Guest Editorial

RSS

In a hyper-competitive market, talent poaching happens instantly. Salary matches provide short-term retention, but fail to build long-term loyalty. The true competitive advantage comes from the daily workplace experience.  

Thinking about acquiring another plumbing company? Growth can be appealing, but an acquisition may create more challenges than opportunities, especially if you plan to sell your business in the near future. Learn why debt, integration hurdles, operational risks and buyer perceptions can impact your company’s value, and what business owners should consider before making a move.

Developing leaders creates leverage for the organization. It allows business owners to step back from day-to-day operations and focus on strategic growth.

This new standard will mark a turning point for water supply and sanitary drainage pipe sizing, which together haven’t received a meaningful update since the 1940s.

You can teach anyone to sweat a copper joint or wire a circulator pump. What’s much harder to teach is attitude, curiosity, pride in craftsmanship, and the ability to make a customer feel at ease.

As many companies adopt growth-oriented language, it’s important to explore the tactical strategies behind it. Key benchmarks to consider include: What roles do we need to fill in the next few years? How do we retain our experienced employees? Who is our ideal customer and how many will we have in three years? What are our projected revenues in 5 and 10 years? Are our plans aligned with healthy gross and EBITDA margins?

Most crucial of all is developing a strong team of mentors who can help nurture aspiring technicians. This is often where the true value of an apprenticeship program is revealed. Most contractors have at least one veteran tradesperson about whom they would say, "I wish I had 10 of them!"