Construction and Contracting Business. Entrepreneur magazine
improve employees’ abilities and do not conflict with the workday. Some associations offer certification classes where employees can learn more about their jobs and their industry. In both of these cases, the employer can assist with tuition and fees. By advertising and sharing the accomplishments of their employees, contracting businesses can both honor their employees and attract a more affluent clientele.
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Employees who violate company rules or policies should receive a written warning explaining the error and what will happen to the employee if the error is repeated. By maintaining a written paper trail of policy violations, an employer both protects himself from future legal action initiated by a disgruntled employee and gives the employer ammunition when a troublesome employee demands a pay raise.
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Workers’ compensation rates for contracting companies are typically very high due to the risks associated with the tasks performed. While the rates are established by a government-controlled bureau, the insurance companies that provide coverage offer a variety of incentive plans in which companies with good safety records receive part of their premiums back. As these rebates can be upwards of 50 percent of the total premium for large companies, an excellent incentive to promote safety is to share a portion of the rebate with safe employees. By implementing a safety contest that rewards safe employees, an employer can reduce the number of claims, which will ultimately result in high rebates. However, it should be noted that employees cannot be penalized for injuries and are required by law to report them to the employer.
“A good manager doesn’t try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you’re the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong—that’s healthy.”
—ROBERT TOWNSEND
Many companies in the contracting industry are victims of higher-than-average rates of employee turnover. Training new employees is a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, so it makes good business sense to try to hold onto your best employees. Providing a competitive wage and benefit package helps reduce turnover, but is not the only way to retain employees. Another factor that rates very highly with laborers is an enjoyable work environment where employees feel that they are part of a team and are respected and appreciated by their bosses as well as peers. Bosses who have an open-door policy that gives all employees the opportunity to speak personally with the owners of the company are usually more respected than authoritarian bosses who intimidate their employees. Happy employees who work under a competitive compensation package are much more productive than employees who are constantly grumbling about the poor working conditions they are forced to work under.
An often-overlooked managerial technique is simply listening to employees. New ideas often come from subordinates because they are the ones actually performing the tasks of the business. Owners and managers who encourage employees to make suggestions to improve the company help to create an atmosphere where employees feel both needed and important. Not only can a company benefit financially from new ideas, but the costs of turnover can be reduced because employees feel happy that they are contributing to success.
As a company grows, it is more likely to employ an outside payroll service. But it’s still a call you’ll want to make—consider the pros and cons.
The benefits of outsourcing payroll include saving time; having skilled professionals with greater understanding of new payroll laws; and saving money in the long-term rather than paying people in house to do the job.
The benefits of in-house payroll include faster access to the data and saving money within a small company.
Creating an informal organizational chart will improve communication and, in turn, the efficiency of your office. Productivity increases when each department within a company understands not only its own responsibilities but also the duties and responsibilities of other departments. To use an old cliché, “the right hand must know what the left hand is doing.”
An organizational chart improves on both job descriptions and the company handbook because it explains the relationship between managers and subordinates. The primary aim of an organizational chart is not to define the pecking order within the organization but to indicate the decision-making structure of the company.
Many contracting businesses are overwhelmed by paperwork. On any one project some or all of the following items may be needed:
