Are You Ready to Hire and Manage Employees in Your Contracting Business?
Lots of men and women come to us to become licensed California state contractors because they want to “be their own boss.” That’s a great dream, and a perfectly good reason to attend CSLS classes, but what about being the boss of other people?
As your California construction contractor business grows, you might find that you need other employees to help you run and grow your company. Surprisingly, though, managing other employees can be one of the hardest parts of the job. As the old saying goes, it truly is “hard to find good help,” much less keep it once you do
Here are a few tips to make it easier to find and work with the right California construction employees:
Only hire people who can legally work for you. Hiring illegal or undocumented workers can obviously save you money, and is standard practice in some companies, but it’s a bad idea. The fines and damage you can do to your reputation can easily make your company unprofitable quickly.
Interview carefully. Too many contractors simply meet with a potential employee to see if they like them or not. Go beyond the basic questions and find out what kind of person they are, what sort of career goals they have, and whether or not they seem like someone you can depend on.
Get everything in writing. It’s important to make notes of the expectations for pay, attendance, job performance, etc. This doesn’t just make things clear for both parties, but helps to protect you in the event that you have to take action (like firing the employee) later on.
Develop your employees. By helping them to achieve their overall career and life goals, instead of just asking for their time and paying a wage, you can help to keep your best employees a lot longer. Plus, you’ll build relationships that can last for a lifetime.
Pay people on time. Telling subcontractors and employees that the “check is in the mail” is a bad idea. It’s only natural that they’ll do their best work for employers who pay on time, and bad feelings about your management habits could lead to bigger problems later. Managing the “people” aspect of your contract business can be difficult, but it gets easier with time, practice, and the right kind of focus. So, follow these tips and watch your business take off!
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