Growing a strong company team inside an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical independent contracting company is the first important component to growing retention. Team retention should even precede working to gain a strong base of loyal clients because without a strong team foundation, service excellence will surely diminish. In our posts over the next two Tuesdays, we are going to explore the important components of coworker retention as well as client retention. Today’s post will pinpoint the first important retention skill- Team Retention:
-Listen to build trust and rapport-
From the get-go, it would seem that it is solely the prospective employee that should work to gain the trust and respect of their managers and leaders inside a plumbing, HVAC, or electrical company. However, it is vital that company leaders understand that it is also their responsibility to initially build a positive company image for prospective and current coworkers, thoroughly listen to needs of employees, as well as build a strong overall team trust. Without building mutual trust and rapport, a team will fail to thrive and lack proper development. Yet when leaders inside an independent contracting company take the first step to building trust and rapport by lending a listening ear to their team members, they begin to grow a personal connection to each individual employee. When this type of trust and rapport is built, it allows employees to feel like a valued team player inside a connected and cohesive company.
-Train to build knowledge and confidence-
Along with the development of proper listening skills, it is also important that leaders invest in proper training for their team; from simple systems and processes all the way to in-depth sales training skills. When independent contracting team members see that their leaders take the initiative to conduct training lessons, invest in classroom training sessions with expert trainers, or invest in regular virtual company training then it lets team members see that their management team values them as team members and knows that they are worth investing in. Training, not only, builds knowledge of effective company procedures and proper skills to use on calls, but also works to build personal employee confidence. When a team member feels that they have the knowledge they need to successfully carry out daily tasks as well as engage in proper interaction with clients then coworkers begin to build confidence in both themselves as well as their company.
-Challenge to peak interest and skill-building-
When team member feel that initial trust has been built and proper training is being carried out then each member will naturally desire challenging work. When managers and company employees engage team members by entrusting new, interesting, or challenging tasks to them based on their personal interest in the skill and based on the training they have received then it gives team members an opportunity to grow and learn through hands-on experience. While there will also be some routine daily tasks and responsibilities for each employee to carry out, it is very important that leaders ensure that they mix things up for employees from time to time in order to make work engaging, interesting, and challenging. Not only does this give employees an opportunity to implement their trained skills but it also gives leaders an opportunity to see where team members excel. A team member may have amazing people skills but may need to work through some shyness yet if he or she is never given the opportunity to interact face-to-face with clients then that skill many never develop to its full potential and that coworker may never face their fear. Offering challenging work allows team members to value their position in their company as well as see the growth and development they have made through being a part of a strong company team.
Retention is a two-part process composed of team retention and client retention. Yet it is so important that team retention is the initial focus for a service company because a great team provides great service thus working to grow a strong client base. In our post above, we developed three main aspects of team retention: listening to build rapport, training to grow confidence and knowledge, as well as challenging to increase interest and skills. Each of these three aspects is important for company team leaders to embrace in order to build a strong team foundation. Here at Service Excellence Training, we love turning your learning into earning!
-Resource curated by Whitney Stewart of Service Excellence Training
