How to Find A Tradie That Delivers Time and Time Again

Qualified and professional trades who deliver top quality results time and time again are hard to come by.  If you have this team, hold onto them!

If you don’t have this team - where do you find them and how do you work with them to bring out their best work?

The Little Black Book

Any good project manager will have a little black book full of the best contractors. Over time, these will become the most reliable trades, the ones who deliver results on time and within budget and the first point of call for any construction job.

These are the people the project manager doesn’t mind paying big bucks for, they are worth their weight in gold and any project manager who has worked with unreliable trades will attest to this.

Where to find trades?

When you’re just starting to put together your team, it’s a good idea to begin your search locally.  Not only will local trades not have far to travel, but they will also know the area - the best hardware stores to visit for tools and materials and whom to avoid. 

Once you have one local trade, they will know other locals, and this is an excellent way to build your team. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and the trades themselves will know who are professional and pulls their weight and whom to avoid.

Successful Management

For a team of trades to be successful, they must be managed and organised appropriately.

Communication is vitally important on the building site. The project manager should be concise with their requirements and know exactly what they want in detail.

The project manager should gather all trades at the site at the same time to give a project brief or outline. Each trade should have its own floor plan as well as a timeline and schedule of when their skills will be required.

Ask the tradesperson questions

Don’t be afraid to call on the tradesperson for advice - how long is it going to take you to complete this job? You don’t want someone rushing through a task on the building site because you haven’t allowed them enough time.

Look after good trades

Ensure your trades are well paid. Never demand their time or argue over amounts less than $100. 

Be respectful of their time - they have families too, so try to avoid contacting them outside of business hours.

Keeping trades on site is key to high productivity levels. If trades are continually leaving the site for food or breaks, think about installing a fridge stocked with drinks and snacks if you have the facilities and budget to be able to do so or arrange for a food van to visit.  You’ll then become that excellent construction company that supplied food and drinks to their trades!

Anyone in business - whether it be construction or something entirely different, will tell you that having the right team will determine how successful a project will be. Within the building industry looking after trades, treating them well and openly communicating with them will ensure they want to work with you again.

Learn more about How to Improve Your Building Company’s Efficiency
here.