodel.
Doing this helps workers as they coordinate with the homeowners and manage the homeowners’ feelings, Gitt explains, adding, “They’re spending a lot of money on a project, and we have to keep them satisfied and happy.”
For Gitt, keeping a client satisfied during the remodel starts before work begins. His company ensures that homeowners have all of their questions answered before construction starts and helps them learn how to live through a remodel. At the end of a project, the team sends a thank-you note and a small gift to show their appreciation.
“If we do a kitchen remodel, we will give them a branded product [such as] a cutting board and knife set,” Gitt says. “It’s a forever marketing technique.”
