Pulse Points
Remodeling debriefings shouldn’t be revelations as much as confirmations of the data you’ve collected throughout the project — and corroboration that you’ve corrected course as needed. That applies to job costs and scheduling as well as to the emotions of everyone involved.
Harrell Remodeling is systematic about checking in with clients while jobs are under way. During the design process, biweekly invoices are mailed with a four-question survey “to kind of get their temperature,” says Lisa Sten, senior designer and assistant design manager. Later, during construction, the project manager completes a “job task summary” that summarizes job progress and the client’s specific areas of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
At Bauscher Construction & Remodeling, president Paul Bauscher calls clients weekly to learn “how things are going, is there anything I can do, is the job being cleaned up as it should be?” He “drills down” to pick up on the unspoken nuances that can make or break the client’s satisfaction, especially when they feel so close to their project manager that they’re reluctant to complain to him or her directly.
On larger projects, Bauscher’s company also sends clients a one-page “interim project satisfaction survey” covering cleanliness, communication, professionalism, and workmanship, as well as soliciting their open-ended comments and concerns. (See Good Form, page 62, for a closer look at this survey.)
Good Bones
Successful job debriefings don’t have to be formal, but they do work best when they follow a written agenda. Use the following guidelines as a starting point, then tailor your format to your company’s culture and circumstances.
Who should attend: All major participants in a project, including the estimator/salesperson, project manager, accountant, and owner or other “decision-maker or action-causer who has enough pull to actually get things done,” says consultant Walt Mathieson. The decision-maker should go to all debriefings to provide a broad perspective that can distinguish between isolated incidents and pervasive trends.
When: Shortly after the project is completed, after all costs are known and client surveys are in.
Where: In a conference room or other place with few interruptions and distractions.
How long: Generally 30 minutes to an hour, but set aside at least a few hours for your first debriefing. “The first time through, no one is going to think of all the questions, let alone know all the answers,” says Mathieson says.
Then what? Close the circle. Using what you learned in the debriefing, create an action plan for improving projects going forward.
Lessons Learned
Brilliant insights and ideas can quickly vaporize if they aren’t documented, disseminated, and acted upon. Harrell Remodeling has a few ways of locking in the knowledge gleaned when employees talk about projects.
After debriefing (“jobcost”) meetings, the entire company is e-mailed a brief summary of each project reviewed. Besides outlining basic financials and identifying key staff, the summaries list a few “learned things” based on that project’s particulars. These might range from pans or plaudits for specific vendors and trade contractors to concrete suggestions for avoiding re-dos — for instance, do a grout sample to ensure that colors match, clarify any confusion on drawings, build in more administrative time for plumbing when several parts of the home are affected.
There’s also the Harrell Remodeling “knowledge base”: a folder in the company-wide e-mail system where employees log learned things in general. The knowledge base has six categories: green building, sales/design, administration, production, code/drawing issues, and all departments.