Why Restoration Workers Want to Work for You

One of the most common challenges restoration managers face is keeping talented staff. Too many senior leaders can tell horror stories of investing weeks or months into training and equipping their staff, only for them to flee for (seemingly) greener pastures shortly after.

Not only does this wear on a manager’s patience, it also wears down the company’s bottom line. The dollars can add up if you’re taking work hours away from restoration projects to constantly train new employees, especially when your most experienced employees are constantly re-explaining the same things.

Once you find a great team, it’s important you do everything you can to keep them around.

What can you do as a restoration manager or owner to make your workplace “stickier”?

The KnowHow team recently conducted the largest ever survey on the restoration industry. We surveyed over 400 workers in the restoration industry to find the answers to questions like this, so you can make your restoration company work environment the best it can be. Happier employees, means more productive workdays, which ultimately translates to higher revenue earnings.

Security

A common reason we saw restoration workers accept a new role at a company was security. Job security is a major factor for people when looking at a new role. People want to work at a company that will maintain steady operations, and ensure a solid income is consistently earned. This factor was particularly prevalent for Gen Z workers and Baby Boomers.

Location

Workers often decide to leave their role and accept a new position elsewhere due to location. Many times it’s to be closer to family, friends, or just looking for a change of pace. This is largely out of restoration owners’ control, but employees could be persuaded to stay if other factors from this list exceed expectations.

Frustration at Their Prior Job

This is an all too common reason for leaving a job. Oftentimes employees simply reach their breaking point and feel like they need a change of pace because of constant frustration. The grass is always greener, but if frustration due to poor management or poor onboarding is causing employees to resent their current position, they will take another opportunity in a heartbeat.

Growth Potential

Growth potential was the second most common response to why restoration workers took their current position, and the #1 factor for Gen X employees. Workers want to know that they’ll be more employable when they quit your company, and that they’re constantly leveling up both professionally and personally. For this reason, many restoration companies are using KnowHow to create employee advancement roadmaps to ensure that staff are not only trained, but constantly further developing their skills throughout their tenure with the company.

Team Culture

This was the #1 reason restoration workers chose the workplace they did. Team culture is huge for every level of employee, and is particularly important to Millennial and Gen X Office Staff. Employees want to be excited to come to work and be immersed in an atmosphere that’s fun, exciting, supportive, diverse, and motivated. If team culture is lacking, as the Restoration Workforce Survey showed us, employees will look for a new gig as fast as they can.

If you want to make your workplace “stickier”, and start retaining valuable employees for longer, start by auditing the above factors. The Restoration Workforce Survey showed us that employees care about more than just money. Respondents to the survey gave us valuable information as to why they were enticed into accepting a new position elsewhere.

If you’re a restoration owner, take a look at your business practices and ask yourself if you’re offering employees a good team culture, job security, growth potential, and pay. If you answer no to any of them, you may want to consider revising your processes and corporate structure in order to better retain employees long-term.

If you want to better retain employees, KnowHow can help. KnowHow eliminates inconsistencies and provides streamlined ways to equip and develop staff members of all ages.

To learn more about KnowHow, explore our features here.

If you haven’t already, download your free copy of Why Workers Quit to learn more about the Restoration Workforce Survey and the shocking results we uncovered.