Field Productivity - Talent Differentiation

Contractors can improve their field productivity significantly just through deliberate talent management processes

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

While the process of continuous and relentless forced differentiation may seem harsh it is actually one of the kindest things you can do for everyone on the team.  

Field Productivity: Talent Differentiation. Your first 16% Productivity Improvement.
  1. Break your field team into reasonably sized groups that you can compare within.  For example for an electrical contractor it might be groups of field supervisors, underground, branch, 1-line, etc.  
  2. Rank each group in order of best-to-worst looking at it from the angle of which order would you lay them off in during a downturn.  Just the discussion of this with your top few managers will yield great conversations you can use to develop people.  
  3. Analyze the top 15% (A-Players) in each group looking for why they love working here, where they came from, how they built their careers and what their daily habits are.  Use this information to refine your recruiting and training tactics.  
  4. Look at the bottom 15% (C-Players) in each group and create an immediate plan to re-align them getting them into different positions within your company or helping them find a job with a company where they won’t be at the bottom.  It is cruel to keep people in positions where they are failing. Always do this with respect and kindness.  
  5. Focus on the middle (B-Players) developing training and systems around them to help them build some of the skills and habits of your A-Players.  

Topgrading


Field Productivity - Talent Differentiation
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

Field Productivity - Talent Differentiation
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

Jeff Bezos - All Overnight Success Takes About 10 Years
Do you have the stamina for success? Being successful in anything worth having--relationships, careers, companies, health, and life in general--requires the daily discipline of working deliberately toward your goals.
Evolving Focus with Growth and Leadership Levels
All contractors are built on the same foundation, which starts with the amazing crafts people. With growth in the business, project size, and your level of leadership, the time you allocate to different layers of the pyramid must evolve.
Cash Flow Tip 6 - Build Relationships
Build Relationships at All Levels. There isn’t a “Computer” that is negotiating your contract with you, approving your Schedule-of-Values, approving your billing or ensuring timely payment for you. It is the people.