The labor crisis doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
It’s felt all around. And while certain societal and economic factors make it impossible for individual business owners to fix the crisis on their own, they can establish strategies for making their companies more attractive to the best of the best.
It’s true that this effort often starts with cold, hard cash. “You’re going to have to pay more right now,” says Keith Zars, owner of San Antonio-based Keith Zars Pools. “People are stealing people from other companies.”
He estimates that he now pays 10- to 15% more than before.
But it it doesn’t end with financial compensation. Younger workers, especially, look for intangibles that make it worth their while to become part of a company’s fabric.
Here, our elite-of-the-elite — the five builders who placed highest on our Top 50 Builders list, explain what they do to fill the slots in their flowcharts.
1. Don’t limit your search.
These builders explore beyond the pool and spa industry for workers.
For construction superintendents and managers, some look to the home and commercial construction fields. Many of these skilled employees have proven their value in their fields, and some have earned degrees in construction management.
With approximately 400 employees, Zars hires about five new people a week, so he can’t afford to limit his pool of candidates to the industry. For construction crews, he looks for individuals who’ve worked in related trades, such as concrete finishing and steel tying, even if they haven’t worked on pools and spas.
“You can hire people out there who already have the basic skills, and then all you have to do is teach them the small differences,” Zars says.
For service techs, he likes to interview HVAC professionals. “They have the technical background, and it transfers over very easily,” he says.
Phoenix-based Shasta Pools & Spas also looks outside for entry-level laborers. It partners with a local non-profit organization that serves at-risk youth to identify those who might be interested in working for the organization, then offering jobs.
“These kids inherently want to find a job,” says Jeff Ast, Shasta’s vice president of construction. “They don’t have great opportunities to get a job. If they meet the criteria, we’ll put them on with the crews and pay them. Some decide to leave, and that’s the risk you take. But some stay, and they learn a new way to make a living.”
Builders also can look to local trade schools, colleges and universities for leads, these professionals say. These students can bring training on CAD and other technologies that would benefit just about any builder.
In fact, almost all of the Top 5 prefer to hire outside the industry. This makes it easier to train to the company’s methods. Workers from inside the industry tend to bring habits that can be difficult to unlearn, these builders say.
These subscribe to the philosophy that you can teach an individual a skill, but not a mindset. “We’re looking for people with positive attitudes, and people who can establish relationships with the customer,” Zars says.
2. Make the most of the staff you have.
As companies wait to find suitable workers, many try to streamline processes and otherwise help the current staff maximize productivity.
For instance, California Pools & Landscape has a difficult time finding salespeople who fit the company’s criteria. So the Chandler, Ariz.-based builder has developed ways to support the sales staff to get the most of its time.
When staffs are smaller, it may take more time to set up a first appointment with new prospects. To help potential clients get a head start during that period, California Pools & Landscape developed an app called Dream Book. As explained in an earlier edition of PSN, the app allows consumers to learn about the different products that are available and even store information about the look and features they want. When the salesperson has that first face-to-face, the homeowner feels more informed and has probably made many decisions already.
In the same vein, the builder also developed what they call a concierge program to help screen customers before the first appointment. Customers supply information through a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
“We run all our leads and queries from customers through our concierge program,” says the company’s president, Jeremy Smith. “Where traditionally they would come to the office and go to a salesman on the floor or go directly to an appointment, we now do a criteria process, where we find out how we can best serve the client.”
By finding out as much as possible about what the homeowner wants, along with details such as site conditions, building and health department jurisdictions, and financing needs, the builder can pair potential customers with the salespeople who best meet their needs. For instance, one staffer knows a lot about hillside construction, while associates might be more appropriate for customers looking for certain amenities. If a prospect needs to secure financing, the builder can get them started in that process before a salesperson begins consulting on the design.
“Then we can get them all sorts of information and help, rather than jumping right in and putting a salesperson in front of them,” Smith says.
3. Provide a path for growth.
In the many conversations that have taken place regarding why construction and, in particular, the pool and spa industry doesn’t draw more young people, one topic comes up often: These people may not believe the industry provides a career path or opportunities for growth.
These builders strive to provide employees with opportunities for upward mobility, and they credit that for their ability to retain their most valued workers and to draw individuals from other industries.
“Sometimes they’re in an industry where there are already people in place and they don’t really see a path to advance there,” Zars says. “So they’ll change [to the pool industry].”
Presenting a career path becomes especially important if you’re looking for good employees who will try to make a whole career with your company, Smith says. To help his most valued workers see this kind of future — and begin preparing tomorrow’s managers — his company began what it calls an assistant program. It promoted a few workers to become assistant managers in sales, scheduling or construction management. So they can begin training to take the lead spots when the company grows or when current managers are ready to move on.
“You have to invest in your team and take a longer-range approach to developing talent,” Smith says.
Once he puts these individuals in supervisory or managerial positions, Zars tries to ensure they’ll have the ability to stretch and make decisions. These days, he doesn’t come into his office until after 9:00 a.m., when everybody’s gotten their day started. This way, workers will go to the appropriate manager for direction. Otherwise, staffers would ask him.
“I’ve got other individuals here who need to begin taking responsibility ... so the company can continue to grow,” he says. “The truth is, for an owner, it’s not easy to do that — you’re giving up some authority and personal control. But I want the company to be successful. You’re no longer the quarterback. You become the coach — or even the team owner.”
4. Invest more in training.
Whether you’re looking to integrate people from outside the industry, or providing a career path by promoting existing staffers, a solid training program will serve as one of the pillars for success.
That’s why Tim Murphy recently created the position director of training, for which he promoted a sales manager from one of his offices. This individual handles both recruitment and training of new salespeople.
In part, this stems from the evolution we’ve seen in how designs are delivered and sales made.
“Selling pools today is so much more technical than what it used to be,” says the owner of Presidential Pools, Spas and Patio in Gilbert, Ariz. “I look at the pool salespeople that we have, and they’re like mini-engineers, as far as their CAD skills. They have to really understand CAD and virtual reality and [design software]. It’s really a skill set, and it’s not always easy to find somebody who has it.”
Murphy created the director of training position last fall, and gave him the directive to hire several new salespeople from outside the industry and have them ready to go in time for this season.
“We had a gut feeling that this year was going to be a really good year, and we were short on salespeople,” Murphy says.
The director of training hired individuals who would fit into the company culture — family-oriented folks with an ability to easily connect with others. Then he indoctrinated them into the pool and spa business by having them drive along to projects for a couple weeks, then spend another couple weeks in the service department to see how the products work. Finally, they devoted time in the CAD department.
“We hired 12, and eight of them stuck,” Murphy reports.
But training periods are taking longer than before, especially when acquainting new hires with the pool and spa industry.
Austin-based Cody Pools prefers to draw its staff from other industries. But that means that superintendents and project managers will need extra training time: While you can hire impressive professionals from housing and commercial construction, they need to learn the intricacies of pool design and construction to keep those projects on track.
To integrate new construction hires, Cody CEO Mike Church expects training to last at least six to nine months. The new employees often begin in the service department so they can learn pool basics. Then they work under a senior superintendent for several months. Finally, the company requires many of its employees to become industry certified. That’s why 29 of 82 Cody staffers have earned their APSP Certified Building Professional status.
“We figure we’re going to be investing quite a bit of time for them to pick it up,” Church says. “And we just have to absorb that cost.”
At California Pools & Landscape, the assistant managers that were promoted will work under a senior manager for up to a year.
5. Invest in company culture and staff morale.
Staffers don’t simply want more money, they often want to feel part of something bigger, both in terms of company purpose and their own relationship and place in it.
To create a sense of camaraderie among his staff, Murphy hosts at least one trip per year for his highest-performing salespeople and key staff. They usually stay in various resort towns in Mexico, but will be taking a cruise for the first time this year.
These excursions not only prove your company’s appreciation, but they also provide an opportunity for the team to create stronger bonds, as their families get to know each other.
Murphy was on such a trip at the time of this interview. He knew it would pay off.
“These guys are going to go home and they’re going to be fired up,” said Murphy. “They’re going to love [the company].”
The trips can be pricey, but that doesn’t mean they’re reserved for larger companies such as Presidential. Murphy has employed this strategy since the early days when he first started keeping a staff.
As he explains: “You just take fewer people then.”
Builders also can make deliberate efforts to build a sense of corporate culture and community. Smith and his team have invested plenty of time and resources into doing just that. It begins at orientation, when new hires learn about the company’s culture and staff expectations. But it goes past that, to projects that the staff work on together, outside the company.
“We wanted to create a community within our building that also has an impact on our immediate community around us,” Smith said.
He started a wellness committee, and the company selected charities that it could work with collectively. They attend blood drives three to four times a year and do the occasional 5K together. They also started a library of books that employees can borrow for personal growth. And they go on fun outings together.
“I want my people to look at working for us as a life-long career,” Smith says.
