Next-Gen Restoration Professionals

Generation X and younger professionals can offer restoration firms the adaptability and efficiency they need in today’s on-demand environment. These professionals often find the restoration industry and jobs within it through Internet searches and often utilize online courses and other resources to obtain the certifications and skills they need to succeed.

It is with such ingenuity that they are able to view each restoration project with new eyes and seek out the best restoration method and solve problems that may occur and cannot be addressed by traditional methods.

Jennifer Williams, owner of All Cleaned Up, says younger restoration professionals utilize the technology, data collection, and advancements made in other industries and apply that to their own work. She adds, “We feel this is important because all scenarios are different. Learning from other industries will bring a rounded and open perspective to the process of remediation. Instead of just seeing the site from one point of view, bringing various problem-solving techniques to the ‘table’ would prove beneficial.”
Williams explains, “Removing blood stains is one specialized technique, but if there is another substance present, like mustard or even grape juice, we (as professionals) would benefit by knowing the quickest, most effective way of removing that staining as well to complete the job.” She also says, “Utilizing technology, such as more advanced PPE from the laboratory or medical field to extend the work time in the field, cleaning techniques, and chemicals used in funeral homes could help with efficiency, and the list goes on and on.”

In addition, they understand that to do the job well and efficiently requires “a collaboration of ‘nuggets’ of information from any industry.” For example, she says, in biohazard restoration, firms can learn from the ways in which hospitals clean their operating rooms or even from how janitors clean schools.
Williams explains that restoration is a people business, in which young professionals need to relate to those they are helping and show them compassion while rectifying their losses as quickly and completely as possible.  She says, “They are able to see past the dollar signs and really be a resource for their community and create a business based on integrity and ethics and still be able to have financial stability.”

In the next decade, restoration firms must have the ability to evolve alongside the technology and chemicals they use.  Williams says in the future how cleanliness is verified and how clearance devices work will change, and businesses need to adapt their processes and systems to address those advancements.  “You can’t really be an effective company without them,” she says.

If you’re a young restorer, be sure to register for the International Restoration Convention and Industry Expo, February 14-18 in Austin, and join other young professionals for a networking reception on Thursday, February 15.