TO PREPARE FOR THE BUSY SEASON TEAM BUILDING TIPS

Part 1 Of The Series

BY JUSTIN CARROL

Please allow me a moment to preface what you’re about to read. I know there are a fair amount of home services businesses that buy popsicles, water, chips, and electrolyte drinks for the busy season, and feel like they’ve earned the right to expect their team members to put in sixty or more hours per week for several weeks in a row. While those incentives are nice, I wouldn’t put them on the list of the most impactful actions we can take to build team morale during the busy season. Instead, let’s talk about the things that I believe have a significant and authentic impact. Lastly, a whole book could be written on some of the individual topics below. I’ll only be able to scratch the surface on most of them but hopefully, throughout the series, I can deliver enough on the topic to allow you to pick up where I left off. I hope you find this insight effective and use the ideas to improve your business.

The busy season for home service companies is one of the most important times of the year to be intentional about team building and creating healthy morale. This is the time of year when our team members are under the most physical and mental stress.

Being Intentional, Empathetic, & Transparent

The busy season for home service companies is one of the most important times of the year to be intentional about team building and creating healthy morale. This is the time of year when our team members are under the most physical and mental stress. When employees feel stressed, the odds are much greater that they will allow negative paradigms about the company or their team to fill their minds. Remember, they’re not only stressed about what’s happening at work, but if they have people who love them outside of work, those people are likely feeling disappointed at their lack of presence during this highly demanding time which compounds the stress. Negativity is infectious. What sometimes starts with just one person’s complaints, over time can spread like wildfire through an entire organization. During a sensitive time like this, given that the highest productivity is expected, that can be damaging. If we do a good job leading our team through the busy season, we’ll likely end up with a healthy surplus of cash, as well as team member and client satisfaction. If we don’t, we risk the opposite outcome. Part of that preparation and my advice begins here, beginning with making sure the entire leadership team is empathetic to the stressors of the season and to the work we do as leaders to keep the company healthy. Be transparent about this, especially during very stressful times at least until demand gets back to normal.

How do you make sure this intentional work is effective? There should be planning meetings with the leadership team in preparation for every busy season, every year where the things below are discussed as well as any other relevant topics.

It Starts with Why

As Simon Sinek says, “It Starts with Why”. Your home service company should have a compelling mission in place that motivates your team. A mission that speaks to serving other humans in some way is the most appropriate place to start, especially for our industry. Any mission with this type of focus is usually something that teams will get passionate about. Hopefully, your company has a compelling mission already. If not, it’s something that I suggest getting in place ASAP. There are plenty of great articles and books on this subject including in this publication (https://www. hvacrbusiness.com/news/2022/apr/01/ why-should-customers-do-business-withyou/). Assuming you have a compelling mission, remind the team of the mission