Looking Forward

On

Looking forward with Katie Smith, CR and second generation owner of PHC Restoration in North Carolina.

With more baby boomers retiring and millennials entering the workplace at a rapid pace, the unemployment rate will continue to hold steady or even dip lower in 2018.  How will this trend impact restoration contractors?  It’s not going to get any easier for us to find good help!  When you consider this trend in conjunction with the increased competition that we face in our markets, it’s going to be even more difficult to attract talent and build relationships with referral sources.  We all offer the same services and for the most part, we do the work the same way.  To differentiate our brands, we will have to clearly define our competitive advantage and lead with mission and purpose to stand out from our competitors.  

In 2018, the successful restorers will simultaneously focus on technical training and driving team engagement through organizational development.  Adding another TPA program to the roster should not be your plan for growth next year.  However, harnessing the drive and flexibility of millennials should be worked into the business plan.  Learn what you can about this generation and apply it to your business.  Don’t be afraid of the change.  Let them push you out of your comfort zone into the next level of growth.   

We’ve got to find a way to swoon this generation away from workplaces that offer ping pong tables and unlimited vacation to work long hours in conditions that could range anywhere from dirty to extreme.  We’ve got to lure them into an industry where skilled trades are becoming a lost art versus going to college to get a degree like the majority of their graduating high school class.  

When we interview potential candidates, they’re interviewing us as well.  If we can’t verbalize what it is about this industry that is meaningful and purposeful, we’re going to have a retention and turnover problem.  Don’t let that be your company’s trend for 2018.  If you’re having a hard time selling the meaningful side and the bigger picture of the restoration industry to candidates, it’s probably time to do a little soul searching.  I’ll give you a hint to help you get started: it’s not about the money.