Employee pay - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

ghiagod · 01-23-2009, 09:53 PM

I need some opinions. I pay my guys by the hour. Everything was fine until the economy went to hell. It has been a long time since anyone has had a 40 hour check. I know that the guys are padding their time and adding hours to how long it takes them to get a job done. I know they are just trying to feed their family's but the expense is killing me.
Problems:All of my guys have to be background checked so it is not easy to replace them. I am not sure how to motivate them. I cant pay them by the SF or they will just go sub for themselves. I was thinking of looking at each job and seeing if the profit margin is there. I then tell them that they will get paid for 8 hours that day. If they get done in 6 they still make 8.
This way they dont look lazy to the customers by working slow, they feel good about getting off early and my profit is still decent.
Since the economy sucks so bad I am not there to watch them. I have had to find a full time job during the day. In the afternoons I get the jobs ready for the next day, turn in invoices and print maps to the jobs.
any suggestions??

mahlere · 01-23-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghiagod

I need some opinions. I pay my guys by the hour. Everything was fine until the economy went to hell. It has been a long time since anyone has had a 40 hour check. I know that the guys are padding their time and adding hours to how long it takes them to get a job done. I know they are just trying to feed their family's but the expense is killing me.
Problems:All of my guys have to be background checked so it is not easy to replace them. I am not sure how to motivate them. I cant pay them by the SF or they will just go sub for themselves. I was thinking of looking at each job and seeing if the profit margin is there. I then tell them that they will get paid for 8 hours that day. If they get done in 6 they still make 8.
This way they dont look lazy to the customers by working slow, they feel good about getting off early and my profit is still decent.
Since the economy sucks so bad I am not there to watch them. I have had to find a full time job during the day. In the afternoons I get the jobs ready for the next day, turn in invoices and print maps to the jobs.
any suggestions??

yes...get in or get out...i'm trying to understand the theory here...you can't afford to even pay yourself? so instead of going to work in the field for yourself, you go work for someone else?

ghiagod · 01-23-2009, 10:16 PM

I am physically unable to perform the work. I own the business and manage the office. I am working another job as a plc programmer in Allen Bradley RSlogix. Darn good pay and not physically demanding like flooring.
I originally started the side business as a market ready service for Property Management services. Eventually ended up as a flooring installation Co. Trying to keep the Flooring Co. going and not taking any salary in order to put all the money back into the business to help it grow.

rotarex · 01-24-2009, 12:12 AM

Workers are hard to find, but you need to at least put 15% of the total cost in the company, or 22% of the profit. if your company already has a name then fire them, at the end of the Day TIME IS MONEY, work faster and move on, next job or relax time

sparehair · 01-24-2009, 02:42 AM

No one enjoys being the bad guy. But if you're the boss sometimes you have to be. I'm a big fan of putting #'s on the table. Management by definition means measuring and adjusting procedure in accordance with the measurement. Measure their productivity per square foot. If the employee doesn't meet quality standards and a production rate of x per hour their hours get cut back and the one who produces more gets more hours. Let the strong survive baby.

Bud Cline · 01-25-2009, 12:21 PM

How many "employees" are we talking about just out of curiosity?

Mike Finley · 01-25-2009, 12:34 PM

Everything you said about good employees being hard to find is true. I truly believe it and I've put my money where my mouth is so to speak. I use a clock system to eliminate the ability to pad hours. I also pay a small bonus on every job if fixed criteria are met. I guarantee a full time employee a minimum paycheck of 35 hours per week. I've always felt that as an employer you have to guarantee a full time guy a good steady paycheck, its the fundamental foundation you need to build your business. As a result sometimes you just have to pay out money to a guy for hours he didn't work.

I don't see anyway to do it other wise. You can figure all the work arounds you want but how do you get around the bottom line of a man needs a certain dollar amount in his paycheck to make a living? If you don't have the work to give it to him what difference does it make in how you work around it, with letting them work 6 if they get it done and pay 8?

If you're still going to pay out the hours why all the work arounds? If you aren't going to pay out the hours then the only result is if your guys can survive without the money right now.

MALCO.New.York · 01-25-2009, 12:59 PM

ghiagod

As in Karmann?

Carrozzieria..........

Gariglio..........

Giacinto......

Brock · 01-25-2009, 01:00 PM

just checkeing if new signature works

MALCO.New.York · 01-25-2009, 01:06 PM

I LOVE Sundays and CT!!!!

Such Jocularity and Punniness!!!

Brock · 01-25-2009, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MALCO.New.York

I LOVE Sundays and CT!!!!

Such Jocularity and Punniness!!!

Damn it Malco now I have to stop and go to Dictionary.com

MALCO.New.York · 01-25-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Damn it Malco now I have to stop and go to Dictionary.com

You will find one but NOT the other!

ghiagod · 01-25-2009, 03:26 PM

Guilty as charged!!! Karmann Ghia's are my passion. Don't have any at the moment, just a 74 Standard bug and a 69 Bay window Transporter.

I have two crews at the moment (4 guys). Plus a manager who also does all of the measuring and scheduling. He is on salary.
I had 4 crews until the economy hit the bricks.
All of your advice is good. I am going to figure out a min. hours to pay them.
Somebody better get this darn economy humming again though!!!

platinumLLC · 01-25-2009, 04:43 PM

Some guys you can pay buy the job or by the foot. When I used to work for a company they would tell some of us foreman how many hours the job was bid at. If we could bring the job in under that we got a bonus. The only problem with this is that some guys are just there for a paycheck and don't take pride in their work and will rush threw the job to get their bonus but the quality is compromised. Some guys will step up and do the job quicker and do a quality job. I used to love busting azz and getting done early and getting paid for a full day.

One other option is to ask if anyone wants a voluntary lay off. It sounds like you don't have enough work for 4 guys. The company I used to work for also gave us this option when things were slow. We could take the week off and collect unemployment.

Mike Finley · 01-25-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by platinumLLC

If we could bring the job in under that we got a bonus. The only problem with this is that some guys are just there for a paycheck and don't take pride in their work and will rush threw the job to get their bonus but the quality is compromised.

If you tie the bonuses into call backs as in - a call back voids the entire bonus, that pretty much eliminates hacks from short-cutting. No sense in cutting corners if you're going to get found out.