hiring

Building a Team, Not a Family with Jef Forward – [Best of the Tim Faller Show]

January 23, 2023 00:40:45

While having a family-like culture is a well-intended premise, it is oftentimes impractical.

Companies may notice that one or two employees are intolerant of the family-like culture in place and leave the “family” dysfunctional.

Creating an environment where there is a structure that resembles a team, rather than a family, is a way to avoid intolerance, and grow as a company. In this episode, guest Jef Forward describes how he was able to achieve a team-like culture in his business, and why it has been successful.

Jef has a Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan and started Forward Design Build in 1997, focusing on a design and build method to ensure successful projects. He defines a successful project as a happy homeowner with a beautiful, functional home completed within ‘stated’ expectations of cost, service and schedule from the beginning of design to the end of construction.

Tim, Steve and Jef talk more about:

The “locus of control”
How to address and correct the path of someone who is trending sideways
How to efficiently communicate with different team members
And more…

Culture in Practice with Chris Stebnitz – [Tim Faller Show] S4 E13

January 16, 2023 00:40:28

Today on the Tim Faller Show, Chris Stebnitz joins the show to discuss building a culture in a remodeling company and the impact it has on the client experience. Chris talks about how building trust with your employees can enhance the company culture. While building a culture is important, there are also ways you can destroy your company culture including gossip or being a demanding leader. Chris says if the business owner is the only way the company succeeds, you will never build a culture.

Chris Stebnitz is the owner of Stebnitz Builders located in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Chris is a Third-generation owner of Stebnitz Builders. He started as cheap labor for the family when he was in his teens. Chris then moved into sales in his 20s, marketing shortly thereafter and then focusing on sales management before purchasing the company in 2008 from his father and uncles.

Chris, Tim, and Steve talk more about:

How Stebnitz Builders built a company culture
Why trust is important for a company culture
and more…

How To Hire And Keep Great People With Mitch Gray – [The Tim Faller Show] S4 E10

December 5, 2022 00:41:34

Mitch Gray joins the show to discuss hiring and keeping great people. He talks about the importance of understanding interpersonal relationships and getting intentional about finding people with passion, as passion feels energy. Understanding that everyone wants to feel valued, empowered, and a part of something larger than themselves, no matter what level of employee. This is core to the successful hiring and retention of great employees.

Mitch Gray is the founder of Mitch Gray Media, author of HOW TO HIRE AND KEEP GREAT PEOPLE, and host of The Mitch Gray Show. After spending over two decades leading teams as a business owner, manager, pastor, non-profit founder, and community organizer, Mitch developed a strong passion for leaders and employees. Mitch’s mission is to empower teams to perform and individuals to pursue their passion.

Mitch, Tim, and Steve discuss

The challenges of recruiting the right employees
How to convey passion to all levels of employees
Tips to do a better job of hiring
And more…

Click here to listen.

Production System Shifts with Tim Faller and Steve Wheeler- [Tim Faller Show] S4 E8

November 21, 2022 00:44:19

Today on the Tim Faller Show, Tim and Steve go solo to discuss production system shifts and the changing world of the lead carpenter and project manager. Tim talks about the most significant challenge facing the remodeling industry: increasing sales with the lack of skilled labor. The challenge comes from controlling growth with a limited number of people to handle that growth. This is causing many companies to reevaluate their project management systems.

Tim and Steve talk more about:

Lead carpenter systems
Changes in the remodeling industry
Hybrid systems
And more…

Active Listening in the Job Interview with Christine Miles – [Best of The Tim Faller Show]

September 6, 2022 00:36:25

In the interview process, actively listening is key. But how? And how do we change if we “really need someone”? Then, of course, there are all the other times that when we look back at a difficult situation, whether a client or an employee, we see all the signs of the challenge were there, but we did not listen. Guest Christine Miles is here to share some insight and answers on how to avoid that situation.

Christine Miles is the author of What Is It Costing You Not to Listen?: The Power of Understanding to Connect, Influence, Solve & Sell, a professional keynote speaker, consultant, executive coach, thought leader, entrepreneur, and radio show host. She is the founder and CEO of EQuipt. Additional information on her may be obtained here.

Tim, Steve, and Christine talk more about:

The importance of learning to listen
Other situations we can benefit from actively listening
And more…

Hindsight is 2020 with Tim Faller and Steve Wheeler- [Best of The Tim Faller Show]

July 25, 2022 00:29:48

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d do differently when starting your remodeling business if you only knew then what you know now, you’re not alone.

Tim and Steve do, too.

In this episode, the guys talk about what they’ve learned in their time at Remodelers Advantage and from their podcast guests that they wish they knew when they were running their own businesses.

They each identified the five biggest takeaways that make remodeling businesses stronger, more profitable, and built for growth. Learn what they think is important and why, including:

The power of job descriptions
Being financially transparent
Protecting profit through data
Making business decisions based on numbers, not feelings
Learning to sell, not just take orders
Getting to a zero punch list
And more …

Best of the Tim Faller Show: Ep. 128: Onboarding New Staff with Chris Beck

July 5, 2022 00:46:34

When we discuss the labor shortage, we are often talking about how to find or develop good talent.

What we are now hearing from our Roundtables members is that they are finding people, getting them on the team, and then they fail. In many cases, these aren’t catastrophic failures, but slips in net profit or schedules or proper estimates, etc. We can write this off to “they misrepresented themselves” during the interviews. Or, we can take a closer look at our own onboarding process to ensure we are setting our new hires up for success, not failure.

To dive deeper on this topic, Tim and Steve welcome Chris Beck to the show to talk about how he and his team at Normandy Remodeling handle the onboarding process.

Chris has been with Normandy Remodeling in Hinsdale, IL for 14 years; eight as Superintendent, two as the Production Manager and four as Director of Production. Normandy has added five Superintendents over the past five years to cover increased production and they are on pace to set another annual Produced Sales record, their 5th year in a row.

Tim, Steve and Chris cover:

Definition and background of onboarding.
Documentation and checklists.
And more…

Ep.198: Becoming a Memorable Leader with Howard Prager

June 27, 2022 00:36:35

Howard Prager joins the show to talk about how memorable leadership can help retain good employees, increase productivity and improve customer service. He outlines his VIP model of leadership, which is easy to apply, proven effective, and will help create a company with which customers will want to do business and employees will want to work.

Howard Prager is president of Advance Learning Group, the author of the book Make Someone’s Day Becoming a Memorable Leader in Work and Life, speaker, executive coach, and consultant who helps managers become memorable leaders. He has worked extensively with Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous small businesses and has won multiple professional awards for his work.

Tim, Steve, and Howard talk more about:

Characteristics of a leader
Leadership vs. Management
And more…..

Ep.194: Encouraging Diversity

May 23, 2022 00:28:27

Join Tim and Steve as they talk to Nicole Warren about embracing and increasing diversity in the trades, and in this case, with women. Tim makes the case that professionals in the remodeling industry must be more proactive in reaching across traditional boundaries in order to attract high preforming talent. Nicole is a great example as her strong work ethic has helped her outperform her male colleagues to secure a number of promotions in her career. Crossroads had the insight to encourage diversity and has reaped the rewards of that with Nicole.

Nicole, along with her father, is a carpenter for Crossroads Contracting in Londonderry, NH. She has always liked working with her hands, and once she had a child, she needed family friendly work hours. Becoming a carpenter allows her to work in a fulfilling career, but have the work-life balance she needs for her family.

Listen as Nicole, Tim, and Steve discuss:

Creating the awareness that there are opportunities for everyone

How to ensure that the wording in communication does not exclude anyone

And more…

Ep.193: Unlimited Vacation Time – [The Tim Faller Show]

May 16, 2022 00:34:46

Join Tim and Steve as they talk to Clark Harris, who recently implemented an unlimited vacation time policy at his company, to see how it is working. Although some might find this idea radical, it fits right into the strong culture that Clark has built within his company. He runs an open book organization, where he shares performance numbers with all team members, fosters an environment of open communication, trust, accountability, responsibility, freedom, and developing an owner’s mindset.

Clark, a carpenter by trade, started his company, Innovative Construction, in 2000 and serves the Atlanta, GA metro area. He initially grew the company slowly until he found Remodelers Advantage, where he said he found the “right way to run a business”. He has grown Innovative Construction into a multi-million dollar business with 17 employees he endearingly refers to as team members.

Listen as Clark, Tim, and Steve discuss:

Using unlimited vacation to attract and retain the BEST talent
How responsibility and freedom are interdependent
And more…

Remodelers Summit is a remarkable educational event designed specifically for the remodeling community. This year we will feature:

3 inspirational and entertaining keynotes
4 education tracks with 36 industry leading speakers with strategies to help you grow a better business
Networking with Ask Anything sessions
80s party, a happy hour
And more…

This year the Remodelers Summit will be held at the beautiful Gaylord National Harbor, near Washington DC.

You do NOT want to miss it!