BEST PRACTICES
Growing His Own
We accepted that there were not enough ready-to-go skilled people out there to meet our needs,” says Jerry Liu of D.G. Liu Contractor. “So one way of coping was to say: ‘How do we turn inexperienced people into carpenters?’”
Among other steps, Liu created a four-year apprenticeship program adapted from the union training he had decades ago. And, “we held our own job fair,” he says. “We posted an ad, parked trucks around the area with signs on top, rented a hotel room,” and hired “a standout” from among the few who stopped by.
Further, Liu learned to spot good workers early. One such recruit, third-year exteriors apprentice Donnie Clayton (left), was an industrious adolescent when Liu started putting him to work doing odd jobs. A few years later, when Clayton was an honor roll student in one of the area’s few remaining high school construction programs, “we got him for a summer and said, ‘We need to make this kid feel special,’” Liu says. “We sent him home with a tool bag and tools. We wanted him to feel he had no other choice.”
Clayton, now 20, remembers being surprised by the opportunity. A job that he expected to consist of “digging holes, or whatever,” turned out to be one of continuing responsibility and clear expectations. “It was obvious they wanted me to prosper,” he says. “Instead of flying blindly and hoping that maybe there will be a raise around the corner, I get an outline of what I should be able to do to advance to different levels,” Clayton says. “We’re not just winging it.”
Into the Fold
When small remodeling companies struggle, big companies often benefit. “In the last 12 to 18 months, I would say we’ve had 50 small remodelers tell us they want to work for us,” says Mark Richardson, president of Case Design/ Remodeling, one of the largest remodeling companies in the U.S. “Our biggest crop of talent hasn’t been young fellows coming out of vocational school, but owners who are surrendering” — who still love the craft but are worn down, in many cases, by the stresses of running a business in a softening market.
What attracts ex-owners? Stability, benefits, and growth potential. Identify their real strengths to engage their passions. “It could be their back and knees are shot, but they’re really good at estimating or project management,” Richardson says. Others are carpenters, such as Chris Crosser (left), a home repair specialist in Case’s Handyman and Remodeling Division.
Use technology to extend your reach and visibility, Richardson adds. “In the past, you wouldn’t expect a carpenter to go to Monster.com or CareerBuilder.com. Now they do.” Also, leverage your employees’ word-of-mouth network. Like a growing number of other companies, Case offers referral bonuses to employees who help the company find others with similar skill sets and work ethics.
Hire Globally, Train Locally
The language barrier keeps many remodelers from hiring foreign-born workers. Jeff Santerre of Prestige Custom Builders, in Seattle, sees it as an opportunity to hire hard-working employees who are eager — and grateful — to learn. Several of his employees speak English as a second language (ESL), including paint crew members Malith Tong Malith (below, right), who survived civil war and a horrific, 900-mile desert trek in his native Sudan, and Sergey Rymaruk (left), of Ukraine.
“We’ve trained them how to work our way, and they’ve been quick studies,” Santerre says of his foreign-born staff. The key is education and language development. “They know they can’t really be in charge unless their English is good,” he says. “It’s their ball and chain.”
Lesa Keller, Prestige Custom Builders’ human resources manager, screens all hires extensively and requires basic English knowledge at a minimum, “just for safety alone,” she says. The company also gives each of its 30 employees a $500 annual education allowance, issuing quarterly reminders to use remaining balances for classes in English, technology, or other relevant topics. Performance evaluations cover language training; ESL employees “know their compensation will be limited if they’re not working on it,” Santerre says.
A Burn to Learn
Most people of this generation are either texting or on their computer,” says Mitch Speck of Spectacular Home Remodeling, in Sandy, Ore. “So we thought, ‘Let’s catch them where they live.’”
One way Speck catches tech-savvy prospective employees, including “awesome” apprentice carpenter Jenna Miller (left), is to advertise on craigslist, an online community in hundreds of cities (www.craigslist.com). His well-worded ad for an entry-level carpenter attracted 30 responses. It also linked to a job description, helping to weed out candidates.
Speck hires for attitude over aptitude, using a team-interview process to distinguish candidates who want to learn and grow from those with unrealistic expectations or a tendency to blame others. Miller, 30, had no prior construction experience other than a “great” seven-week class she had taken with Oregon Tradeswomen. She also had three years of college, as well as a steady but unfulfilling job as a supervisor for a phone company. A lead carpenter sat in on the interview, “and he said that one of the main things in his life was to continue learning,” Miller says. “I thought that was really cool.”
Miller also appreciates the company’s small size, which has led to close working relationships with supervisors. “Even their criticism is constructive,” she says. “Mitch is such a good confidence booster.”
Open-Book Ownership
With four field employees younger than 30, and several employees with tenures of 14 years or longer, Riggs Construction of St. Louis has a clear knack for finding and keeping good young workers. They include 29-year-old Dan Kayich (far right, shown with Brian Marquis, John Schuetz, and Brett Randall), a project manager who started seven years ago as an apprentice. Amie Riggs, vice president, attributes a big part of this success to the company’s union status. “We hire union guys who go through the system — who’ve had thorough training and chose this to be their career,” she says.
Riggs also does things that even remodelers in nonunion towns could embrace to become more attractive to prospective employees. Being open-book is “first and foremost,” she says. All staff review the company’s finances monthly: balance sheets, budgets, P&L statements. “They know where the money goes, and they know why we have to make the margins we make.” This knowledge makes them “buy into everything,” she says. “They own their jobs. They’re proud of their trucks, and they take care of their tools.”
“Being open-book helps me deal with clients when we face unforeseen issues,” says Kayich. “It helps me help clients make the right decisions.
Kayich’s union training focused on new construction, he notes. “Remodeling requires a little more know-how and flexibility,” he says, adding that many apprentices don’t last without on-the-job training.