Where Contractors Fail

Construction has gained a reputation; is it one of collaborative construction or mistrust? Everything in business is about reputation, whether you can trust or not. At Constructable we are building relationships founded on trust, not just structures or projects. It is precisely here that contractors fail: they fail to build trust with their clients.

Building trust takes time and focuses on three parts in making your project successful: Proactive communication, listening to feedback, prioritizing the job.

Failure Point #1: A lack of proactive communication.

A. Contractors often do not want accountability.
B. Contractors often do not want transparency.
C. Contractors who engage in both will gain trust with the customer.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Accountability implies that someone is watching and seeing your work product. It means someone is looking over your shoulder. However, if you are doing things right, why should there be a problem looking over my shoulder? In fact, you’re going to like what you see.

Accordingly, it is a mindset change to begin to welcome accountability. Accountability says that I am secure enough in my work that you can examine it constantly. In fact, we welcome the chance to prove our work to you.

Example: Constructable offers an open door to accountability through our ConstructionOnline management software. Every team member is invited to the project to see daily logs, communication, RFIs, submittals, transmittals, and other important documentation. Most assuredly, collaborative construction demands such sharing of information and progress. You, as the customer, can login at any time to see the progress and status of your project.

TRANSPARENCY:

Transparency is different than accountability in that it does not only focus on things going wrong, but actively showing the decisions we make. Accountability prevents things from going badly; transparency welcomes the customer to the decision table, showing the motivations and reasons for why we do what we do.

If you are to be a part of our project, we will include you on the decision making. We use a collaborative construction process that shows just why we do what we do. Indeed, this is the distinction that sets us apart from most everyone else: we want our customers working with us collaboratively.

Example: Constructable welcomes transparent communication through weekly customer meetings and a constant site readiness for any surprise site visits or inspections. You can be sure that transparency will be sitewide and project long.

TRUST GAIN:

If you can see my welcomed accountability and proactive transparency, it is like laying the first part of a foundation of trust. We aim for trust in all areas, so we become an open book. After all, it is your ideas we are building and your project that is seeing formation.

When the project owner and project contractor can sit at the table together, looking eye to eye at a common purpose, that is when the collaborative process is at its best. To be sure, this builds an enduring, open communication that we all will enjoy for many years and successful projects to come.

“At Constructable we are nothing if we do not collaboratively construct with our customers and stakeholders. Assuredly, you will enjoy the process of us doing the heavy lifting and you having the freedom to look in at any time.” —Jared Hellums, Principal and Founder of Constructable

Failure Point #2: A lack of listening to feedback.

A. Feedback is the key to making the customer happy.
B. Feedback is the key to improvement of our process and work.
C. Feedback, even harsh feedback, is a gift.

Feedback for a Happy Customer:

If you listen carefully, you can find the key to customer happiness by simply listening. The customer has needs; that is exactly why we were contracted to work together. By constant listening, making ourselves available on sites, and doing the requisite work, Constructable ensures customer happiness.

The key to any successful project lies in the mind of the customer. When we communicate well and learn your expectations, then, of course, the project will be a success. Obviously, we are all in this together and everyone who wins, wins as a team.

Feedback for Improvement of process and work:

We invite feedback for improved process and work. While we expertly manage the site and construction process, we know that every stakeholder has something to contribute. We welcome the chance to learn and grow from what you observe about our work and process.

Example: When you see a process improvement to be done, when you see a better way to communicate, bring it to our attention. There is nothing more important to us than the ability to improve our systems. They are in place to protect the site and your project, but also to have a structure with which to branch out from.

Feedback is always a gift:

If you can get over the critical aspect of feedback, it holds the key to improvement. It is for this reason that feedback is a gift to receive, not a criticism to avoid. We learn from anyone and everyone because we constantly choose to see feedback for what it really is: a gift provided for the betterment of our joint project.

Failure Point #3: A lack of prioritization of the job.

A. Everyone pays, but those who pay the most, get the workers.
B. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
C. Contracts only stipulate the minimum effort to expend, not inspire a heart of service to the customer.

The construction world is full of broken promises and struggle, specifically where contractors fail. That is because he or she who pays the most will command the attention of the contractor. The best staff, the most manpower, and the quickest jobs belong to the most attractive contracts. But how do you get such white-glove service when you project is not the one to pay the most?

The answer lies in the customer service model of the contractor. You can still deliver at a high level on every contract, regardless of the profitability. That is only because of a constant client-centered focus on customer satisfaction. A contractor who does what he or she says is the key here. A true teammate will deliver more than the strict confines of a contract by anticipating needs, going above and beyond in service and responsiveness, and always having the customer’s interest in mind. But only if you care enough about your customer will your promises be kept and the highest paying job not be the only one making progress. This means every one of your jobs are prioritized when Constructable is on the job.

In most of life the saying is definitively true: the squeaky wheel gets the grease, meaning those who complain will be attended to. At Constructable, we do not wait for complaints or for problems to arise, we proactively seek solutions before they cause headaches. You will not have to become a squeaky wheel because we will already keep you informed and constantly apprised of our progress. Through our online construction management system, we enable access to all stakeholders to have full visibility and accountability throughout the project life cycle.

To prioritize a job, to avoid having to become a squeaky wheel, to not cannibalize one project in favor of another, it all takes a company that keeps the customer needs at heart, beyond the confines of a contract. What if you found a company that proactively sought solutions before they become problems? What if you found a team that included you on decisions in collaborative construction? What if you found a contractor that was restless for the success of your project so much so that he or she would not stop until it is completed, and you are satisfied? That is a contractor worth doing business with, and where most contractors fail. The ability to keep the customer-centered communication, client-focused accountability, and the best interest of our project stakeholders at heart are what set us apart from others. Constructable will not fail in treating our customers right and finishing projects the way they ought to be done. This is how we build trust with our clients, being sure that they get what they need out of every project.

Trust is built in drops but lost in buckets. And where contractors fail is losing the trust of his or her client. What is your contractor doing to earn your trust each day? Can you be sure that your contractor is doing the work well, even when you are not inspecting it? Or can you expect the minimum amount done in the shortest possible timeframe? The answer makes all the difference. The “who” of contracting is the most important decision you will make. Contractors fail in not developing trust with the customer. Let us not ever be the kind of company that ever loses that sacred store of credibility.

Here at Constructable things are different: We offer tools to keep ourselves accountable and transparent before you even request it; feedback is a gift to us; and we always prioritize your job through proper staffing, strict adherence to your specifications and requirements, and go beyond what is required because of our heart of service to our customers. We take more than the minimum steps so that we can satisfy our customers time and again. Let us build trust with you; start an estimate today by clicking HERE or by emailing email@constructable.pro.