How do you keep your crew motivated and paid when work slows down?
Every year, that slow season creeps up on us. One minute the phones are blowing up, and the next it feels like the world goes quiet. When jobs slow down, keeping your crew busy and positive can be a real challenge. I’ve tried different things over the years. Training days, cleaning up the shop, and even team outings just to keep morale up. But the truth is, it’s hard when the pipeline dries up. How do you keep your team motivated and paid when things get slow? Do you cut hours, find smaller projects, focus on marketing, or use the time for business planning? I’d love to hear what has worked for you and how you turn downtime into momentum for the next busy wave.Anyone using an ESOP?
I have recently heard about ESOPs a couple times over the past few weeks. It has me thinking this fits my culture and might be a good fit for my business. If you are running an ESOP can you share details about it? Does it work for you? What are the benefits? Has it helped team culture and morale/buy-in?How do you handle employees complaining about one another?
Every once in a while I have team members who will complain about one another. The problem is that some of the things they complain about are not things that I have a major problem with. I usually tell them that I have to choose my battles but the complaining is just a weight on me. I don't want the team member that is complaining to feel like I don't care, or don't hear them but sometimes its just not a hill I want to die on. Hope that was enough information to answer this. Look forward to hearing how some of you handle team dynamics. Thanks in advance!Who Was Your First Hire?
I’ll never forget mine! My first hire was a foreman. I needed someone who could run the job while I focused on running and growing the business. That was the moment it stopped being just me and started becoming something bigger. Scary? Of course. Exciting? Absolutely. That first hire teaches you the hard stuff. How to train. How to lead. How to TRUST someone with your name and your clients. You don’t always get it right, but that’s how you grow. What I learned: Hire sooner than you think you’re ready Character beats skill every time Being a boss is a completely different trade than doing the work So let me ask you… who was your first hire, and what did they teach you?What Features Would Be Helpful for Dealing with Subcontractors on Your Team?
Subcontractors can be a powerful way to grow your service business—but managing them smoothly takes the right tools. From scheduling to paperwork to payments, things can get complicated fast if you're relying on spreadsheets or text threads. Here are a few key ideas to kick off the conversation: Insurance Certificate Tracking + Expiration Reminders Making sure your subcontractors are insured is a no-brainer—but keeping track of their certificates and renewal dates can be a hassle. A built-in feature that stores insurance docs and sends automatic reminders before they expire would help keep your business protected and organized. Built-in Payment Processing for Subcontractors Paying subs quickly and clearly is essential for maintaining good relationships. Imagine being able to approve their invoices and process payments right through Jobber—no more chasing emails or juggling payment apps. Subcontractor Availability Scheduling Knowing when your subs are available is half the battle. A shared calendar where subcontractors can input their availability would make job assignment way easier and help avoid scheduling conflicts before they happen. What would you like to see added to help manage subcontractors better? Drop your ideas in the comments—👇
Feeling Stuck in the Busy-But-Broke Zone – How Did You Break Through?
Hey folks, I’m hoping to get some insight from those of you who’ve already muscled through this phase of business. I’m currently in that painful zone where the jobs are coming in steady—so much so that I’m completely maxed out—but the numbers aren’t quite adding up to confidently bring someone else on board. I’ve got the workflow, the drive, and the service quality dialed in, but when it comes to scaling by hiring help, I feel like I’m staring at a wall I can’t quite climb. The catch-22 is real: can’t afford help without more time, and can’t get more time without help. For those of you who made it past this threshold: - What did you do to shift the equation? - How did you find the confidence (or capital) to invest in that first team member? - Any creative pricing or scheduling tactics that helped balance the load in the meantime? Appreciate any stories, hard-learned lessons, or nuggets of advice. Trying to work smarter, not just harder.
Time Clock / Employee Time Tracking
Hey all! We have approximately 20-25 W2 employees who clock in and out using the ADP app. Processing payroll has recently been a hassle due to time discrepancies. Adjusting time cards for each employee is not only time-consuming but can be very costly if things are missed over time. What have you found to help with maintaining accurate time cards for employees? Please paste the link to any hardware you use. I'd love to see what systems you all use for employees to clock in physically instead of over the cell phone.
Pay for performance in Lawn Care and Landscaping - has anyone been successful?
I know this has been talked about many times, but I'm thinking about re-visiting this option. How have you structured your pay for performance when you have crews that do totally different things? For example- we have some crews that just do lawn maintenance (bi-weekly grass cutting, weed eating, etc), and other crews that do 'projects' (french drains, hardscapes, etc). And some guys that float between the different crews. My brain cannot conceive metrics that would be equitable for both groups. Would we have a different set of metrics for each type of crew? A different set for the grass cutting crew vs the projects crew? What are some examples of metrics that you have successfully used? How did you measure or track them? I think I'm just 'stuck' on how to even get started. I've looked at so many conversations on this that my brain is in overload. Can someone give me a hand here? Can I just see your metrics? Help. Please.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?
