Page 6 - LBMAO - Jul-Aug 2023 REPORTER - web optimized

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

HIRING WOES

TREVOR SMALL
LBMAO President

e are going through some staff changes here at the LBMAO. referrals. If you are taking on fewer customers, you will have fewer
WOur long-time administration and member support person referrals. Ensuring the jobs you do take get completed on time, on
Joanne, is planning on retiring this fall and we are working to find her budget, with quality work is a tricky balance if you take on new staff.
replacement. We have a small staff here and any changes (read new I thought to myself, what if my predecessor had decided that
people) will have an impact on both our office functions and on our was the approach they wanted to take? Would I be in the role I have
contact with the membership. now if others had decided to do it themselves and not hire a new,
I realize that everyone reading this has probably had human inexperienced person? I am glad that people took me under their wing
resources issues of their own to deal with. When it happens inside your and let me learn on the job. I have been successful most times but
circle it hits home. Joanne has worked here since 2005 and has been occasionally there has been a bump in the road that has been painful
the principal point of contact to all members for many years. That level to correct.
of experience and knowledge is tough to replace. This brings me back to our office problem. We have a 17 year plus
I attended a building supply event the other evening and a retailer staff member who knows our members well. She is a professional
who had been in the business for many years was telling me how at communicating with them. It will be tough finding a suitable
he and his primary estimator used to split their roles. The primary replacement, but we need to build our business. We are actively
estimator was highly successful at estimating and selling projects. looking for someone who can fill Joanne’s shoes. Please remember
That person recently retired, and now the owner of the business has that we were all in a position of inexperience once and there is no one
taken on the estimator’s role in addition to his former role. He related who knew every element of their current job on their first day.
to me that he sells 80-90 percent of the projects he quotes but due For all the retailers and suppliers reading this I understand your
to time limitations he can only quote about half of the projects that struggles at finding and hiring great people to fill the roles you may
they used to. He had been unsuccessful at finding a replacement for have open. Remember that while the market for finding qualified,
his retired staff member. Finding a candidate that could accurately experienced candidates may be limited, it is a better long-term
estimate, sell and work with their clients was presenting a challenge. solution than stretching yourself thin and missing on potential new
All the applicants were either good estimators and struggled with the business.
sales role or they could sell but had no idea how to accurately estimate
the projects and give proper instructions to their installers. The owner
felt that it was in the best interest of his business to turn away some
new business that he did not have time to estimate and sell rather than
grow the sales by training a new individual to fill the role. “In the long
run we will have fewer screw-ups and our installers will be happier
than if we try to train a new person”, were his thoughts. I understand
that and have had those same thoughts myself, but I believe that is
short term thinking. It does nothing to improve your workload and it
has an impact on future business. Most of their business was done via

6 LBMAO Reporter - July-August 2023 www.lbmao.on.ca