es Tips for employing subcontractors

By Roy Burleson

[NSTALLED sales programs suclceed or fail based on their ability to offer superior service.

The service quality the program offers will, in large part, be based on your installers' ability meet or exceed your customers' expectations. If jobs are not up to par or can't be completed on time, it's not likely the program will be of much value.

While it is recommended to use inhouse employees for most installed programs, it may not always be practical. Frequently dealers that use subcontractors are disappointed when their installers are not responding to their program as originally anticipated. Keeping quality-conscious, reliable subcontractors loyal to your installed program is sometimes a challenge.

Here are tips to consider:

Tip #1

Asking installers to bid on work can sometimes have a negative impact. It suggests that they will only get work when they are the lowest bidder. It also pits your installers against each other.

To earn an installer's loyalty, they should be treated more like a partner or team member. Establishine a unit- pricing system that pays everyone a predetermined price for each unit of work completed might be a better approach than offering work based on a bidding system.

The unit-pricing system is fair because everyone is being offered the same unit-priced pay. However, the system will still benefit your better, more experienced installers because they are typically more efficient and will make more money on an hourly bases.

Tip #2

Don't make installers wait for their pay. Most don't make much, if any, profit in addition to the salary they draw from their business. I have seen a number of dealers let their accounting departments make installers wait two or more weeks for their pay. Many subcontractors will gravitate to customers that pay quicker. The faster you pay your installers, the greater likelihood of earning their loyalty.

Tip #3

Another way to earn an installer's loyalty is to pay them well. Dealers that enjoy successful, profitable installation services always speak of the fact that they take care of their installers.

Many pay their installers more than they would make on other jobs and point to several advantages of this practice. Installers that make more money tend to produce a superior product compared to their lower-paid counterparts. And when something goes wrong, installers that feel they haven't been beat up on price are more inclined to quickly take care of the problems. These installers help add value to the installed sales program, eliminate callbacks, and help justify the dealer's installation pricing.

Tip #4

Make sure you have a competent installed sales manager. If your subcontractors don't have confidence in the abilities of your installed personnel, they will shy away from the program. They need to feel confident in the staff's skills and abilities to properly sell, price and schedule jobs.

Motivated installers want to stay productive. And since they are being paid for what they produce, they don't want to be slowed down by mismanaged jobs or scheduling issues. They lose valuable time and money if they have to wait for other issues to be resolved before they can perform their duties. lf your job manager is not adept at scheduling the installations properly, installers will quickly lose confidence in your program.

Tip #5

When asked, most professional subcontractors will gladly take care of their installation problems in a timely fashion. However, they don't feel they should be asked to re-install a defective product without being paid for the second install. If they installed the product properly the first time, they did their job. They should be paid for re-installing defective products unless some other arrangement has been made in the unit pricing matrix.

Maintaining an "inventory" of good installers is essential to the success of any installed program. When using subcontractors, treat them like team members and enjoy more meaningful, symbiotic relationships.

- Roy Burleson is director of Builder Solutions for Guardian Building Products, Greer, S.C. Contact him at (248) 760-5791 or r oyburle s o n@ bp.g uardian.c om.