• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
  • ENGINEERS
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • CONTRACTORS
  • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
  • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WATER TREATMENT
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
  • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
  • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
  • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
  • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
  • CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
  • FIRE PROTECTION
  • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
  • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
  • PME COLUMNS
  • PME COLUMNS
  • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
  • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
  • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
  • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
  • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
  • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
  • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
  • CODES
  • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
  • PROJECT PROFILES
  • COLUMNS
  • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • COLUMNS
  • Codes Corner
  • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
  • Guest Editorial
  • MEDIA
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
  • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
  • DIRECTORIES
  • EBOOKS
  • PM BOOKSTORE
  • CE CENTER
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
  • EMAGAZINE
  • ARCHIVE ISSUES
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Columns

Construction Profiling: Are You Guilty?

By Paul Ridilla
August 1, 2009
Your hiring and firing practices should be structured around skills and performance, not industry rumors.

Over the last several years, the word profiling has been used by the news media to infer discrimination. You can read or hear about profiling at airport checkpoints and police arrests with Latinos, Blacks, Muslims, etc.

Webster’s dictionary has several definitions of profiling but none of them refer to discrimination against anyone. Nonetheless, since that meaning has become acceptable, let’s look at our own industry and what we should now call “construction profiling”:
    1. Any violation of the EEOA (Equal Employment Opportunity Act);

    2. Noncompliance of jobsite hiring quotas; and

    3. Use of the word “they” instead of he, she, Tom or Mary.
America is called the land of opportunity and I’m sure all of you agree that’s exactly what we want to preserve for ourselves, our children and every other citizen. Item Nos. 1 and 2 are familiar to larger contractors, especially those who receive government contracts or have been cited for discrimination concerning hiring, promotions, layoffs or firing.

Although this construction profiling still exists, it has greatly improved since the EEOA was passed in the mid-’60s, establishing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. You can easily review your own hiring, promotions, layoffs and firings to make sure you are in compliance.

Item No. 3 does not involve discrimination or breaking any laws, but it certainly is a valid description of construction profiling. Throughout my many years of consulting with in-house contractors of all trades, use of the word “they” is the underlying reason for not hiring certain groups of people.

1. We will not hire any of those 18- to 20-year-old kids. They are not worth a tinker’s dam!
  • They don’t show up for work on time.
  • They don’t take care of tools or materials. They think money grows on trees.
  • They have all of the answers. You can’t tell them anything.
  • They came from broken marriages where there is no discipline. They never learned about respect.
  • They never had to do chores or any kind of physical work.
  • They don’t know anything about construction.
  • They think the world owes them a living.
  • They hang out with their buddies using drugs or drinking booze.
  • High school dropouts are the worst. If they couldn’t finish school, what can they do?
Would you agree that use of the word “they” in this context would classify as a construction profiler? All of those negative situations are true and have happened, but not by every young person. There are definitely more good kids than bad. Haven’t you hired 18- to 20-year-olds who are still with your company and doing great?

By using a singular name like Tom or Mary, you would not discriminate against every young candidate for employment. When I hear these comments, I always ask, “What about your own children? Are they not worth a tinker’s dam? Are they all alike?”

We’ve always called that “protecting hidden scars” because every time a contractor has a bad experience with an employee, he ruled out hiring another like that one. It’s easy to understand why a lot of potentially good employees never get hired.

2. We don’t want another woman in that position. They create too many problems.
  • Married women with children at home: They stay home when one of their kids is sick and their critical tasks do not get done. They spend too much time talking to their kids on our company phone. They will quit and go with their husband if he changes jobs.

  • Single women, especially the attractive ones: They disrupt our workplace with all the men gawking and trying to “sneak a peak.” They create tension at home for the married men whose wives are worried about infidelity.

  • Divorced women with children at home: They cause all the problems mentioned above. We call them “double jeopardy.”

  • They can file sexual harassment charges against an innocent male employee even if nothing ever happened. This costs us serious legal fees as well as disrupting our accused employee’s marriage.

  • We’ve tried using women on our jobsites but they don’t want to climb, they can’t lift anything heavy, and our male employees waste time socializing with them.
Using that word they concerning hiring women is definitely construction profiling, but it is also a violation of the EEOA and the federal law requiring 6.9 percent of a contractor’s payroll to be women performing traditional “man’s work.”

Here again, all of those negative situations are true and have happened, but not by or to every woman. There are far more capable productive and dependable women than negative.

3. We will not hire another retired military person.
  • They think the world owes them a living.
  • They are in no hurry to get anything done.
4. We tried using those college graduates with construction management degrees.
  • They don’t know the ins and outs of jobsite production tools, equipment or materials.
5. We do not promote our craftsmen or jobsite foremen to top management positions.
  • They are very poor at paperwork and don’t even know how to spell properly.
6. We will not re-hire former employees who quit or were fired.
  • They carry a grudge and create a negative atmosphere for our good employees.
The saddest part of this construction profiling is that there are no ill intentions; these are comments from competitive profit-making contractors whose business suffered from one employee’s conduct. Unfortunately, many of those negative “they” stories did not even happen in their own companies. These stories are passed around like gossip on our jobsites, in the bar, at conventions, etc.

Basic Management Principles Can Help: We will never be able to stop all of these damaging rumors, but you certainly can put a damper on the ones you hear by asking if any of the following “dirty dozen” basic management principles are relative to the story:
    1. Do you use an exit interview with an employee who quits? Do you discuss these with every employee involved?

    2. Do you have a posted chain of command? Do you and your entire management team respect and abide by it?

    3. Who does your interviews and hiring? Do they use a written checklist to ask the critical questions? Were they trained to hire?

    4. Do you use a written checklist for orientation?

    5. Do all new employees read and sign your company policy to be certain they know and understand your rules?

    6. Does every employee who does not have a full-time supervisor negotiate a written job description with a detailed scope of work?

    7. Do you use a database skills inventory? Do you review it monthly to assure proper training?

    8. Do you assign a 90-day mentor to newly hired or newly transferred employees?

    9. Do you discuss and document above- and below-expected performance with each employee when it happens?

    10. Do you have regularly scheduled wage reviews with each employee?

    11. Are all of your supervisors properly trained in human relations and coaching skills? Do they always wear a smile?

    12. Do you offer and discuss flex-time options and virtual office opportunities?
We will always have negative situations in this industry, but you do not want to exclude any good employee from your payroll on a profiling basis. There is an old saying that one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. This simply suggests that you remove the one rotten one and enjoy the rest of the barrel.

By initiating and following these management guidelines, you will eliminate that profiling word “they.” Your records and memory will justify hiring, promoting, laying off or firing Tom or Suzy because of his or her performance, rather than what someone else has done in the past.

Accept the fact that there are good and bad employees in every category; avoiding any construction profiling will guarantee that you will have the best.

Links

  • Contact Plumbing & Mechanical

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Ridilla

Questions? Need help? Call Paul at 407/699-8515, on his cell at 407/467-4916 or e-mail him (reference Plumbing & Mechanical magazine).

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
close

1 COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE(S) LEFT

Unlock the future of plumbing trends with Plumbing & Mechanical.

REGISTER TODAY

Already a Registered User? Sign in now.

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

NIBCO Press Solutions

NIBCO Press Solutions

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Underfloor heating installation with drain sewer hole in bathroom close up on water floor heating.

Using hydronics to leverage time-of-use electrical rates

Watts Nexa mobile image

Behind the Wall: Where smart plumbing gets smarter

Six tankless water heaters that feed the nutraceutical manufacturer’s operations.

How to deliver large volumes of hot water quickly and intermittently

PMCE Home-X April 29 Free Webinar: From Legacy to Leadership: Preparing Your Home Services Business for the Next Generation

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • EBOOKS
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!