Onsite installers hire folks with strong backs to perform heavy labor, sometimes six days a week, for an hourly wage. Your crews get down and dirty and learn the nuances of the wastewater industry as they toil in the field. Technicians and equipment operators develop special skills, to be sure, and it’s recognized that finding talented people to work in the field can be a challenge.
Such a traditional small-business work environment seems out of step with many modern employment concepts preferred by young people of the millennial generation. Not many young people seem to want to work 60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year for a regular, reliable paycheck and a 401(k) retirement plan. They want a flexible work schedule, decent pay when they do put in long hours, and more control over their lives day to day.
In short, more young people are becoming part of the “gig economy,” taking on work by the project and choosing who they work for and when they work. The concept is also referred to as “alternative work,” which the management website Quartz says includes independent contractors, workers provided by contract firms, on-call workers, and temp agency workers.
DYNAMIC CHANGES
According to Quartz, research from Harvard University and Princeton University economists shows the percentage of American workers engaged in alternative work rose from 10.7 to 15.8 percent between 2005 and 2015.
“We find that 94 percent of net job growth in the past decade was in the alternative work category,” Quartz quotes Princeton’s Alan Krueger. “And over 60 percent was due to (the rise) of independent contractors, freelancers and contract company workers.”
The statistic is staggering. Quartz concluded the majority of 10 million new jobs created during that period were not traditional employment situations.
So that makes me wonder. … How will businesses like installing companies take advantage of the gig economy? There are two answers. First, I would say that in some ways many of you already are supporting the alternative workforce. Second, I think there may be untapped areas where an independent project worker could fit nicely in your business plan.
How are installers already involved in the gig economy? Have you added an extra helper during busy construction periods? I know of many installers who hire people to work more hours during the busy season and leave them to pursue other work or time off during slow periods. A young worker may appreciate a schedule that allows him to take on more hours and earn overtime pay for short spurts of time followed by weeks of downtime where he can pursue other interests or different types of work.
Do you sometimes rely on subcontracted specialists — for instance a licensed plumber or an operator with special equipment you only need a few times per summer? You’ve learned that sometimes it makes sense to hire workers for a specific project.
GET CREATIVE
Now you need to look beyond the excavator bucket and explore the value of hiring alternative workers in other areas of the business. You may find that you’ll save money and get better results with a contractor-worker than you would by training an employee to handle a variety of tasks. Here are a few examples:
Marketing and sales. Aspects of small-business promotion can be easily done by independent contractors. Many graphic artists, writers and marketers work as freelancers and cater to the needs of a variety of clients. The specialized help of website production and marketing campaigns are something you will need only occasionally. And these are tasks that are more efficiently left to professionals who perform that type of work every day. Many wastewater contractors have attempted to build a website, for example. But how many of them launched with great success?
Bookkeeping and accounting. It might make more sense to pay an hourly fee for a CPA for 10 hours a month to keep your finances in order than hiring and training a bookkeeper for this important task. An outside accountant is insured and responsible for the accuracy of the work, while your bookkeeper may be more or less skilled or qualified for the task.
Equipment maintenance. You may already hire a local mechanic rather than handle these duties in-house. But beyond the big stuff like repairing a transmission or rebuilding an engine, are there other routine maintenance tasks you could pay for on a project basis? What about hiring a contractor to wash your equipment at the end of every week? Every maintenance project you can job out will keep your onsite technicians working in the field longer and concentrating on their areas of expertise.
Reception. Do you want a live voice to answer your phone rather than having customers listen to voicemail prompts? I know the personal touch is a priority for many service providers. But some small businesses can’t justify having a receptionist on the staff. If that’s you, maybe there’s a compromise between the recorded message and a full-time receptionist waiting to respond to phone calls. You might be able to find an independent contractor who can run a call center from home and charge you only for the time spent answering customer questions and relaying important information to you in the field.
MORE TEMP WORKERS
According to the Harvard and Princeton research, the greatest percentage of alternative workers are contract workers provided by a temp agency or staffing service. Temp workers are attractive to companies because they are only called on when the job requires it. And the staffing company, not the company providing the work, is responsible for benefits and other costs associated with employees.
But there are human resources advantages to a small company when hiring temp workers or any type of independent contractor. What if you overestimate the need for more workers and have to cut back on labor? Or what if a new member of your crew doesn’t turn out to be a good fit for whatever reason? It’s simpler to part ways with a freelancer than a permanent employee.
Researchers believe the trend of independent workers is going to continue, to the benefit both of worker flexibility and company efficiency. And as it gets tougher to find good people who want to spend a career working in any one area — and that includes the wastewater industry — it might be time to look for ways to take advantage of this trend.
