What kind of employee bonuses are you offering your team?
I recently listened to this Masters of Home Service episode with Cory Byron (WiringByron). It got me thinking, how are you all handling employee bonuses? Has your current approach improved team performance, or have you faced challenges? Share your experience below! Give the episode a listen if you want to learn about: Building a simple bonus system that's easy to manage Common issues a bonus plan can address How regular communication keeps your team motivated Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Quickest Firing I've Ever Done (And What I Should Have Done Differently)
In the trades, we talk a lot about "hire slow, fire fast." I've lived by that principle — long applications, phone screens, in-person interviews, and working alongside our team for a couple of shifts before anyone flies solo. As a skilled labor company, I need to know someone is reliable before I trust them on their own. So when I let someone go recently after just a handful of days, it wasn't a surprise to me. What was a surprise was how much of that situation I had created myself. Here's what happened: I'd gone through the full process with a candidate who looked great on paper — strong experience, excellent finish work, exactly the shower remodeler we were looking for. There was a lot of back and forth on his start date since he was wrapping up another project, and when he finally said he could start on a Friday, I jumped at it even though my schedule was a mess that day. Instead of doing a proper onboarding, I handed him off to my operations manager and told myself we'd sort out the details later. We didn't sit down together to go over expectations, I never walked him through Jobber, and — maybe worst of all — I never confirmed that his new hire paperwork was actually completed. I sent it. I just never followed up. He worked a couple of shifts and the feedback was decent — promising, but still being evaluated. Then Tuesday came, and because we hadn't properly briefed him on the schedule or made sure he understood how our system works, he showed up to a unit turnover job with no context. He felt blindsided, and honestly, I get it — he came on as a bathroom remodeler. His reaction, though, was the problem: attitude with the crew, visibly disengaged at our team meeting, and a text to me saying he couldn't trust us. That was enough. I let him go, and I'm confident it was the right call — his attitude made it clear it wasn't going to work. But I also have to be honest: we didn't give him — or ourselves — a fair shot. The lesson I'm taking away isn't just "fire fast." It's that hiring slow has to extend all the way through onboarding. I was so eager to get him into the pipeline that I skipped the very steps that exist for good reason. If I couldn't carve out the time to do a proper onboarding — paperwork signed, systems explained, expectations laid out clearly — I should have pushed the start date until I could. Going forward, I'm building out a simple onboarding checklist so that no matter how busy things get, nothing gets skipped just because I'm stretched thin. A great hire can become a problem hire real fast when you don't set them up to succeed.
Claim your Territory!
Hello Jobber Community, My name is Mario Visin, Founder of Group7 Home Services LLC. We joined the Jobber community with a spirit of collaboration, learning, and service to the home services professionals who keep our homes, neighborhoods, and communities running. I believe the home services industry is entering one of the most important seasons in its history. Blue-collar workers are becoming entrepreneurs by the thousands. Handymen, roofers, painters, landscapers, installers, restoration experts, and specialty trade professionals are no longer just working jobs — they are building businesses, serving families, and creating the foundation for generational opportunity. The home services industry represents hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity each year. Large suppliers, big-box retailers, and national construction brands have created tremendous wealth from this industry. Yet the heart of the industry has always been the person swinging the hammer, climbing the ladder, knocking the door, answering the emergency call, and doing the work that homeowners depend on. That person is you. That person is me. That person is the blue-collar professional who deserves better systems, better connection, better opportunity, and a clearer path toward building a meaningful life through the trades. One thing I have noticed across many industries is that people often struggle to connect with one another in ways that truly make a difference. We are entering a time where connection and community will matter more than ever. The future will not only belong to the biggest brands or the largest companies. It will belong to those who learn how to connect, serve, collaborate, and build trust with one another. At Group7 Home Services, we are designing a Live-Work-Play vision for the trades — a curriculum and platform strategy focused on helping home services professionals serve one another, grow together, and build wealth through shared relationships, better systems, referral opportunities, and a service-first mindset. This is not just about jobs. It is about lifestyle. It is about family. It is about creating a future so compelling that the next generation sees the trades as a path of pride, ownership, entrepreneurship, and purpose. Strategy matters. Systems matter. Technology matters. But the real transformation begins when good people come together with humility, discipline, and a desire to serve the need before serving the self. I believe larger technology companies serving the trades, including platforms like Jobber, play an important role in this new era. The right technology can help blue-collar entrepreneurs run smoother businesses, communicate better with customers, organize their teams, and create more professional experiences for the homeowners they serve. But technology alone is not the full answer. The real power comes when technology, community, service, craftsmanship, and vision meet at the same table. Group7’s broader mission is Building Thriving Cities by helping people connect around housing, entrepreneurship, education, and local economic opportunity. We believe the home services professional has a major role to play in that transformation because every strong city begins with strong homes, strong workers, strong families, and strong relationships. I am a visionary, and I understand that vision must be protected, refined, and shared with care. But I also believe the home services industry is ready for a new conversation — one centered on dignity, ownership, connection, and a higher conscious level of capitalism where the smaller parts come together to create something greater than any one person could build alone. The big brands we know today started with a dream, a strategy, and a willingness to work for decades. The next great wave of wealth creation may come from like-minded people linking their common threads together, weaving a much larger blanket of opportunity for families, workers, entrepreneurs, and communities. Being part of a community is just the beginning. How we connect matters. Relationships are everything. Work like your life depends on it. Best, Mario Visin Founder, Group7 Home Services LLCUpsides and downsides of hiring a summer helper?
I am thinking about hiring someone to help me in the busy season and the idea of a high school kid as a summer job sounds like a promising idea. I wouldn't have to pay them a crazy salary, they are like sponges with information and they are typically more physically full of energy. I wouldn't be able to send them on their own, but they could help me get a few more jobs done in a day. I am wondering if anyone has tried this and what would be the pros and cons of doing it?Who is a better employee, old school or new school?
I have 2 people who are interested in a position I posted for a apprentice/helper. I took each of them on a one day ride along to see what they thought about the position. One is an old school guy, hard working, knowledgeable, rough around the edges, "get it done" mentality, just your typical guy who grew up in a different time. The other is a 24 year old, energetic, absorbing of information, helpful with technology, very much one of those cell phone kids. I would say that those are are the pros of these two but they also have cons. The older guy is set in his ways, smoker, hard headed, know it all. The younger guy showed up 10 mins late, on his phone all day, had to stop for lunch, complained about getting dirty. I did like them both and saw advantages to both, but also disadvantages. I wonder if anyone else has experience with these types of guys? Am I missing something that I should reconsider? Maybe neither one is the right fit? Maybe for context also, I am 40. I maybe have a foot in each each of their worlds which is why the decision isn't as easy as I thought.How are you Hiring Reliable Employees in the Cleaning Industry?
Hi everyone, I’m currently growing my cleaning business and getting to the point where I need to start bringing on employees. I want to build a solid, dependable team—not just people who show up, but people who actually care about the work and take pride in what they do. For those of you who have already gone through the hiring process, I’d really appreciate your insight: Where are you finding your best employees? (Indeed, Facebook, referrals, etc.) What qualities do you look for when hiring cleaners? Do you require prior experience, or do you train from scratch? How do you handle background checks and trust/security in clients’ homes? What pay structure or incentives have helped you keep employees long-term? Any red flags you’ve learned to watch out for during interviews? In my business, we don’t do quick surface cleans—we focus on deep, detailed, time-consuming work. Because of that, I want to make sure I’m hiring people who can handle that level of effort and consistency. I’m also trying to build a positive, supportive work environment while still maintaining high standards. Any advice on balancing that would be helpful too. Looking forward to hearing what’s worked (and what hasn’t) for you all!Do You Train Your Team to Think or Just Work?
Every Monday, we hold a short training session with our team. We train on communication. leadership. & mindset. The reason being most tradespeople aren’t struggling because they can’t do the work. They’re struggling because they were never taught how to: Speak with clarity Handle conflict Lead a crew Represent the business professionally These tend to be the issues I see bottling up, either from our exit interviews or customer feed back or when things are misunderstood. Thats why I'm curious: Do you train soft skills with your crew?
