Skilled electricians and electrical contractors like Just HardRich Global Resources Limited are constantly in demand because our skills are so specialized. You can’t replace an electrical contractor with a plumber and expect the same results. You also can’t work your electricians into the ground while expecting the same quality every time. Here are ways you reduce communication problems between electrical contractors and clients.
We must Have a Backup Plan as Electrical Contractors – We can be ready for anything and everything, and something will still manage to sneak up on us. Having a backup plan will help us handle anything the universe or the industry decide to throw at us.
We understand that it is impossible to know when someone will come down with the flu or have an accident on the way to work, but these or a thousand other things can throw a wrench into our plans and cause communication and scheduling problems.
Address Absenteeism on the client’s part – Absenteeism is one of the biggest challenges in maintaining a worksite schedule and meeting our deadlines. We’re not talking about the occasional sick day or mental health day, but rather those employees who perpetually abuse those systems and take more days off than strictly necessary.
This sort of unchecked absenteeism can make it nearly impossible for electrical contractors to meet client deadlines and, if an electrical contractor must complete a project before a client can move on to the next step, this could cause the entire project to grind to a halt.
It is advised that if a client (company) doesn’t have an official HR department, they must take the time to create an employee attendance policy and enforce it to keep everyone on task and on the job.
Client Actions must Encourage Transparency – Whether you have electrical contractors on staff or are subcontracting these specialists, you need to take the time to build a strong relationship with your electricians.
One of the best and most reliable ways to do that as a client is to provide and encourage total transparency and honesty. Everyone needs to be on the same page, and that’s hard to do if the left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing. Transparency also helps prevent communication and scheduling problems by keeping everyone apprised of any changes that could impact project deadlines.
The client must Be Proactive – It’s easy to wait until problems crop up. When they do, you can react to them and, hopefully, solve them without too many delays. While this method works, it’s not the best or most efficient way to handle communication and scheduling problems. Instead, you must strive to be proactive. Clients need to talk to everyone involved in an electrical fault finding and pay close attention to the schedule when the need arises. It is imperative to learn how to predict when problems might crop up.
You might be surprised how easy it is to see a problem coming a mile away if you just pay a bit of attention.
Provide All the Details – It’s hard to finish a job if you only have half the details. Again, we’re back to the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. In this case, if we as electrical contractors don’t have all the details we need, the left hand might not even realize the right hand exists.
As a client, it is important to make sure everyone on the job is aware of all the necessary scheduling details. Playing things close to the vest is just going to lead to stepping on each other’s toes and causing all sorts of communication and scheduling problems in the long run.
You must Keep Projections Realistic As A Client – We know that you want to get your projects done as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is ideal! But here in the real world, things don’t always work that way.
Keep your schedule and projections realistic. You don’t need to be a fortune-teller or have the ability to predict the future, but you do need to stay within the realm of reality and take things like absenteeism and other variables in mind when making your projections.
Electrical Contractors can Consider Subcontracting – Sometimes, the easiest way to prevent communication and scheduling problems is to pass the buck to someone else. Scheduling is our responsibility as electrical contractors on staff. But if we choose to subcontract our electricians, they become responsible for their own scheduling.
This isn’t the perfect solution and can create its own problems in the long run, but if handling one more schedule is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, bringing in subcontractors can help reduce the strain and let someone else take the load off our back.
Consider No Rush Orders As An Electrical Contractor – Rush orders can be a great way to ingratiate yourself with clients, but they’re one of the fastest ways to create communication and scheduling problems. Think of it this way – and this is something we use with our clients if they’re insisting on rush jobs: you can have things fast, cheap, or good. Pick two.
It is expedient to remove rush orders from our options as electrical contractors as often as possible. It is understandable that we can’t always avoid them, but they’re usually more trouble than they’re worth.
Clients must Simplify Things Where Possible – It’s easy to overcomplicate things, especially when dealing with electrical installations and schedules. You must take the time to simplify things wherever possible.
For instance, it is not wise to schedule one electrical contractor for three jobs on the same day if they’re not going to be able to meet all those deadlines. Don’t overcomplicate things, because it’s just going to come back and bite you in the end.
Look Forward As A Client – There will always be things that throw a wrench in the works when communicating with and scheduling your electrical contractors. Thunderstorms, accidents, double bookings, and acts of goodwill make it challenging to stick to your schedule.
The trick isn’t to stop these problems from cropping up, but rather to be prepared for them so they can’t ruin your schedule or keep you from meeting the set deadlines.
Electrical contractor communication and schedules aren’t easy to maintain, but with a little bit of foresight and some preparation, you can be prepared for anything the universe might throw at you. We must not let over-complication or trying to take on too many rush jobs mess up our schedule or negatively impact our ability to meet the set deadlines.
